Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Chocolate Chip Cookie is my all-time favorite cookie. 

I had a recipe I used as my go-to but this version might change all that. 

The sea salt contrasts with the sweet cookie so nicely you'll think your taste buds are on drugs. 

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
     adapted from The Bite Sized Baker 
     yields 3 dozen

Ingredients
2¼ cups flour

1¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp of salt

2 sticks unsalted butter

1¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp sour cream or Greek yogurt

¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ cup dark chocolate chips

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling (I use Sal de Ibiza, a kind of fleur de sel and a great specialty salt to have on hand because it's very flavorful and delicate.)

Directions
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Over a medium heat in a small saucepan, melt butter. The butter will begin to foam. Whisk consistently during this process. After 4-5 minutes the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan. Remove from heat once the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

startend

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and sour cream until combined.

Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed until just combined. Fold in all of the chocolate chips.

Chill your dough for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop 12 balls of dough out onto a cookie sheet, lightly flatten the tops of the dough and sprinkle with the sea salt.

Bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They might look a little underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheet for a minute before transferring to wire rack. 

These are such good cookies, I can’t say it enough. 

Pour yourself a big glass of milk or cup of coffee and enjoy some delicious cookies.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

Only in recent years have I come to love coconut. As a kid, I associated coconut with two things: tropical scenes in movies like Swiss Family Robinson and the sad pile of rejected Almond Joys left behind during Halloween candy sorting. Of course the Swiss Family Robinson association is a positive one! I put that movie on a pedestal, but the reality of coconut, in Almond Joy form, was too much for this kid.

Luckily my tastes have matured - somewhat - and I find coconut desserts delicious which makes the combination of my favorite cookie and coconut the perfect marriage of traditional and tropical. The flavors really work well together. The toasted coconut provides just enough coconut flavor and a really nice texture.

Best part of baking? Tasting the dough.

And this cookie dough is almost better than the cookies.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

     original recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

¾ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.

To toast the coconut, scatter the coconut in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and heat in the oven for 3 minutes, stir, and return to the oven for about 2 minutes. These times will vary depending on your oven so keep an eye on the coconut. Remove from oven when the majority of the coconut is a soft golden color, do not burn it!

In a small bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a standing mixer cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the coconut and chocolate chips. Eat dough.

Spoon the dough out onto your cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. 

Learn from my mistake and make these cookies larger than I did. 

When it comes to cookies, bigger is better.