Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a heavy-bottom pot, begin to melt your butter on the stove over low-medium heat. Stir the butter constantly to prevent burning. After 3-5 minutes, you will notice the butter starting to foam and the milk particles separating. Continue stirring as the butter turns a deep amber color. Do not step away during this process, as the butter can burn quickly. Once it reaches the desired color, transfer the liquid to a heatproof bowl, add a tablespoon of water or an ice cube, and allow it to cool.

Adding water to the browned butter helps restore the moisture that evaporated during the heating process. Without this added water, the cookies can become dry. This step is essential to maintaining the correct texture and consistency in your final product.

In a large bowl, add the sugar followed by the cooled brown butter. Cream these together using an electric mixer or a strong hand and whisk until fully combined and the mixture is lighter in texture. This step ensures the sugar is well incorporated into the butter, creating a smooth and even base for your cookies.

Once your butter and sugar are mixed, add the egg and vanilla extract. Continue to beat the mixture for about 45 seconds until the batter is smooth and all ingredients are fully incorporated. This step adds richness and flavor to the dough.

Add your dry ingredients through a sieve into the wet mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix until only a small amount of flour is visible. Sifting helps to aerate the flour and prevent lumps, ensuring a light and even dough.

Fold in the chocolate chips using the rubber spatula until the last streak of flour disappears. This ensures the chocolate chips are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Be careful not to overmix, as this can affect the texture of the cookies.

Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, but ideally for 12-24 hours. Chilling allows the flour to absorb the flavors of the brown butter and vanilla, deepening the cookie’s flavor. The longer the dough chills, the less the cookies will spread during baking.

Tray Placement – Spread cookies evenly on one cookie sheet tray. Baking one sheet at a time ensures the cookies bake evenly.

Start checking the cookies at the earliest suggested baking time, as cookies can go from pale to over-browned quickly. Since oven temperatures can vary, this helps prevent overbaking.

Be careful not to overbake your cookies. They are ready to be removed from the oven once the edges become a deep golden color. This indicates the cookies are baked through while remaining soft and chewy in the center.

Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets as soon as they are firm enough to transfer. Place them on wire racks to cool completely, which helps them remain crisp and prevents further cooking from the residual heat of the baking sheet. Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container for the best texture.

Perfect Circle Cookies – Straight out of the oven, use a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies or a kitchen glass to swirl the cookie inside the cutter/glass so it touches the edge. This will smooth out the edges and make the cookies more round.