Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love a good cookie!!  I love sharing them.  I love eating them warm out of the oven.  I love ending a good day or a hard day with a cookie.  My kids love when I surprise them with a cookie at the end of dinner 'just because.'

Insert:  brown butter.  Chocolate Chips.  More brown sugar than white.  Make a double batch and freeze what you don't need.  Then you can bake 5 cookies or 2 dozen on a whim!  

*Warning:  These cookies are highly addictive!  And, they require a bit of planning ahead.  Cutting the chill times makes a decent cookie.  Chilling as suggested makes an out-of-this-world cookie!

- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 tsp cornstarch

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp milk

- 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Brown the butter.  (To brown butter, melt the butter over medium heat and stir or whisk often.  Once melted, the butter begins to foam.  Continue to heat, while stirring or whisking often.  The butter will begin to brown!  You'll notice brown specks in the bottom and you'll smell an amazing nutty aroma!)

Refrigerate the brown butter for 2-3 hours (or up to 12 hours).  I like to put mine in the bowl of the stand mixer so that its ready for the next step at the right time!

Remove brown butter and beat the chilled brown butter with stand mixer or hand held mixer on medium speed until completely smooth and creamy.  Add the granulated and brown sugars.  Beat on medium high speed until light in color and combined, about 2 minutes.  Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract on high speed.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.  On low speed, slowly mix into the wet ingredients until combined.  Then, beat in the milk on medium speed.  Add the chocolate chips and mix on low for 5-10 seconds until combined.  

Cover the dough and chill.  You can chill the dough for only 1.5 to 3 hours, or you can make it up to 2 or 3 days in advance.  

When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.  Remove the dough as you preheat the oven.  Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to make it easier to scoop.  Scoop as many cookies as desired to bake right away!  Bake for 9-11 minutes.  (They will appear soft in the middle, though brown on the bottom.)  

To freeze, scoop onto a tray close enough to fit a bunch but not touching.  Flash freeze for 30 min.  Then, put the cookie dough in a freezer bag.  They bake amazing straight from freezer to oven!