Tomato Tomatoe

brown butter espresso cookies

I levelled up my chocolate chip cookie game last year and let me tell you, that the few small changes I made caused the biggest difference! I think I may have unlocked the BEST cookies ever! I’m not kidding, after much trial and error, I can confidently say that these will be the best chocolate chip cookies you ever make. A few things make these cookies stand out. The first thing is using brown butter in the cookie dough. This step does take extra time but it adds a depth of flavour, nuttiness and overall complexity to the cookie. This is a step that I will not do without when making chocolate chip cookies. The next thing that makes a perfect cookie is chilling the dough. I never used to to do this but now it’s a mandatory step that I’ve incorporated into my cookie making. Chilling the dough hardens the fat content which makes the cookies spread less when baking. By doing this you will also have a much chewier cookie. Lastly, I used good quality espresso in my cookies. The espresso deepens the chocolate flavour without overpowering them. These are seriously the best chocolate chip cookies you will ever make and I don’t think I will ever be able to make them any other way.

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brown butter espresso cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted brown butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground espresso
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips or bar chopped into pieces
• flaky sea salt (optional)

Directions

1. Heat a saucepan to medium-low heat and add the cubed butter. Stir constantly and keep an eye on the butter. It will take some time to begin to brown (about 10-15 minutes). Once the butter smells nutty and begins to turn golden brown, remove from the heat. You can brown the butter the night before and keep it in the fridge or you can pour the butter into a bowl and add it on top of another bowl with ice. This will help to cool down the butter quickly. If you are cooling the butter over ice this should take around 5 minutes.
2. Using a stand mixer, cream together the cooled brown butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy.
3. Add the espresso and mix for 1-2 minutes until fully combined.
4. Add the eggs, vanilla and beat until the texture is light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). The batter should look much paler than before.
5. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix together until combined. The dough should be wet and sticky.
6. Using a spatula, gently fold in the dark chocolate.
7. Using an ice cream scoop (about 3 tbsp of dough), scoop the dough onto a baking sheet. If desired, press extra chocolate into the tops of each dough ball.
8. Cover the dough and chill in the fridge overnight or for 5-6 hours minimum.
9. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Place dough balls at least 2-3 inches apart (I do 6 cookies on one baking sheet).
11. Bake cookies for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are set and the centres are still soft. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with flaky salt. Let these rest until they firm up.

Notes

• These freeze well