Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter: are you familiar with this phenomenon? The one in which you cook butter until it's melted, but then you keep cooking it until it bubbles and spits and the milk solids turn brown, and suddenly you have a pan full of warm, nutty, glorious brown butter.

I think up until now I've only seen it used in savory dishes (particularly pasta dishes, usually paired with sage, yum), so when I saw a cookie recipe using it, I thought, Genius!

I considered leaving the coconut out of these, and then I thought about doubling it, and then I left it just as it was. I do wish they'd had a bit more coconut flavor and texture, so next time I might try doubling it. And after that, I'm going to make Oatmeal Brown Butter cookies. And then I'm going to jump on the treadmill.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1/4 shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper and spread coconut in a single layer over one. Toast in the oven for 4 minutes. Rotate pan and toss coconut. Bake an additional 4 minutes, or until lightly browned and toasted. Set aside to cool and replace parchment paper if necessary.
2. Place butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. As it melts, it will start to bubble and sizzle. Give the pan a swish and continue to cook the butter foaming and golden brown, about 10 minutes more. If the butter is browning too quickly, turn the heat to medium-low for the last few minutes of cooking. The butter solids will turn a dark brown, but take care not to let them burn. Pour brown butter into a small bowl to let cool slightly.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine both sugars. Add the brown butter and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated.
5. To the sugar mixture, add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat until just incorporated.
6. Add all the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate pieces and toasted coconut.
7. Spoon heaps of dough about the size of a golf ball onto lined sheet pans. Press down gently to flatten slightly (I forgot this step, whoops!). Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes of baking sheets and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Joy the Baker