These chocolate chip cookies are made with brown butter and milk chocolate chunks. Browning the butter is an extra step, but it’s worth it for these decadent chocolate chip cookies!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
I made an accidental discovery the other day, a discovery that countless bakers have made over time.
But we found a bag of Hershey bars. So we chopped them up into big, chip-sized pieces and used them instead.
Do you know what happens if you use chocolate chips instead of chocolate chips in cookies?
Why chocolate chunk cookies taste so good
First, they’re bigger, so when you eat the cookies you get those bags of chocolate explosions. Second, the rims melt into the cookie dough and infuse a larger portion of the chocolatey-flavored cookie.
Chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape when baked (less cocoa butter); Chocolate bars are melted the moment they enter your mouth.
We used milk chocolate bars for this recipe because that’s what we had. While milk chocolate was a favorite when I was a kid, it’s less so now. I usually prefer the darkest chocolate available.
However, in this recipe, the milk chocolate chips work great! They add a warm creaminess to the cookie that wouldn’t be there if semisweet or bittersweet chocolate were used.
However, use whatever chocolate you like.
Why the butter browns
We also brown the butter in the first step of the recipe. Brown butter gives the dough a wonderfully nutty aroma. It’s an extra step, but one that’s well worth it.
How to save and freeze these cookies
Refrigerate your cookies and store them in an airtight container. They’ll keep for about five days before they start to dry out and become crumbly. (At this point, they’re still delicious, just more crumbly.)
You can freeze either the unbaked cookie dough or the baked cookies:
- Freeze cookie dough: Scoop the cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet or silicone baking mat. Place in the freezer and freeze until the cookie dough balls are set. Then transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer container and freeze for up to a month. Frozen cookie dough balls can be baked straight from the freezer; Just add a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: Let cool completely, then place on a sheet of aluminum foil. You can set the cookies two or three high. Wrap the foil tightly around the cookies, then place in a plastic freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months and thaw on the counter before consumption.
Can’t get enough chocolate chips? Try these
- Classic chocolate chip cookies
- Thin and crunchy chocolate chip cookies
- Gluten free chocolate piece biscuits
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut biscuits with chocolate pieces
Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
We brown the butter first in this recipe because brown butter adds a wonderful flavor to the dough. If you’re short on time or don’t want to bother, you can skip browning the butter, just start with room temperature butter.
ingredients
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1 Cup (8 ounces, 225 g) unsalted butter
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2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
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1 teaspoon Salt
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon Cinammon
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1 Cup Brown sugarpacked up
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1/2 Cup White sugar
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2 big eggs
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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9 ounces milk chocolate bar (semi-sweet or dark), roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
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1 Cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
method
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Preheat oven to 350°F
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Fry butter:
In a medium, heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan (use stainless steel so you can see when the butter is browned), melt the butter over medium-high heat.
Continue cooking as the butter goes through various stages as it foams and releases its moisture. Whisk frequently for several minutes.
When you start to smell the nutty aroma of butter browning and you can push aside some of the foam to reveal small browned bits at the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Don’t dally at this point, as the butter can easily go from browned to burnt.
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Whisk dry ingredients:
Place the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk vigorously.
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Beat brown butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla:
Pour browned butter into the bowl of a stand mixer (if you don’t have a mixer, you can just beat with your hand). Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat for another 3 minutes.
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Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, then stir in chocolate chips:
Stir the flour mixture into the butter-sugar mixture to a third. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts (if using).
You can go up to this point for a day or two and refrigerate the cookie dough until ready to cook.
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Spoon the cookie dough onto the baking tray lined with baking paper:
Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper (or just lightly buttered) rimmed baking sheets.
Spoon heaping tablespoons of dough onto the cookie sheets, spaced at least 2 inches apart to allow the cookies to spread as they bake. You may need to work in batches.
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Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes:
The edges of the cookies should be just a little browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack.
Links:
This week’s salted brown butter cookies for dinner
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chunk Cookies by How Sweet Eats
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 149 | calories |
| 8g | Fat |
| 19g | carbohydrates |
| 2g | protein |
