Friends, I know full-well that we all have a chocolate chip cookie recipe in our repertoires and you’re probably thinking that you don’t need another one. I know…blah, blah, chocolate chip cookie blah…
But, hear me out for just a moment.
This cookie recipe is different.
Taking suggestions from Rebecca Firth’s @Displacedhousewife ‘s recent cookbook, The Cookie Book, I decided to play around with a few of her recipes. For those of you who really know me, I’m completely incapable of following a recipe without making minor tweaks and playing off suggestions.
The first step that I took in perfecting this recipe was to make note of the EXACT brand of ingredients I use. I’m partial to really good, high-quality ingredients. Let’s talk about them…
Butter…I’m talking super creamy, hyper-yellow-in-color European style butter (Kerrygold).
Also, I don’t use imitation vanilla or vanilla extract. Ever. I always say that if there is one baking ingredient you should splurge on, let it be vanilla, people! I’ve upgraded my vanilla game to using vanilla paste only and I can’t even begin to tell you the difference in flavor notes my baked goods have seen. It’s like there’s a rave going on in my mouth, friends!
I’m particular about using Maldon Sea Salt. The flakes, dear friends. Those flakes are the stuff my baking dreams are made of! And a box of Maldon Sea Salt, when properly stored, will last you roughly 45 years. So make a little splurge & buy the really.good.stuff.
Chocolate. Do I even need to have a conversation about chocolate? Yes. Yes, I do, because some of us still put artificially-flavored chocolate dobs inside our cookies.
Please. For the love of Peter, Paul & Mary, stop doing that. When on sale at your local grocery store or big-box store, buy yourself a few bars of 72% Cacao Ghirardelli Chocolate and chop it up yourself. Your loved ones will thank you over and over again.
Last, but not certainly least, you’ll notice the addition of bread flour for part of the flour requirements in this recipe. I took head from Rebecca’s suggestion and started adding some bread flour to my baked goods. Note: I replaced just some, not all of the flour with bread flour because that would create a dense, super chewy protein cookie…ish… My previous cookie recipes were really lacking structure. I needed a cookie that was going to hold up its form, but still have that soft mouth-feel that we all crave.
Pick up these ingredients the next time you see them at your grocery store and make these cookies. Please. I will (almost) guarantee you that your cookie prayers have been answered. Enjoy my dear friends!
Also, once you’re done enjoying these Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip cookies, check out my recipe for Chocolate Cherry Coffee Cake…it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Brown Butter Seat Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 T. Kerry Gold salted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 T. half & half, room temperature
- 1 T. vanilla paste (or real vanilla extract, but if you try vanilla paste, you may never go back...)
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup bread flour (trust me on this)
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups roughly chopped dark chocolate, preferably from 72% Cacao Ghirardelli chocolate bars
- Maldon Sea Salt for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Place the salted butter in a small saucepan and melt over low-to-medium heat. Once the butter is fully melted, turn up the heat to medium/medium high, watching it very closely. Stir the butter and look for small golden bits to settle on the bottom of the pan. The butter mixture will start to smell nutty and should be turning a nice golden-brown color. Browning the butter should take about 5 minutes. Go slow the first time you do this so you don’t end up with burned butter. Once you notice the elements of brown butter, turn off the heat and place the butter mixture into a heat-safe glass bowl to cool.
- Step 2 After the butter has cooled slightly, using a stand mixer, hand mixer or manual whisk, whisk in the brown sugar, granulated sugar and oil. Once all ingredients are incorporated, add in the eggs one at a time and mix completely until each egg is fully blended in. Whisk in the half and half and vanilla paste until blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is properly blended.
- Step 3 In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Add the flour mixture to the brown butter mixture and mix until just blended and you don’t see any streaks of flour running throughout, taking precaution not to over-mix.
- Step 4 Add in the roughly chopped chocolate and continue to blend until the chocolate is distributed throughout the cookie dough mixture.
- Step 5 Refrigerate the dough for 24 hours and up to several days. Note: This is a crucial step if you want the very best texture, caramel-y bold flavors and a gorgeous aesthetic appearance to your cookies. If you are just making cookies to be consumed in a rapid manor, then by all means, refrigerating for even an hour can greatly elevate your cookie game.
- Step 6 When ready to bake: Preheat your oven to 375 F degrees and place a rack in the top 1/3 of your oven, about 6-8 inches from your heat source. Cover your baking sheets with parchment paper. (I use USA Pan professional grade baking sheets and absolutely love them)
- Step 7 Using a size 20, or 3 T. cookie scoop, gently scoop up the dough and level it off at the top. THEN, take the dough out of the scoop and roll it in your hand to make perfect balls. Trust me on this step, your cookies will have better symmetry and look more appetizing if you hand roll vs. just scooping and placing them on the cookie sheet.
