I love anything brown butter! I mean who doesn’t?! I still remember my first bite of the chocolate chip cookie with brown butter from the chocolate shop I used to work for in San Francisco. Oh, it was a love affair! That nutty and buttery aroma was something unfamiliar… something heavenly! There’s only one other time in the past when I seriously thought an ingredient was that special… it was a jar of my favorite vanilla paste! Since then, I look for every opportunity to incorporate brown butter in and this chocolate chip cookie recipe was the perfect start!

Before starting, here are some tips!

• A chocolate chip cookie is only as good as the chocolate chips! In fact, I skip using chocolate chips and go for craft chocolate bars. For this recipe, I bought my favorite bean-to-bar brand and used 3 variations from milk chocolate to 72% dark with almonds and 80% dark chocolate.

• For less sweet cookies, use a higher percentage of dark chocolate in the mix.

• Brown butter is heavenly and if you haven’t made it before, you’ll be hooked! It has a certain fruity, buttery and nutty aroma like a vanilla extract but different. For this recipe, I reduced the amount of vanilla extract to make room for the nutty scent of the brown butter. Maybe next time, I’ll skip out on the vanilla extract.

• Depends on how chewy you want your cookies, take out 1/4 cup of butter for a crunchier batch. I made 2 test recipes and the first one only had 1 cup of butter but I’ve decided to add another 1/4 cup to help it spread thinner and for a softer dough.

• Adding sea salt is optional but really does help the flavors to come together. And the tug between the salt and sweet in your mouth is always a scrumptious experience!

• Check out how I turned this yummy goodness into an excellent “Father’s Day ‘stache” gift!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt Recipe

Yield 30 pieces (2.5 inches cookies) Prep Time 2.5 hours Bake Time 9-12 minutes

Equipment: Hand or Stand Mixer, scoop, baking pan, parchment paper or silicone mat, cooling rack, cookie jar for storage

Ingredients

1 1/4 c Brown Butter (unsalted butter)

2/3 c granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar packed

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 c all-purpose flour

3 cups assorted chocolate bar roughly chopped

Sea Salt 

Brown Butter

To make the brown butter, place butter in a small saucepan and cook at medium-high heat. Once melted, lower down to medium heat. As it is cooking, the butter will bubble when the milk solids are starting to separate. Continue to cook until the milk solids turn to golden brown. Keep an eye on the solids at the bottom of the pan to make sure it's not overcooked. Immediately pour into a separate bowl scraping all the golden brown milk solids and allow it to cool to room temperature. Store in the fridge tightly covered until ready to use.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• On medium speed, mix brown butter including the golden brown milk solids, granulated sugar and light brown sugar until fully incorporated. Scrape the bottom of the bowl.

• Add vanilla extract and eggs one at a time mixing in between until fully incorporated. Scrape the bottom of the bowl.

• Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour is incorporated but try not to over mix.

• Add assorted chocolate barks and mix.

• Scoop cookie dough preferably using the 2 tablespoons size.

• Freeze for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• For best result, thaw out cookies for 10 minutes at room temperature and slightly flatten with the palm.

• Spray or brush the baking pan with butter and place the parchment paper. Evenly place cookie dough at least 2 inches from each other.

• Bake for 9 to 12 minutes and immediately top with sea salt after taking out of the oven.

• Once done, cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

• Store in an airtight container and enjoy!