Back in May I set myself the challenge of finding and perfecting the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.
I read a number of blogs, scoured cookery books and watched a lot of Youtube videos to understand how to get the perfect cookie. I was looking for something that is soft and chewy in the middle, slightly crunchy on the outside and has a deep, rich flavour.
There were lots of trials, with probably hundreds of cookies being made. My main taste testers were the girls in the boarding house of the last school I worked at – and let me tell you they know what to look for in a chocolate chip cookie. Each week I’d bring in a new batch and they would taste and critique – ‘a bit less sugar’…‘larger chocolate chips’…‘milk not dark chocolate.’ So, after many variations…
…here is the finished product.
There is an optional step of browning butter, this adds a lovely earthy-caramel flavour which I love, but if you’re in a rush just skip this step and use melted butter. The balance of the brown and white sugar again gives a rich flavour to the cookies. When it comes to the chocolate, I love Cadburys but it’s completely up to you. Make the chunks big to make the cookies feel super luxurious.
I hope this is the only cookie recipe you will ever need! Enjoy and pass on the recipe!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 16
Ingredients
115g butter (salted)
150g light brown sugar
50g caster sugar
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
180g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g milk chocolate, chopped into good sized chunks
(see notes for ingredient replacement and store cupboard substitutions below)
Method
Preheat oven to 180°F (160°C fan). Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Browning the butter. Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add the butter. Allow the butter to melt in the pan, then bring it to a bubble. Once a cappuccino-like foams starts to form and the bubbles move up the pan your butter is starting to brown. Wait 10 seconds for the foam to rise, then remove the pan from the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the bubbles subside and you can see the milk solids have browned. Leave to cool for a minute or two.
NOTE: you can leave out the brown butter step if you don't have time. Just follow the recipe as usual using melted butter and leave out the 2 tsp of water in the next step.
Place the sugars, browned butter, 2 tsp water and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat for 1 minute to form a paste.
Add the egg and whisk for a good 3-4 minutes until light ribbons fall off the whisk (see the picture).
Sift in the flour, then add the bicarbonate of soda and chocolate chunks. Fold into the mixture with a spatula or spoon (be careful not to over mix as this leads to a tougher, cakey cookie).
You've got two options now: 1) chill the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm it up, 2) spoon onto a baking sheet straight away. If the dough is a bit soft I suggest popping it in the freezer or fridge to firm it up.
Place walnut-sized balls of mixture onto the baking sheet, but do not press them down.
Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the edges have started to barely brown – keep an eye on them.
Leave to cool for a bit (if you can!).
Notes, substitutions and variations:
Flour: plain flour works well, but if you have self-raising you can use this too. It results in cookies with bigger air pockets. Ground almonds can be used, but produce a very different tasting cookie. If you like the almond flavour then go for it!
Size: Do make them bigger, just adapt the baking time
Sugar: use whatever sugar you have, this will just change the colour and flavour profile of the cookie. Brown sugars give a deeper, caramel-like flavour.
Chocolate: I personally like Cadburys dairy milk in these, but use whatever you have. I sometimes don’t have chocolate so will use whatever I have in the cupboard, from crushed oreos to nuts to maltesers.
Butter: Butter really is best for these and it definitely produces the best flavour. However, if you only have margarine then go for it, the texture will be more cakey but they will still be delicious.
Other flavours:
Thyme, rosemary and white chocolate: ½ tsp fresh chopped thyme, ½ tsp fresh chopped rosemary. Add to the melted/browned butter to infuse before beating with the sugar.
