brown butter + sea salt + chocolate chip cookies.

a couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a gal on Instagram who had posted a picture of these cookies she'd made.  I couldn't get the image out of my mind, nor the combination of the words brown butter, sea salt, and chocolate, so I finally broke down and asked her for the recipe.  she said it was from the food blog, Ambitious Kitchen.

upon seeing the word "ambitious," my shoulders immediately slumped.

truthfully, when it comes to food related business, I don't consider myself the ambitious type at all.  I prefer recipes that are easy, simple (as in they don't require a mile-long list of ingredients), and most importantly, aren't overly time consuming.  because let's face it.  with all the demands that come with raising a (large) family, I don't have time to be fussing in the kitchen for hours on end.  the quicker I can throw something together, the faster I can escape out of the house to catch a break.  or, you know, something like that.

well, being the sucker that I am for anything chocolate, plus, coupled with the latest sea salt rage, I decided to look up the recipe anyway.  much to my delight, the only step that involved a little more monkey business was browning the butter.  even still, it added just a few extra minutes onto the time it normally takes me to make cookies.  totally doable.

and oh my goodness.  believe me when I say it's worth the extra effort.  like, seriously!  how have I lived to be 36 and never heard of brown butter?  once browned, it takes on a nutty aroma.  this enhances the flavor of the cookies tremendously!

hands down, the most amazing chocolate chip cookie I've ever tasted.  like, ever.      

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (I used salted)
• 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar (I used light)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom  of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Chill your dough for 2 hours in the refrigerator, or place in freezer for 30 minutes if you are super eager.
4. Once dough is chilled measure 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. It doesn’t have to be perfectly rolled. Place dough balls on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and sprinkle each dough ball with a little bit of sea salt.
5. With your oven set to 350 degrees, bake the cookies 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden brown. They will look a bit underdone in the middle, but will continue to cook once out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the sheets and sprinkle with a little extra sea salt if desired. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets after a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*side note: I used my large cookie scoop to measure the cookie dough instead of 1/4 cup like the recipe says.  to me, 1/4 cup sounded rather big.

delicious with a cold glass of milk!  enjoy!

-jessica