The “Perfect” Cookie

The “perfect” chocolate chip cookie is totally subjective. I get that. But, if you like your cookies to be chewy-in-the-centre, crisp-around-the-edges, with a caramel-nuttiness and a perfect balance of sweet and salty, then these cookies are for you! As an added bonus, these little gems come together without any fancy equipment – all you need is a little arm-power (think of it as a mini work-out before you indulge your sweet tooth!) and a cookie appetite. Let’s do this thing!

Over the years, I have tried many chocolate chip cookie recipes, and I do mean many, many, many recipes. Some have been good, some have even been close to great, but none has delivered on all fronts. If you’re going to go for an indulgent treat, my theory is that it had better be the best darn treat you’ve ever tasted. Make it count when you indulge!! And that’s why I came up with this recipe – chewy on the inside, crunchy around the edges, with deep notes of caramel from the brown butter. Everything I’m looking for in the perfect chocolate chip cookie.

Various wet and dry ingredients spread out on a table.

What Are You Putting In Your Cookies?

So, what makes up the “perfect” chocolate chip cookie? Well, ingredients and ratios do matter when it comes to baking, and I’ve got you covered.

Flour:

The first thing that makes up a perfectly perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie is the type of flour you use. For the perfect chew, I use a mix of all-purpose and bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than other flours, which lends to a chewier texture – just what we’re looking for, right? Right.

Eggs:

The next ingredient to consider is eggs. I use two whole eggs and an extra yolk to yield an extra chewy, tender and brownie-like texture. Easy peasy.

Sugar:

On to sugar…the type of sugar used in a cookie recipe can significantly impact the end result. Sounds a little intense, but it’s true. Granulated sugar makes for a thin and crisp cookie, while brown sugar lends itself to cakier, taller cookies that don’t spread as much. After many tests, I found that an even mix of both granulated sugar and dark brown sugar makes for the best end result – balance at its finest! Be sure to use dark brown and not light brown sugar for an even more robust caramel flavour.

Chocolate:

Every chocolate chip cookie needs chocolate, yes? But I’d be remiss to call these chocolate CHIP cookies, since the perfect chocolate chip cookie needs chunks, not chips. Roughly chopping your chocolate means that you’ll get different shapes and sizes of chocolate randomly dispersed throughout your cookie – basically, a party in your mouth! I like to use a mix of dark and milk chocolate to keep everyone happy. Feel free to use any type of chocolate, as long as it’s chopped by hand.

Brown Butter:

And now for the most important element of the “perfect” chocolate chunk cookie – the Brown Butter. This ingredient adds a depth of flavour to your cookies that will knock your socks off. If you’ve never tried brown butter, you’re really missing out. I don’t say that in a flippant way. I mean it. As in, your life is not complete until you’ve had brown butter. Although browning the butter does add an extra step, I promise it will be worth the extra 5 minutes. If we don’t have that kind of extra time on our hands, what do we have?

Brown butter (or beurre noisette if you want to get fancy) is just butter cooked in a skillet until the milk solids have browned, giving it a toasty and nutty flavour. To brown your butter for this recipe, place 3/4 cup (170 grams) of butter (cut into 1-inch cubes) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted, gently swirling the pan occasionally (about a minute or so).

Once the butter has melted, begin to stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. The butter will begin to sizzle, then foam (turn the heat down to medium-low if the sputtering is getting a little out of hand). Continue stirring constantly until the foaming subsides slightly and the butter turns to a golden brown. You’ll know you’re done browning your butter when the milk solids (the sandy bits at the bottom of the pan) become toasty and golden, and the butter smells nutty and caramel-y.

The whole process will take about 5 minutes. Brown butter is about 10 seconds away from burnt butter, so keep your eye on the pan and keep stirring those milk solids around so they toast evenly. Once the brown specks at the bottom of the pan are a deep golden colour, immediately remove the pan from the heat and transfer the mixture (including all the toasty brown bits!) to a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking process.

At this point, you will have cooked off most of the liquid from the butter during the browning process. This moisture is needed to create the chewy texture we’re all looking for in the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Not a problem! All you’ll have to do is incorporate some water content back into the dough by adding 1/4 cup (57 grams) of soft butter (cut into small cubes) to the brown butter once it’s off the heat and stirring until melted. Best of both worlds – deliciously nutty and caramel-y flavour with the moisture level needed for the perfect chew!

Get Your Cookie Dough On!

Once you’ve browned the butter, add the sugars, vanilla and salt to the butter mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Whisk mixing wet and dry ingredients in a bowl.

Then add the eggs and yolk and whisk until smooth. Really get your back into this one…we don’t need a stand mixer for this recipe but we do need some muscle to fully incorporate the sugars into the dough. This next step incorporates a technique used by America’s Test Kitchen – the iconic authority on all things baking. In order to allow the sugars time to dissolve and deepen the flavour of the dough, the mixture is whisked for 30 seconds, then allowed to rest for 3 minutes. This is repeated two additional times, yielding a dough that is smooth, shiny and fully incorporated.

Next, sift the flour mixture over the brown butter mixture and GENTLY fold until just combined. Don’t over mix at this stage. We have gone to great lengths to get the perfect texture for these perfect cookies so don’t go ruining them by over-working the dough!

Wet and dry ingredients and pieces of chocolate being mixed in a bowl.

Next GENTLY fold in your roughly chopped chocolate. No chips here, right?

Now, here’s where I might lose you. But stay with me, I promise this next step will be worth it. After the cookie dough is complete, it needs to be chilled in order to maximize flavour and texture. This chilling process needs to happen for a minimum of 3 hours, but it’s best if you leave the dough in the fridge overnight. I know, this sounds a little extreme. And truth be told, I have been known to bake off a cookie or two before the end of the minimum chilling time. But, if you can exert some will-power and hold off for the greater good, I promise the results will be worth it. Chilling your cookie dough not only accentuates and deepens the caramel-y and nutty flavour, but it also ensures a thick and chewy texture. The whole point of this recipe!

Getting the Perfect Shape for Our Perfect Cookies

And finally, two tricks to follow to get the perfect shape for our perfect chocolate chunk cookies. For a perfectly perfect craggy top, I use a neat trick I learned from America’s Test Kitchen years ago. Once you have portioned out your dough and placed the dough mounds onto your prepared cookie sheet, tear each ball in half revealing a rough surface, then rotate each half so that the jagged surface faces upward. Then stick the balls back together again to form one ball with a top surface that remains jagged.

For a perfectly perfect round shape, I use another trick at the post-bake stage. Once your cookies are baked, immediately place a cookie cutter (one that is about 1/2 inch bigger than your cookie) over your cookie and make a circular motion so that the edge of the cookie comes into contact with the cookie cutter. Voila! Perfectly perfect round cookies.

LET’S GET BAKING because these Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are:

CHEWY!

CRUNCHY!

CRISPY!

NUTTY!

CARAMEL-Y!

CHOCOLATY!

ALL KINDS OF PERFECT!