Ingredients
Method
Brown the Butter
- Warm the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Let it sizzle and foam until the milk solids turn golden brown and smell toasty, about 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat right away so it does not burn.
Mix the Sugars
- Put the brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot brown butter over the sugars and whisk until everything is glossy and well blended.
Add Eggs and Vanilla
- Let the sugar and butter mixture cool for a couple minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract and mix until the batter looks smooth.
Combine Dry Ingredients
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in three portions, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain.
Fold in the Chocolate Chips
- Spoon the semisweet chocolate chips into the dough and fold them in with a spatula until they are evenly scattered.
Chill the Dough (Optional)
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes if you can. This helps the flavors develop and keeps the cookies from spreading too much, but it is not mandatory.
Preheat and Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Form tablespoon-sized balls of dough and place them on parchment-lined sheet pans about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers are just set but still soft.
Cool and Enjoy
- Rest the cookies on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. These are wonderful warm or completely cool.
Nutrition
Notes
For a dairy-free version, swap the butter for vegan butter sticks; the texture will be very similar and chilling is still helpful.
Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes deepens the nutty flavor and gives the cookies a chewier center; overnight chilling works even better.
Use a cookie scoop or a spoon and level the dough for uniform cookies that bake evenly.
Pull the cookies out the moment the edges brown and the centers still look a little underdone; they will set on the hot baking sheet.
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Scoop and freeze unbaked dough balls for up to 3 months; bake directly from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
For a salty twist, sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over each cookie just before baking.