THE Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe worth doubling
Wes & I are not cookie people, but we always finish our freshly baked cookies under 48hrs, even with much restrain.
If you’ve ever wished for a cookie that wasn’t just plain sweet but had layers of flavour, this is the recipe for you. With hints of caramel, nuttiness and a touch of salt, these cookies are the perfect balance of indulgence.
I love making our own desserts because its only human to crave sweets now and again, and by making our own, we can control the quantities of non-nutritious stuff we need in the recipe!
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: ~10 mins per tray
Ingredients
120g unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dark chocolate chunks
Sea salt flakes for sprinkling on cookies fresh out the oven
Notes
I actually used salted butter for my own batch of cookies as I always do for any bake I make at home, just a personal preference! It’s definitely more common to use unsalted.
You can use any combination of sugar as long as it makes up 3/4 cup (slightly lesser is fine too). I’d recommend not to omit dark brown sugar as the flavour profile of brown sugar is different than white sugar and will contribute to more caramel notes.
I don’t find the end result to be overly sweet at all - I actually don’t use the full 1/4 cup for each type of sugar as I try to reduce sugar as much as possible. If I had to give a comparison, these cookies are at least 10 - 15% less sweet than what you’ll usually find!
You can add flour up to 1 1/8 cup, the result will be chunky, more cakey cookies. If you like them flatter & crispier, stick to 1 cup + 1 tbsp of flour
You can increase salt added slightly if you appreciate salty notes in your cookies, especially if you used unsalted butter
Feel free to add your own toppings - semi sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, etc
I won’t recommend normal table salt to be used for the sprinkling, salt that is coarser and flakier would be best
Method
Add butter to a saucepan on low to medium heat to start making brown butter
Stir frequently so the butter is not left to burn, cut the heat once the liquid butter has a deep orange to amber hue
Set brown butter aside to cool completely
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, baking soda & salt
In a separate bowl, add cooled brown butter and sugar to mix with a whisk
Once completely smooth, add egg and whisk to mix again
Add dry mixture to wet mixture, part by part, ensuring that each part is mixed in evenly before adding more
Add toppings and fold the cookie dough to spread out the toppings, no need to overmix
Let the cookie dough rest in the fridge for at least 30 to 60 minutes (Read notes on this as it affects the texture of the cookie)
Preheat oven to 180 - 185ºC while waiting for cookie dough to chill
After 30 - 60 minutes, divide the dough into smaller dough balls on a baking tray, ensure that each dough ball is evenly spaced to accommodate the spreading that will happen as the cookie bakes
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until each cookie has a crispy edge
Sprinkle sea salt flakes once the cookies are fresh out of the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes without touching them
Notes
During the process of making brown butter, it should smell like nutty caramel. If there is any hint of burnt smells you might have set your heat too high
It’ll be best to stir the brown butter occasionally while it is cooling down
When I make this myself I actually don’t follow baking “rules” and will add sugar into dry mixture at times. I don’t think it affects the end result if you are sure to mix everything evenly. But if you are unsure, then consider sugar as a wet ingredient so it can dissolve properly before you add other dry ingredients!
Never overmix cookie dough more than you need to as it will contribute to dense and heavy cookies after baking
Chilling the cookie dough is a critical step to add more flavour to the cookies, so don’t skip it!
Remember not to immediately lift the cookies from the tray when they are fresh out of the oven as they are still cooking from the residual heat! Let them cool completely before touching them or they may crumble.
