Got Milk? Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies were my first solo foray into baking, as well as one of the earliest posts I wrote for this blog (back in 2009). I was in the mood to bake and decided to make some of these classics. We start off with the usual suspects: white and brown sugars and butter. But not just any kind of butter...

Browned butter!

Browned butter (or beurre noisette, if you want to be fancy) is magical. Like bacon, anything it touches is turned delicious. It's especially good on fresh biscuits. It also makes a great pasta sauce, but that's a recipe for another day!

As it cooks, the butter turns a deep amber color and gives off an amazing nutty aroma. It imparts a toasty caramel flavour to the finished cookies for a taste that's reminiscent of English toffee. Finish with a sprinkle of salt on top for a very addictive sweet and salty dessert. 

As always, recipe after the jump!

The recipe that started it all... The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

At the risk of sounding dramatic, this is THE recipe that sparked my interest in cooking, baking, and all things food. I was bored and hungry one summer day many years ago and found this recipe on the back of a bag of chocolate chips. These chocolate chip cookies are simple to make and simply amazing.

I am all for using butter in baking. The flavour cannot be beat. However, I am a fan of chewy chocolate chip cookies. Butter tends to make the dough spread and creates a crispier cookie. This particular cookie recipe uses shortening. It melts more slowly in the oven, allowing the cookie to set a little puffier. While there are probably thousands of recipes for chocolate chip cookies, this one has yet to fail me. To boost flavour, I used half butter and half butter-flavoured shortening today, so the cookies came out a little flatter than usual. I also threw in some Skor toffee bits along with the chocolate chips. Yum.

Original Chipits Cookies

Cream together 1 cup Golden Flavour Crisco Shortening, 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Beat in 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt. Gradually blend into creamed mixture.

Stir in 300 g chocolate chips and 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional). Drop small spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Makes 6 dozen cookies.

Image: Property of beets and bites