Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Steps

1. 1

   Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, swirling often. It will foam, then go quiet; keep cooking until the milk solids at the bottom turn deep golden brown and it smells nutty, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. 2

   Scrape the butter and all the browned bits into a large bowl and let it cool until warm but not hot.

3. 3

   Whisk both sugars into the butter, then add the eggs and vanilla and whisk hard until thick, glossy and lighter in color, about 1 minute.

4. 4

   Add the flour, baking soda and salt and stir with a spatula until no dry flour remains. Fold in the chocolate chips.

5. 5

   Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes (or up to 3 days) so it firms up and the flavor deepens. Heat the oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment near the end of the chill.

6. 6

   Scoop 2-tablespoon balls of dough onto the sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are golden and set but the centers still look puffy and slightly underdone, 10 to 12 minutes.

7. 7

   Sprinkle each cookie with a few flakes of salt right away. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a rack. Store airtight up to 4 days.