What's more classic than chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven? Boxed and refrigerated mixes are fine in a pinch, but nothing compares to homemade. My boyfriend begs me to make these at least once a month. He likes them sweeter, with semisweet chips, but I prefer the sugary cookie portion to be balanced by the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate chips. So we do 50:50, and everyone's happy!
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (7 ounces)
1/2 cup sugar (3.5 ounces)
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5.25 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 extra large egg
1 extra large egg yolk
1.75 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8.75 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1.25 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao)
Heat 10 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat until brown and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula constantly to avoid burning. The brown butter gives the cookies a wonderful nutty flavor. The solid fats in the butter basically separate from the water portion, sink, and cook at the bottom of the pan. The butter will look like brown grains suspended in a yellow liquid when it's done.
Transfer brown butter to a large bowl and add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. The butter will foam slightly.
Stir until all butter is completely melted.
Whisk in sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla. (This aroma is basically the best thing I've ever smelled, ever. EVER.) It's easier to get a smooth mixture if the butter is still hot enough to melt the sugars.
Whisk in egg and egg yolk until the mixture is smooth with no remaining lumps, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then whisk again for 30 seconds. Repeat rest and whisk process twice more. The whisking cycles allow the sugars to dissolve fully, creating a more chewy cookie. With each progressive mixing, the batter will become thickened and shiny.
Combine flour and baking soda in a separate bowl, and whisk to aerate. Fold flour mixture into batter. Be sure to keep mixing minimally to avoid developing the gluten, which will lead to tough cookies.
Fold in chocolate chips. To form the cookies, I like to use two tablespoons or an ice cream scoop to form large balls of dough (will make 16 cookies).
Arrange 8 cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press the top of the cookies with your hand to create a slightly flat top (not pictured above). Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes for soft, underbaked cookies and 14 minutes for crisper cookies.
The outsides of the cookies are browned and crisp and the insides are wonderfully soft. This picture isn't great because I was in a rush to eat them, hot out of the oven :)
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