Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

If I could only make one cookie for the rest of my life, it would be these. My brown butter chocolate chunk cookies have crisp edges, soft and chewy centers, and plenty of melty chocolate in every bite. The browned butter and dark brown sugar give them a rich, caramel flavor that makes them a recipe you'll come back to again and again.

Ingredients

• 200g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour

• 4g (¾ tsp) baking soda

• 1½ sticks salted butter, divided

• 200g (1 cup) dark brown sugar

• 50g (¼ cup) granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 2 large egg yolks

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 6 oz chocolate chunks (reserve a handful of the chunks for pressing onto the tops of the cookies before baking)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Add 1 stick of butter to a light-colored skillet and place over medium-high heat. As soon as the butter melts, whisk continuously and quickly. Do not stop stirring. The butter will foam, then begin turning golden with brown specks forming on the bottom. Remove immediately as it will continue cooking from the residual heat in the pan.

4. Pour the browned butter into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 1 minute. Add the remaining ½ stick butter, cut into small pieces, and stir until completely melted. The butter should melt gently without sizzling.

5. Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the egg and egg yolks, whisking until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract.

6. Add the flour mixture and fold just until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

7. Divide the dough into eight 2-ounce scoops (about ¼ cup each). Place four dough balls on each prepared baking sheet, then press a few extra chocolate chunks onto the tops of each one.

8. Bake one baking sheet at a time for 10–11 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and set while the centers still look slightly underbaked.

9. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before serving.

Tips

• Chop your own chocolate bar instead of using chocolate chips for the best flavor and gooey chocolate pockets. My favorite is Tony's Chocolonely Milk Chocolate.

• Sprinkle a small pinch of flaky sea salt over the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.

• I use this 2-ounce cookie scoop to portion the dough so all of the cookies bake evenly and come out the same size.