Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp. molasses
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semisweet chips*
- ½ cup chopped pecans
*If you’re omitting the pecans, add another ½ cup of chocolate chips
Place half the butter (8 tablespoons, 1 stick) in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat. It will froth and crackle quite a bit, swirl the butter around in the skillet every once in a while. The crackling will slowly die down, which is when the butter should begin to brown. Leave it on the heat for another minute or two, until the butter turns an amber-brown color and forms brown bits around the edges. Take off the heat and pour into a small bowl; allow to cool for 20 minutes.
Beat the remaining ½ cup butter with the brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-low speed for about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and molasses. Pour the cooled brown butter into the bowl, along with the granulated sugar and beat for 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat for another minute. Add the salt, baking soda, and flour, beating on low speed until everything is incorporated. Beat the chips and pecans until evenly mixed, only about 30 seconds.
Scoop the dough onto a piece of parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 15 minutes before you’d like to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop the dough into balls about 1 ½ Tbsp. large and place on parchment-lined baking sheets about 2” apart. If you have leftover cookie dough that isn’t being baked yet, put it back in the fridge. Bake for about 12 minutes, switching the cookie sheets halfway through baking time. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.