The Best Dang Chocolate Chip Cookie You Ever Ate!

*Warning: Consuming these cookies may be hazardous to your waistline!

This recipe comes compliments of my youngest daughter, Olivia. It is indeed the BEST chocolate chip cookie I have ever eaten! These are the cookies everyone looks forward to at our holiday gatherings. The cookies your friends ask will ask you to bake, just because. The cookies you almost wish you never met. All that being said, you should definitely throw a batch together!

You might be wondering what’s so special about these cookies? A few things actually. One is the brown butter, another is the vanilla content. Caramelizing the butter does something magical! Although it requires a bit more time, commit and be patient. It will be worth it. That extra dose (or 5) of vanilla lends itself perfectly to the brown butter, making your mouth water. Think Pavlov. Additionally, this decadent dough is hand mixed. The result is a fluffy, tender inside with a perfectly crisp outer edge that only the proper blending of butter and brown sugar can create.

Now that we both want a cookie, let’s get to baking! Here’s what you’ll need.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c all purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 egg & 1 yolk, room temperature

• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 Tbs (yes, tablespoons) vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter

• 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (we use Ghirardelli)

• Optional (but highly recommended) Fleur de sel for topping

  Directions:

• Add butter to a medium saucepan (choose stainless, or a light bottomed pan so that you can mind the carmelization process carefully). Begin to melt your butter over medium heat. As it’s melting, combine your dry ingredients and set aside. Once your butter is melted, it’s time to pay careful attention! Stir continuously with a silicone spatula or whisk. It should start to bubble, You’ll observe a foam forming on the top layer. Again, you should be GENTLY stirring continuously throughout the process and scraping down the sides of the pan. The butter will turn golden brown beneath the foam. You’ll notice a nutty aroma coming from the pan. At this point, you should start to see some small brown bits forming along the sides and at the base of your pan. That is the gold! Those are what make magic. Remove from heat and cool completely in a large, heat safe bowl. You will need a good sized mixing bowl for this.

• When your butter has cooled completly, add your sugars and mix well. Next add your egg, yolk, and vanilla extract. Mix until incorporated. The mixture will be glossy, but it will have some grit from the sugars. Begin to add your dry ingredients, about 1/3 at a time. Fold in each addition in well. Don’t over mix. Lastly, add your chips.

  Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 24 hours.

  *Some things to note. If you want your cookies to have that tender fluffy center described above, you will need to chill the dough for at least one hour. I prefer several hours to overnight. This gives all those wonderful flavors time to marry. However, if you are looking for more of a thin, chewy cookie, with a crispier edge you can bake them immediately. In this case, be sure to have your oven preheated and baking sheets prepped ahead of time.

  **Some more things to note…we don’t all want the same cookie! For example, some of us perfer fewer chips. Some of us LOVE them salted! Some of us don’t. Do what works for you. If you zoom in on my image you will see two types of cookies. Each were made with the same dough. The batch in the background is salted and has a crispier edge, the batch in the center is softer and unsalted. My point is you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Make whatever cookie you want to eat.

  Baking:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Allow your dough to sit at room temp for 15 minutes or so. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a heaping 1.5 Tbs cookie scoop. Arrange cookies 8-10 per sheet. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle with Fleur de sel. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to cool or pour yourself a glass of milk and dig in!

  Yield is approximately 16 cookies. I double and sometimes triple this recipie.