Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

All Ingredients

Directions

• • unsalted butter

    8 ounces
  • ice cube

    1

  Set medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter and cook, stirring with a spatula, until butter solids begin to turn golden brown and butter smells nutty. Remove from heat and continue stirring until the butter is a rich brown, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a medium bowl, whisk in ice cube, transfer to refrigerator, and cool completely, about 20 minutes.

• • granulated sugar

    5 ounces
  • large eggs

    2
  • vanilla extract

    2 teaspoons

  Add to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium-high until mixture is pale brownish-yellow and falls off the whisk in thick ribbons when lifted, about 5 minutes.

• • all-purpose flour

    10 ounces
  • baking soda

    ¾ teaspoon
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt

    2 teaspoons

  Whisk together in a large bowl.

• • dark brown sugar

    5 ounces
  • semisweet chocolate

    8 ounces
    roughly chopped with a knife into ½- to ¼-inch chunks

  Fit paddle attachment onto mixer. When brown butter mixture has cooled (it should be just starting to turn opaque again and firm around the edges), add brown sugar and cooled brown butter to egg mixture in stand mixer. Mix on medium speed to combine, about 15 seconds. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just barely combined, with some dry flour still remaining, about 15 seconds. Add chocolate and mix on low speed until dough comes together, about 15 seconds longer.

• Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least overnight and up to 3 days.

• When ready to bake, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 325°F. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon, place scoops of cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Each ball should measure approximately 3 tablespoons in volume, and you should be able to fit 6 to 8 balls on each sheet. You'll need to bake in batches. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown around edges but still soft, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through baking.

• • coarse sea salt

    to taste
    optional

  Remove baking sheets from oven. While cookies are still hot, sprinkle very lightly with coarse salt and gently press salt down to embed. Let cool for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

• Cool cookies completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.