Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Made WITHOUT a mixer.  And…in ONE BOWL.  Actually, a pot.

I had my doubts about this recipe, kids. 

We are still here in Thailand, and because a mixer is heavy, and carting said mixer in my already stuffed suitcase would have put it over the weight limit for the plane, and because WHO ON EARTH takes a stand mixer in their suitcase to Thailand…well, the mixer stayed behind in Texas.

I thought cookies would be out of the question.

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe starts with beating softened butter with the sugars until it is nice and light and whippy, so I knew that recipe would never be made here.  Since I had no way to beat the butter and sugars together other than my whisk and rubber spatula, I knew I needed to get a little creative.

I don’t like settling for just any old cookie.  No one should.  So, since beating the batter wasn’t an option, I decided to brown the butter, because brown butter is just BETTER.  It makes the dough nutty and rich, and just more flavorful.  So, with the terribly expensive butter I purchased at the grocery store, I set out with a big stock pot (it’s what I have!) and the browning began.

I could have taken the butter to a really rich stage, but, I opted to go JUST BROWN ENOUGH.  You know, where it has bubbled a few times, and the little brown bits are making their appearance, and the smell just starts to get you.

Yum.

Once that was done, it was off with the heat.  I was feeling pretty good about it, until it came time to add the sugars.

My God, y’all, I was scared. I was mad, too.  The sugar was lumpy and bumpy and it looked like a big awful mess.  I just knew I had wasted the butter, and now these sugars, and I was going to have to throw it all away.

I didn’t.

I just kept taking my silicone scraper/spoon and smashing the sugars, over and over, until I had a pretty uniform, albeit ugly, butter/sugar combo. 

From there, I needed the dough to chill, so that the eggs wouldn’t cook when I added them.  So, into the fridge the dough went until it cooled off, about 10 minutes.  Then the eggs and vanilla.  Then the dry got dumped in.  Still, all of this only happening in the stock pot.  By the time I dumped in the chocolate chips and chunks, the dough actually looked like dough, and a quick sample taste led me to believe these would actually turn out half decent.

They turned out way better than that.

I wrapped the dough tightly and allowed it to sit in the fridge for several hours before baking, a trick most chefs swear by.  In fact, I put over half of the dough in the freezer, so that I could pull a few cookies out at a time so that we could have a fresh baked cookie when the mood struck.  Every single cookie got baked over a two week span, and every single one was fantastic.

Now, I baled all of mine in a tiny countertop oven, that gets pretty darned hot. So, my advice is for you to watch yours bake.  It should take 8-10 minutes, as they brown up quickly, or at least mine did.  The outsides get nice a crispy, but the insides stay ooey-gooey, which is exactly the way we wanted them.  Pull them out as soon as they get little brown edges, as they will continue to set on the pan…you don’t want them overbaked.  However, I let one batch get away from me, and got the bottoms too done.

Still really, really good.  I was shocked.

So, if you are without a mixer, or only feel like dirtying up one pot, here’s your recipe.  Or even if you have a mixer and several pots and bowls, this is STILL your recipe.  It’s soooo good.

Enjoy!

Yield: 30

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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The best chocolate chip cookie recipe, made in ONE pot, with NO mixer! This will quickly become your go-to cookie recipe!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups plus 2 Tbsps All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chunks (I used a chopped candy bar)
• Maldon or sea salt flakes, to top

Instructions

1. In a medium stock pot, brown the butter over medium heat. You will begin to see little bits of brown, continue stirring so as not to burn the butter. Once browned, add the sugars and mix thoroughly, getting out the lumps until smooth.
2. Chill the dough until no longer hot, about 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Add egg and yolk, stirring to combine. Add vanilla and stir.
3. Gingerly fold in the flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Do not over mix.
4. Add the chocolate chips and chunks, taking care to make sure dough is not too warm to melt the chocolate.
5. Wrap dough tightly, and place in refrigerator for 4 hours or more, or, opt to freeze dough for later use.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325. Place cookie dough in mounded balls onto baking sheets lined with a silpat or cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt flakes.
7. Bake until edges start to brown and cookies start to look set, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet. Serve warm.

Notes

The longer the dough is allowed to chill, the better the results. However, even a quickly baked cookie still turns out delicious!