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Ali Tila shared her recipe for sweet and salty brown butter chocolate chip cookies with Jessica.

Jessica proclaimed that anything with brown butter has to be good, and these delicious cookies are no different. It’s the first recipe that  Tila developed in culinary school.

She shared that she was a teacher for years, and one of the things she enjoys about cooking is being able to teach her children those skills.

This segment aired on California Cooking With Jessica Holmes Episode 31.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients, for 18 large cookies:

  • 3 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 cup of unsalted butter
  • ½ cup of firmly-packed light brown sugar
  • ½ cup of firmly-packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups of good-quality semisweet chocolate chips
  • Fleur de sel, for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium-size bowl.
  3. Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. (Note: Using a light-colored pan will help you see the color of the butter as it browns.) The butter will begin to foam. Stir the butter consistently and cook until it is a dark amber color (darker browned butter is better for baked goods), about 6 minutes. Transfer the butter immediately to a separate bowl to prevent burning. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, combine all the sugars, eggs, vanilla and browned butter. Add the flour mixture in two parts and mix until just combined. Do not overmix your dough. Fold the chocolate chips in gently.
  5. Scoop the dough with an ice cream scoop, large cookie scoop or large spoon and drop onto the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Press down on the cookies lightly to flatten them a little bit. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour on the cookie sheets. (Chilling the cookie dough before baking helps the cookies retain their shape when baked—no more flat cookies.) You can also freeze the dough at this point and pull it out whenever you want cookies! Freeze it in an airtight container and allow it to thaw on the cookie sheets for 15 minutes before baking.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
  7. Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator and sprinkle the cookies lightly with fleur de sel. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until just cooked through and slightly golden. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Chef Tip: You can store the dough as a log. Wrap the finished dough with plastic and roll it into a 5-inch (12.5-cm) log. Chill until ready to use. You can cut slices off the dough and bake.

Recipe reprinted with permission from “101 Epic Dishes: Recipes that Teach You How to Make the Classics Even More Delicious”