Brown-Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I found the recipe for these cookies in the July issue of Food and Wine magazine. It was developed by Lori Baker and her huge cookies will please cookie monsters of any age. The cookies are made with browned butter and they need an overnight chill before they can be formed and baked. Chilling allows the dough to soak up any liquid that has been added to it and, in this case, it also prevents the butter from melting and pooling when the dough goes in a hot oven. Experts think that drier and firmer doughs produce cookies that have a better consistency. My experts, specifically the Silver Fox and our teenage neighbors, weren't terribly concerned with consistency when they gave these saucer sized cookie a big thumbs up. These cookies are cracker crisp and perfect for dunking in a glass of cold milk. If you prefer something softer and more chewy, you'll have to play with the baking time. I suspect these are good keepers, but they disappeared before I could test and speak with informed certainty about their shelf life. This is a nice cookie and I think those of you who try this recipe will be pleased. Here's how the cookies are made.

Brown-Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Lori Baker and Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1) In a medium saucepan, cook butter over moderate heat until it is browned and nutty-smelling, about 5 minutes. Transfer butter to a small bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.
3) In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat room temperature browned butter with granulated and light brown sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl halfway through, about 7 minutes. Beat in whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla.
4) At low speed, beat in dry ingredients, scraping down bowl as needed. Mix in chopped chocolate. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
5) When ready to proceed, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough onto each baking sheet. There should be 6 cookies per sheet. Bake one sheet at a time for about 18 minutes, until cookies are just firm and golden brown on the bottom. Transfer sheet to a rack to cool. Repeat to bake the remaining cookies. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature. Yield: 18 cookies.

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