Brown Butter and Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
In honor of National Cookie Day, I wanted to share one of my very favorite, tried and true recipes. I have been making these cookies since I was in culinary school and it is always a crowd favorite. It is the perfect gooey, soft baked cookie and I love the nuttiness of the brown butter, paired with semi sweet chocolate and flaky sea salt on top. They are definitely a step up from your normal chocolate chip cookie recipe and I promise you will love them!
Brown Butter and Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBSP plain greek yogurt
1 3/4 cups semi- sweet chocolate
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling- I use Maldon Sea Salt
Directions:
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Make brown butter: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Use a whisk or wooden spoon to constantly stir as the butter begins to foam. After a couple of minutes the butter will begin to turn light brown and it will give off a nutty aroma, these are the milk solids in the butter getting toasted. Keep stirring and pull the saucepan off the heat as soon as it turns a medium brown color. It’s important that you don’t let the butter go too long or else it can burn and taste very bitter and burnt. Immediately transfer the butter to a mixing bowl to prevent it getting more color in the pan, allow to cool for a few minutes.
With an electric mixer, mix the slightly cooled butter and sugars until blended.
Beat in the egg and egg yolk one at a time, then add the vanilla and yogurt until combined.
Add in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) slowly and beat on low speed until combined.
Add in the chocolate chips until they are incorporated.
Chill the dough for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. It is important for the dough to chill so that the cookies hold their shape in the oven.
Preheat oven to 350 on convection setting. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or use a non stick sheet pan for the cookies. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, portion the dough into balls and place on a sheet pan spacing the cookies 2 inches apart. I usually make mine a little bit bigger than the size of a golf ball.
Flatten the top of each dough ball slightly and bake in the oven for 9-11 minutes. They are done when the edges begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle but will continue to cook once out of the oven and they are best a little soft in the center.
Sprinkle the cookies with a little sea salt on top while they are still hot and have a little moisture so the salt will stick. Allow the cookies to rest for 2 minutes on their cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!!
