Chocolate Chip Cookies

If there is one cookie I love on a cold, winter day it's the classic, American chocolate chip cookie. It's that great mixture of brown sugar with that hint of molasses and that bittersweet chocolate. And then there's that texture: a nice chewy texture that really makes these cookies shine. While Grandma's recipe may always be a classic, some of us may have noticed they don't taste quite as sweet as they used to, or perhaps a little different. The reason for that is simple: Our chocolate has changed dramatically from those old recipes. The cacao percentage has gone up, and that leaves us with a more bitter chocolate than the classic recipes were built for. So, with changing ingredients we need a new recipe to compensate.
When looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, we wanted something that captured all our favorite parts of the cookie and then added something more. Adding kosher salt created a pleasant look and heightened the sweetness of the cookie, and just for fun we garnished them with sea salt. Instead of normally purchased chocolate chips, we used a bar of chocolate and roughly chopped them ourselves.


Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 ice cube
• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar tightly packed
• 8oz semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4" chunks
• Sea salt for garnish

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over high heat. Swirl the pan constantly while it cooks until particles begin to turn golden brown and the butter starts to smell nutty (about 5 minutes). Remove from the heat and continue to swirl the pan around until the butter is a rich brown (about another 15 seconds).
2. Transfer the butter to a medium bowl and whisk in the ice cube then transfer to the refrigerator to allow to cool completely (about 20 minutes), whisking occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, place the white sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Whisk either with a stand or electric mixer until the mixture is pale brownish-yellow (about 5 minutes in a stand mixer).
4. Once the browned butter has cooled, add it and the brown sugar to the egg mixture and mix on medium speed to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix on low until it's just barely combined but some dry flour still remains. Add the chocolate and mix on low until the dough all comes together, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate the dough at least overnight.
5. To bake, preheat the oven to 325F. Using a spoon, place scoops of the cookie dough onto a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet to the size you wish. Transfer the sheet to the oven and bake until golden brown around the edges (about 15 minutes), rotating the pans halfway through baking.
6. Once done, while the cookies are still hot, sprinkle with sea salt and gently press down to embed. Let cool for 2 minutes on the sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to let finish cooling.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for remaining cookie dough.