Make Better Chocolate Chip Cookies in 8 Simple Steps

Chocolate chip cookies might be an all-time favorite cookie, but not all chocolate cookies are created equal. I have tasted some pretty bad chocolate chip cookies in my time, and it doesn't have to be that way. Follow these 8 steps to ensure that your next batch of chocolate chip cookies, and each batch thereafter, are not only better but beyond good.

I'm sharing 8 steps that will help you achieve better chocolate chip cookies every time and stick around for the last step. It's something you might not have thought of.

1. Melt and brown your butter. Melting and browning your butter changes this ingredient entirely. When butter melts its water evaporates and the milk fat rises to the top. At this point, the butter clarifies. The solids fall to the bottom of the pan and brown, and that's how you get browned butter. Browned butter smells nutty and tastes nutty too. Browned butter adds richness and depth to your chocolate chip cookies that wouldn't exist otherwise.
2. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. This step is important because you want all your ingredients to emulsify. When ingredients don't typically mix, like oil and water, you can get them to be friends and get along by having them at the same temperature. In this chocolate chip cookie recipe, we want our butter and eggs to be friends. If we added cold eggs to the room-temperature browned butter, the butter would harden and change the texture of our baked cookie. You can quickly warm your eggs to room temperature by letting them sit in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
3. Use dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it than regular brown sugar. This adds more flavor to your cookie. Dark brown sugar also holds a little more moisture than light brown sugar. This is good because it will make your chocolate chip cookie a little moister and replace some of the water that we lost when browning our butter.
4. Add egg yolk. Adding the yolk of an egg will enhance the richness of your chocolate chip cookie and make the texture of your cookie a little chewier on the inside.
5. Use premium ingredients. Chocolate chip cookies are easy to make, so it really boils down to what ingredients you use. If you can, spend the extra dollar or two and buy premium baking chips. It really does make a difference. Also, use pure vanilla extract. Imitation vanilla extract is just that. It's not the real thing.
6. Use a cookie scooper. For years, I thought cookie scoopers were unnecessary. You can roll them by hand and get them all about the same size. Having a cookie scooper eliminates the guesswork, speeding up the process, and ensures that each cookie will be the same size. Having the cookies be the same size is important because you want the cookies to bake evenly. For this recipe, I used a .5 ounce scooper (1 tablespoon). If you like your cookies bigger, just use a larger scoop and increase the baking time by another minute or two.
7. Line your baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. To make better chocolate chip cookies, don't skip this step. A mat and parchment paper both have silicone in them. This creates a non-stick surface for your cookie, allows your cookies to bake more evenly, and makes clean-up much easier. I like to use a silicone mat or parchment paper sheets. A roll of parchment paper works fine too, but parchment baking sheets are more convenient because they're pre-cut and fit your pan perfectly.
8. Lastly, finish with sea salt. Before baking, sprinkle your chocolate chip cookies with sea salt. I used coarse sea salt for this recipe. Sea salt flakes work great too. Finishing with salt brings out the flavors of your baked goods. Just like with melted, brown butter, try sprinkling any drop cookie or your next batch of brownies with a few flakes of sea salt.

There you have it. Better chocolate chip cookies in 8 simple steps. For more tips to make your recipes a success, subscribe to my website. You can also find me over at YouTube.

Happy Baking!

Make Better Chocolate Chip Cookies in 8 Simple Steps

Make your next batch of chocolate chip cookies the best chocolate chip cookies you've ever made. These cookies are buttery, nutty, and decadent, and will make your friends wonder what you put in there to make them so good. Just follow these 8 simple steps.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 7 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 3 dozen

Equipment

• 1-ounce cookie scooper
• Silicone baking sheet or parchment paper

Ingredients

  

• 2 sticks of butter (divided)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• sea salt (for garnish)

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 375°F.
• Cut 2 sticks of butter into 16 equal pieces.
• Melt 12 pieces (1 ½ sticks of butter) in a pan. Place the remaining 4 pieces (½ stick of butter) in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
• Over medium heat, allow the butter to melt and then brown, stirring often and watching carefully.
• Once the butter is browned, pour it over the reserved pads of butter in the mixing bowl. Allow the butter to cool for 15 minutes.
• Once the butter is cool enough, add the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar and mix well. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix.
• Add the baking soda and kosher salt and stir. Then, stir in the flour, one cup at a time.
• Lastly, mix in 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• Using a 1-once cookie scoop, scoop out 12 cookies and place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Flatten the tops of the cookies slightly to create a surface to sprinkle the sea salt. Sprinkle just a few flakes of salt in the center of each cookie.
• Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes.

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