Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredient Notes

Brown butter:

The browning happens when water evaporates from the butter and milk solids undergo the Maillard reaction. Use medium heat and stir regularly once the butter has melted. You’ll see it foam, then the foam subsides and amber-coloured specks appear at the base of the pan. Pull it off the heat at amber. Transfer immediately to a cool bowl with an ice cube and place over iced water. The difference between nutty brown butter and burnt butter is about 30 seconds.

Hazelnut spread (Nutella or similar):

It needs to be portioned into the silicone tray and frozen completely solid before assembly. If it’s still soft or only partially frozen, it will smear through the dough rather than staying as a distinct centre. Freeze for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Once frozen solid, work quickly during assembly before it starts to thaw.

70% dark chocolate (chopped):

Chopping your own chocolate into irregular pieces gives you a mix of shards and small chunks that melt at different rates. The 70% cocoa content gives a bittersweet flavour that offsets the sweetness of the brown sugar and hazelnut spread.

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Ingredients

170g (6oz) chocolate hazelnut spread
225g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
250g brown sugar
2 eggs
3 vanilla beans, halved, seeds scraped
380g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch sea salt
85g (3oz) 70% dark chocolate, chopped
85g (3oz) milk chocolate, chopped
200g dark chocolate chips
sea salt flakes

Equipment

Silicone 12-hole mini muffin tray
Medium saucepan
Large mixing bowl
Ice bath (large bowl of iced water)
Stand mixer or electric hand beaters
2 large baking trays
Baking paper
Plastic wrap

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Directions

Divide hazelnut spread between a 12 hole silicone mini muffin tray and freeze until firm.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan and cook until browned and starting to smell nutty.
Transfer to a bowl and place in a bowl of iced water. Whisk in an ice cube, then allow to cool, stirring occasionally.
When cooled, whip the butter over the ice until light, then discard ice.
Beat the sugars into butter until creamed.
Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well between each addition until light and fluffy, then beat in vanilla seeds.
Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb and the pinch sea salt together, then mix into butter mixture until a soft dough forms.
Fold in chopped chocolate and choc chips. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Remove dough from fridge and hazelnut butter from freezer.
Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
Take a portion of dough and shape it into 2 discs slightly wilder than the frozen hazelnut spread.
Press a disc of hazelnut spread in the centre, then cover with the other piece of dough to encase and shape into a round.
Place cookies on a tray or in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan force (375°F) and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
Place cookies on trays, with at least 5cm gap between each for spreading (you may need to bake in 2 batches).
Bake for 15 minutes, without opening the oven door. Sprinkle with a little sea salt as soon as they are out of the oven, then allow to cool for at least 15 minutes on the trays.

Notes

Chef Tips

Whip the brown butter cold over ice

Once the brown butter has cooled to solid over the ice bath, transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and whip it until pale and increased in volume. This step introduces air into the fat the same way creaming butter does in a traditional cookie. The result is a lighter, more tender crumb than you’d get from brown butter used while still liquid. Don’t skip the whipping stage.

Don’t open the oven during baking

The cookies need consistent heat to set their structure properly. Opening the oven door drops the temperature suddenly and can cause them to collapse or set unevenly. Set a timer for 15 minutes and leave them alone. They’ll look slightly underdone when they come out, which is correct. They continue cooking on the tray from residual heat for a few minutes after removal.

Storage

Baked cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. To revive them after a day or two, place in a 170°C oven for 5 minutes. The unbaked dough freezes well: shape into balls with the frozen hazelnut spread inside, freeze on a tray until firm, then transfer to a bag. Bake from frozen at 190°C, adding 3-4 minutes to the bake time.

FAQs

What if I don’t have a silicone muffin tray?

You can portion the hazelnut spread by scooping tablespoon-sized rounds onto a lined tray and freezing until completely solid. The shape won’t be as uniform but it will work. Aim for portions roughly 1.5cm in diameter. Any larger and they dominate the cookie; any smaller and you lose the molten centre effect.

Can I skip the 24-hour dough rest?

You can bake after just 1 hour in the fridge but the flavour and texture won’t be as developed. The enzymes in the flour need time to break down the starches. The 24-hour rest is where a good cookie becomes a great one.

Why do the cookies go into the oven cold?

Cold dough spreads more slowly than room-temperature dough, giving the cookie more time to set its structure before it spreads flat. A room-temperature dough often produces a thinner, crispier result. Baking from cold gives you the thick, fudgy centre this recipe is designed for.