Browned Butter and Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love cookies.  Chocolate chip to be exact.  Honestly, I don't think I could live without them.  If I had to choose my last meal, it would be a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Andrew actually loves cc cookies as well, so I make them fairly often in our house.  Over the past few years I have started to brown the butter, which adds a richer flavor to the cookie.  Andrew loves them like this, which is why I keep making them.  I guess I happen to love them too.


Ingredients:
*1 cup (2 sticks) of browned butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
A dash of cinnamon
1 3/4 cup chocolate chips (add more if you like!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In an electric mixer, beat sugars and browned butter together until well combined. Add your eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix your dry ingredients together (why cinnamon you may ask? Well I love cinnamon, that's why).  Slowly add your dry ingredients until your flour is almost mixed in.

Then add your chocolate chips.  Only mix a few times, you don't want to over mix your batter.

Bake for 10 minutes, flipping your cookie sheet half way through.  If you like crispier cookies add a few minutes.  If you like to make oversize cookies, like I do, you want your total bake time to be closer to 13 minutes.

Adapted from the good old Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe


*Browning butter*
Let your butter sit out at room temperature for about an hour, this will help the browning process go faster.

Put the butter in a small sauce pan over med heat.  Let the butter melt which may take a few minutes.  Just hang out, it takes some time.

Once the butter is fully melted you will begin to hear the butter crackle and pop.  This is normal, no need to worry.  The butter will then go through some phases.  It will start to bubble and look frothy, then it will be a bit more clear.  Whatever you do, don't walk away!  The butter browns quickly and you don't want it to burn.

Finally you will start to see brown bits in the bottom.  When this happens turn your heat off, but keep the pan on the stove.  Once the brown bits begin to be more pronounced, remove the pan from the stove and transfer the butter to a heat safe bowl or container to cool.  Let cool to room temp before using.