All chocolate chip cookies are delicious, but not all are made equal.  This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies, because of its use of beurre noisette.

Beurre noisette is French for hazelnut butter, or what we in the States call browned butter. Beurre noisette sounds better, doesn't it?  I mean, if you were offered a beurre noisette cookie or a browned butter cookie, which one would you take? Beurre noisette has that foreign, slightly mysterious sound, but without going too wildly out of bounds because after all, it still had the word "cookie" in the question. 

If you already thought butter was delicious and makes everything better, which is true, (Julia Child liked it for good reason) then browned butter is VERY delicious and makes everything WAY better. It tastes very nutty and toasty, which is another reason why I think the French term is more accurate. English “browned butter” is more descriptive in what it looks like; French is more descriptive in what it tastes like.

If you've never made beurre noisette before, don't fret, it’s simple.

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Making Beurre Noisette:

1. Take the amount of butter you will need for your recipe of choice and place it in a small saucepan over low heat, no need to stir. 

2. Allow to simmer until you notice the bottom start to turn golden brown.  These are the milk solids separating from the butterfat; the milk solids sink to the bottom and brown, giving it that wonderful nutty flavor.  If you stopped here and separated the butterfat from the milk solids, you would have ghee, or clarified butter. 

The whole process should take about 5-15 minutes, depending on your stove and how much butter you are browning.  It goes very quickly from perfectly golden brown to burnt, so keep a careful watch over it.  You may be tempted to turn up the heat and quicken the process, but please don't, the lower the heat the more even the browning.   Allow to cool to room temperature.  If needed, you can place in the fridge or freezer.  Stir every so often for even cooling.  Use like regular butter.

Beurre Noisette Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Makes about 52 smallish cookies (about 2 in. in diameter)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup / 226g unsalted butter (2 sticks), browned and cooled to room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups / 300g brown sugar (light or dark, your choice)

• 2 eggs

• 1 Tbsp / 15g vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups / 300g all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 12 oz / 340g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand-held mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

5. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until incorporated, then add chocolate chips. 

6. Place in small mounds on cookie sheet, about 1 inch in diameter, evenly spread out. 

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown and centers are still a tad wet looking.

Jenny's Notes:

• These can easily be made gluten-free by substituting 3 1/4 cups GF oat flour for the 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.  You can make your own oat flour by blending GF oats in a food processor until a flour consistency is achieved.