- Step 8 Place the dough balls on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet in the freezer for 12-15 minutes to firm up. (Rolling the dough in your palms warms the dough up very quickly)
- Step 9 Remove from freezer, sprinkle a pinch of Maldon Sea Salt on top of each cookie (optional, but oh, soooo good) and bake for 11-13 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet 180 degrees halfway through.
- Step 10 Let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then rest on a cooling rack. Enjoy immediately or package up to eat later! Trust me…these won’t last long!
These look amazing and I bet they make the house smell so good. Something about chocolate and salt that just makes me hungry!
Thank you..great recipe and tips! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Oh, I’m so glad!! Enjoy!
Well sign me up! I’m saving this recipe for later. Thanks for sharing!!
YAY! Enjoy these!!
This looks so yummy. I like how you mention the suggestion of buying natural ingredients for this recipe. Thank you for this post!
You are welcome! I am a firm believer that whole ingredients should go into our foods. Enjoy!
These sound amazing! I may try making them for the holidays!
They are awesome! Enjoy!!
This looks absolutely delicious and I will be trying it very soon!
Great! I hope you enjoy!!
YUM! I am a firm believer that only butter should go in cookies 🙂
I’m with you! Butter makes everything better!
This sound and look delicious! I’ve been looking for a new chocolate chip cookie recipe to try, these will be perfect!
I promise if you follow the few extra steps they will not disappoint. They are by far our favorite cookies!!
Yum! These look fantastic, and I’m totally with you on making sure you always use quality ingredients.
High quality ingredients are ALWAYS worth the extra money!
Holy YUM! Can’t wait to try. Thanks for sharing!
HA! You are very welcome! Enjoy!
Your recipe looks very interesting – and delicious! I’m going to give it a try!
It is a different take on chocolate chips cookies. The brown butter creates a “nuttiness” and the cut up chocolate really enhances the “puddles of chocolate” vs. chocolate chips. Also, refrigerating the dough and using a little bread flour is absolutely key here…the texture is absolutely incredible!
well, guess what i’m making now….
YUM
Bahhhhh! Oh darn… (sorry. not sorry!)
Yum I have never thought of cutting up Ghirardelli
Honestly the very best chocolate to put into cookies and I love the idea of puddles of chocolate vs. chocolate chips!
These sound amazing!
They are soooo delicious! I promise you’ll love them and are worth those few extra steps!
Oh my goodness I love this! I can not wait to try this recipe. The butter and sea salt are my favorites!
Yaaassss! I’m so glad you want to try it! They are the best cookies I’ve ever created! Honestly, a few more steps involved, but completely worth it!
I’m intrigued! I am excited to try this recipe.
YAY! I know there are a few non-traditional ingredients & steps, but I promise it’s worth it!!
These look so incredibly amazing!!!! I am adding so many things on my must bake list, and I think these just bumped everything else to the bottom of the list!
Hahaha! I am happy to hear this but feel bad for those other baked goods…oh well, priorities, right?!! Enjoy, they are amazing!
OMG these look AMAZING!!! I am totally making some this week!
These cookies look delicious! My momma would have agreed with you on the vanilla!
Yum! I’m going to have to try this one. I’ve never heard of vanilla paste before-interesting!
I so agree about baking with super high quality ingredients! It makes ALL the difference! But I have never heard of vanilla PASTE before so I will have to check that out! These cookies sound delicious!
Vanilla paste lends a much deeper flavor profile. I feel like it enhances the other flavors so much more.
Wow, these look so delicious!!
They are amazing! Definitely worth the few extra steps.
Yummy!! I’ve always wanted to try vanilla paste! Great to hear what a difference it makes!
Yes, I do have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I love (it calls for coconut, and I LOVE coconut), but I’ve never heard of vanilla paste or bread flour! I’m definitely going to give your ingredients and this recipe a try. Do you think I should change anything for high altitude (5200′)?
Bread flour has a slightly higher protein content than regular all purpose. It really helps with the texture of the cookie. And, vanilla paste is such a lovely, more pungent flavor component. I use it in all my recipes now. Unsure about the high altitude. Perhaps a simple internet search would let you know how to “generally” convert recipes for high altitude?
You can never have to many chocolate chip cookie recipes thank you for sharing.
I agree! This one is definitely a keeper!
I love that you use high quality food products! I’m gluten free, plant based, sugar free…so I won’t be sampling these. But I can tell you love to bake!
These look amazing! As well as your other stuff!!
Awww, thank you for the kind words! Enjoy!