When I have an urge for homemade cookies, one of my favorite recipes I turn to is the classic chocolate chip cookie. I define classic chocolate chip cookie as a chewy cookie with crispy edges and soft centers, including a generous amount of melting semi-sweet chocolate chips.
The thing is, I can never leave a recipe alone, classic or not, as I am always wondering if I can bake it better! Most ardent cookie lovers enjoy a bit of variety, so why not try different ingredients and alternative ways of combining the simple butter, sugar, flour and chocolate components of the much loved chocolate chip cookie.
For this recipe, I began with my go to favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe , substituting browned butter for solid butter. I also decreased the total sugar by 1/2 cup and eliminated the oatmeal I usually incorporate. When browning butter, you will end up losing some liquid in the cooking process, so I didn’t want the oatmeal to absorb any more moisture.
After a few tweaks, I am thrilled with this recipe. It is a delicous, soft chocolate chip cookie that I will enjoy baking and sharing. Give the recipe a try and see what you think!
Enjoy baking! Judy
Don’t be intimidated by the browning butter process. Take your time, watch carefully while stirring the butter on your stovetop, and adjust heat as necessary to avoid burning the butter. Wait for the nutty aroma and amber color to appear, the browned butter bits will be forming quickly. This is when you should remove the butter from the heat.
Cook butter on medium low heat until it becomes foamy, the starts to crackle and pop, with a nutty aroma, eventually forming browned butter! Be careful not to burn the butter mixture.
- 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter * brown the butter as noted below in recipe instructions
- 7½ ounces packed brown sugar (1 cup)
- 3½ ounces white granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
- 2 whole eggs
- 10¾ ounces unbleached all purpose flour (2½ cups)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
- Cut butter into chunks. Melt butter on medium low heat in small saucepan.
- Continue to cook butter: will foam, then start to crackle and pop. Stir the entire time and carefully watch the butter so that it does not burn.
- Butter will start having a nutty aroma and an amber color. Brown butter bits will appear on the bottom of the pan. TAKE OFF HEAT when you see this.
- Pour butter into another pan or glass bowl to cool and stop the heating process. This will take approximately 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Cream the cooled melted butter (use brown bits also) with the sugars.
- Add eggs and vanilla and continue creaming.
- Mix dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt together and stir into batter just until combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Chill dough for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 360 degrees.
- Scoop dough into cookies using a cookie or ice cream scoop, placing on cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.
- Cool on cookie sheet and enjoy!
Use a light colored metal saucepan so you can see the bottom and spot the brown butter bits forming.
Butter goes from perfectly browned with a nutty aroma and browned butter bits to burnt butter quickly. Stir and observe continually while cooking the butter.
If you try this cookie recipe, I’d love to see any photos that you would like to share! Tag us @countrycupboardcookies on Instagram and use the hashtag #countrycupboardcookies
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