Equipment
Ingredients
Brown Butter Base
- 225 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 ice cube, frozen
Wet Ingredients
- 200 g dark brown sugar, packed
- 50 g granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 10 ml vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 4 g baking soda
- 4 g fine sea salt
Mix-ins
- 200 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
- flaky sea salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- 37 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 21 g
- Sodium
- 216 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 10 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 5 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 47 mg
- Potassium
- 115 mg
- Calcium
- 26 mg
- Iron
- 2.0 mg
- Magnesium
- 24 mg
- Phosphorus
- 57 mg
- Zinc
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 103 mcg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin K
- 2 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.14 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.12 mg
- Niacin
- 1.1 mg
- Folate
- 35 mcg
- Water
- 9 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
- Caffeine
- 5 mg
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place the cubed butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter foams, the foam subsides, and the milk solids at the bottom turn a toasted amber color. It should smell nutty and rich.
Remove pan from heat immediately. Carefully add the ice cube (or 15ml cold water) to the hot butter. It will sizzle and foam aggressively—this replaces moisture lost during browning. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
Add the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the cooled butter. Whisk vigorously (by hand or mixer) until the mixture lightens in color and thickens slightly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt. Add this to the wet ingredients and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
Fold in the chopped chocolate chunks until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight).
Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop dough into 50-60g balls (golf ball size) and place 5cm apart on the sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be golden brown, but the centers should still look slightly underbaked and soft.
Remove from oven. Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to set before moving to a wire rack.
Chef's Notes
- Chopping a chocolate bar is superior to using chips. Chips contain stabilizers to hold their shape; chopped chocolate creates pockets and pools of melted cocoa.
- The ice cube trick is a pastry chef secret. Browning butter evaporates the water content (about 15-18% of butter's weight). Replacing it ensures the gluten hydrates properly for the right texture.
- Using just the yolk of the second egg increases the fat content relative to water, creating a fudgier, denser texture.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Dough improves with age (up to 72 hours). Store baked cookies in airtight container.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze dough balls solid, then transfer to bag. Bake from frozen (add 2-3 minutes).
Reheating: Microwave for 10-15 seconds to restore gooey texture.
Troubleshooting
Cookies spread into a flat, greasy puddle
Cause: Dough was too warm or butter was added to sugar while hot
Fix: Chill the remaining dough longer; use a spoon to push edges of baked cookies back toward center immediately upon removal from oven
Prevention: Chill dough thoroughly (minimum 30 mins) before baking
Cookies are cakey instead of chewy
Cause: Too much flour or over-beating eggs
Fix: None for this batch; enjoy them as cake-cookies
Prevention: Measure flour by weight (grams), not volume (cups)
Burnt bottoms
Cause: Dark baking pan or oven temperature too high
Fix: Grate off the burnt bottom with a microplane
Prevention: Use light aluminum pans and verify oven temp with thermometer
Cultural Context
The 'Chocolate Chip Cookie' is an American invention by Ruth Wakefield in the 1930s. The addition of brown butter (beurre noisette) applies a classic French technique to this American staple, elevating the flavor profile with toasted milk solids.
