Browned Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh boy, life has gotten busy. Between tests, homework, studying, sorority stuff, and spending time with my friends, baking and posting has been delayed a bit! However, I’m making up for it by sharing with you one of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted.

Yeah, that sounds sort of cocky to be saying that about my own cookie, but I make things the way I like them for a reason. If my word wasn’t enough, my dad and uncle said the same thing.

These cookies use a slightly unusual mixing method, which allows the browned butter, which starts melted, to firm up a bit as cooler ingredients are added. It slightly mimics the effect of cooling the butter down without actually having to waste the time doing it. Score!

The cookies are rich, from both the brown butter and the egg yolk, and the use of all dark brown sugar. The base recipe is adapted from my own Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but it’s amped up a couple notches. If the brown butter wasn’t enough nuttiness, I threw in some super-toasted, almost-burned pecans. Make sure they’re dark, my dad insisted that’s what made the cookies so darn good. And while I fully encourage pecans if possible, if you don’t like them/don’t have them, you can certainly use a different nut. Just get ‘em super toasty!

I also used an assortment of chocolate, from chips to chunks to milk chocolate to dark chocolate. I loved the variety, but if you only have one kind on hand, again, no biggie. These cookies are versatile as far as add-ins go. Just make sure you follow the mixing method, and all will be awesome(ly delicious).

Hope everyone’s beginning of fall is going wonderfully, and I hope you all enjoy the cookies!

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Browned Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 30 cookies

Ingredients
1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (8 oz.) dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoons (1/8 oz.) vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (1/2 pound) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz. chocolate (the best quality you can afford, chopped into 1/2 in. chunks; I used a mixture of dark chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chips, and milk chocolate chips. Use whatever you like best!)
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
Good quality sea salt (such as Fleur de Sel or Murray River Pink Salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a small skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter and continue cooking until the butter is a dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma. This will take about 1-3 minutes, but you’ll need to constantly swirl the skillet and watch it otherwise it’ll burn!
Transfer the brown butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add brown sugar and vanilla. Beat until well incorporated. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until smooth, with no sugar lumps in it.
Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes then beat on high for 30 seconds. Repeat the process of resting and beating 2 more times until the mixture is thick and smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture until just combined then stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
Using a medium sized cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet and arrange them about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with a fine dusting of sea salt. **Note: don't refrigerate the cookie dough before scooping! This is one of few doughs that doesn't do well after refrigerating, it just gets crumbly and hard to work with. If you want to wait to bake them, scoop and then refrigerate/freeze. Don't do it after.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies look just set and no longer doughy in the middle.
Let cookies sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
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Comments

BB'sCulinaryJourney says:

September 28, 2012 at 4:07 pm

Those cookies look so delicious…..you seriously had me at browned butter,lol :)

Sarah says:

October 4, 2012 at 10:58 am

Thanks for stopping by my site :)
I’m totally falling for your recipes here. Sweet stuff all around. Yum!
Excuse me while I go eat some chocolate right now (one must Always taste the chocolate before using it in those yummie looking cookies, no doubt there!)