I have always loved baking and trying new desserts and recipes. However, sometimes nothing beats the classic chocolate chip cookie. I have been testing out different recipes and tweaking them over the last few years in the search for the best cookie and recently I discovered a total game changer. I replaced the regular, unsalted butter the recipes call for and used brown butter instead
What is brown butter? It is just regular butter that has been melted and cooked into a pan to toast it just past the point of melting. It releases this nutty, almost toffee-ish flavor from the butter, enhancing any recipe it is added to with the extra flavor. It can be intimidating to add this extra step into the recipe, but it is totally worth it for the results you are left with.
How do you make it? Browning butter should only take five to ten minutes. Put the amount of butter (must be unsalted) the recipe calls for in a pan and place on medium-low heat. It is important to slowly heat the butter as you do not want to burn it, which can happen quickly once you reach the light brown color you are looking for. As the butter melts, you must continuously stir it to make sure it is getting toasted equally. Eventually, you will reach a caramel color, which means you should immediately take it off the heat.
For chocolate chip cookies, I let the butter cool and then transfer it into a bowl that I put into the freezer until it is no longer melted, but softened, which can take a couple of hours. After you have let it harden, the butter can be used as you would normally in a recipe.
Here is a recipe for chocolate chip cookies I made recently that were great with the brown butter:
Ingredients
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 stick butter, browned and softened
- ¾ c sugar
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter on medium speed and then add in the vanilla and eggs. Combine your wet mixture with the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Form dough into 2 tbsp balls and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.