Chewy Brown Butter-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
| June 17, 2010 | Posted by Lauren Keating under Cake and Pastry, Desserts, Indulge |
Psst! Hey… you! Over here. I have cookies.
Not just any cookies: soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies. With brown butter. Because what isn’t better with the addition of brown butter?
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a dessert. I’ve been trying to stick to the whole healthy thing. But these last few weeks? They’ve been very healthy; some might even say too healthy. And life is all about balance. No matter how delicious my healthy recipes are, if I don’t get a sweet treat every now and then I get very cranky.
And these cookies are just what the doctor ordered if you’re in need of a treat! Their delicate crumb and deep, nutty, toffee-like flavor has driven me to distraction. I had originally planned to use them for ice cream sandwiches, but they were so good on their own that before I knew it, there were only two left! (There also may have been a very pathetic instance of me standing in front of the open freezer, eating dough that I had put in there to bake another day. Who had time for baking?) I decided I had better seize the opportunity while I still could, and sandwiched some vanilla bean ice cream between my last two cookies. I immediately set aside any doubt that I had harbored about the potential for the ice cream to ruin a thing that was already too good to be true. It was easily one of the best ice cream sandwiches I’ve ever eaten.
I’ve already made a mental list of events that I can make these cookies for. Because I clearly can’t be trusted with them sitting unclaimed in my kitchen. If you have more restraint than I do — or are generous enough to share them with coworkers or neighbors who will suddenly be your best friends – I highly recommend making these. ASAP.
Chewy cookies not your cup of tea? Try my recipe for Crispy Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Chewy Brown Butter-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown butter gives these tender cookies a deep toffee-like flavor and a slight saltiness that renders them irresistible. The dough will be very soft — if necessary, pop it into the fridge for 10 minutes to firm it up and make it easier to work with. The dough can also be formed into a log and frozen for quick and easy slice and bake cookies whenever you feel the need. Just slice the frozen dough into rounds and add 5 minutes to the baking time.
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 Tbs instant espresso powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli)
Preheat oven to 365 F.
Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to melt, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning. Continue cooking until the butter turns a golden brown (the color of caramel sauce) and has a slightly nutty aroma — this should take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the espresso power. Let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together the brown butter mixture, sugars, and vanilla. Beat in the egg.
Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients — the dough will be very soft but should hold its shape. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop rounded teaspoons of dough into a cookie sheet lines with parchment or a silpat. Bake 10-14 minutes or until the centers are just set. Slide the parchment off the hot pan and allow to cool completely.
Yields 30 cookies.
These look so good!! What a great combination of flavors. I especially like the brown butter
Those look amazing!!! Voted, too — good luck …
foodfloozie.blogspot.com
I’ve been trying to healthify my life as well…at least until my leg heals and I can go back to eating as many desserts as I want without gaining fifteen pounds. So now…dessert only once a week! This is going on the rotation…pronto. And I’ve been known to eat cookie dough and buttercream frosting out of the freezer. Just, you know. To get my mind off the fact that it’s sitting there, waiting for me to eat it
These look awesome!
Yum! These cookies look so good! Just voted for your stuffed indian flatbread
I can’t wait to try that recipe!
Oh! These cookies look delicious…so tasty, love the idea of adding expresso powder…yummier with ice cream
These look amazing! I love adding a bit of coffee taste to cookies, it’s amazing the added flavor it gives and the ice cream – heaven for summer. =) Thanks for sharing again a perfect recipe I want to try.
Have a great weekend.
Oh..does that look good-
sandy toe
I know what you mean about getting cranky if you don’t have a sweet every once in a while! These would certainly take care of any crankiness I might experience!
There is nothing like butter. Except if it’s browned for an even more intense, caramelized taste. Ooh wow. These cookies are amazing! Soft and chewy are the best texture for cookies!
Oooh I saw you tweet about these and you are right – worth the wait! Scrumptious!!
I love soft cookies and these sound really easy to make (I love recipes with ingredients that I have on-hand!) I could easily eat a whole bunch of your ice cream sandwiches!
These look fantastic, Lauren! I LOVE that you used browned butter.
Love this recipe and quite a few more on your site as well! I blog about chocolate and I’m gong to be posting this recipe on my blog today with reference to you and your website and with trackbacks. Love the site!
OMG! This looks like dinner tonight! Seriously, it’s warm enough that I’d gladly sink my teeth into a wonderful ice cream cookie sandwich and call it a day.
Yum! These sound just like the Neiman Marcus cookies but with browned butter. Love the ice cream sandwich idea!
i just made a half batch of these and i gobbled up 3 of the hugest ones already!
boy these are SO GOOD.
a light crust shatters the moment you bite into the cookie, giving way to a chewy, moist , dense chocolate chip laden interior. mmmmm
just be sure not to over-bake these! and they taste best warm! (though that might be because none survived the cooling down period hahhaha)
i have an issues with these super-yummy cookies though, the espresso taste doesnt come through in the final product at all, thought i doubled the amounbt of espresso powder. perhaphs quadrupling the amount of espresso wouyld do the trick! also, i cut the sugar by a third but still find them overly sweet.
but overall, im gonna be making these little gems over and over again! thanks for agreat recipie! you’ve got yourself a new fan!
You say espresso and browned butter and I say…I’m IN. Just two of my favorite things wrapped together in a cookie. Perfect!
These turned out so good, everyone loved them! Thanks for the great recipe!!