These are not your average chocolate chip cookies; these brown butter and salted caramel cookies are a little bit more special. True, they require a bit of extra effort to brown the butter and make the caramel shards from scratch but oh my goodness it’s so worth the extra time and effort. This makes quite a large batch of cookies but I like to freeze a few so I can have cookies any time I fancy them.
Start by making the brown butter, melt the butter and continue to cook it for 4-5 minutes after it has completely melted. It’ll spit a little at the beginning but eventually it’ll start to foam and turn a golden brown. Caramel can be tricky to make; put the sugar in the bottom of a large pan with a wide base. This increases the surface area of the sugar, giving you more control over how it melts. The key to making caramel is not to stir it! Give the pan an occasional swirl but don’t stir it with a spoon until the caramel is completely melted. When the caramel is golden brown, pour it onto a silicone mat on and set aside to cool.
The cookies are really easy to make, I like to use an electric whisk to speed things up. Cream together the butter and sugar, before adding in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the sifted flour, baking powder and salt before adding it to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined using the electric whisk, I sometimes finish this by hand using a wooden spoon. Break up the cooled caramel into smaller shards and bash them into smaller pieces using a rolling pin. Throw in the chocolate chunks and caramel pieces into the mixture and stir until evenly incorporated.
Using a tablespoon, scoop out a spoonful of mix and roll it into a ball. Place several balls onto the each tray and cook in the oven one tray at a time for 11-12 minutes. If you prefer bigger cookies, use bigger balls of cookie mix. If you prefer squigglier cookies, cook them for about ten minutes. When they come out of the oven, sprinkle with salt before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
You can even freeze the balls of cookie mix, so you can enjoy these cookies whenever you want. Just add an extra two minutes onto the cooking time to cook them from frozen.
Keep scrolling for the recipe for these cookies!
Brown Butter & Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies – The Recipe
Makes 24
INGREDIENTS
For the brown butter:
225g unsalted butter, straight from the fridge
For the caramel:
200g granulated sugar
For the cookies:
150g muscovado sugar
60g light brown sugar
100g granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
330g plain flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
125g milk chocolate chip chunks
125g dark chocolate chip chunks
Flaky Sea Salt for Finishing
METHOD
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees and line two baking trays with baking paper
- Put the butter into a pan and melt on a medium heat. When the butter is completely melted, continue to cook until the butter starts to foam and turn golden brown
- Transfer the brown butter to a bowl to cool slightly
- While the butter is cooling, make the caramel – place the 200g granulated sugar into a saucepan and place over medium heat. Place a silicone mat on a baking tray, next to the pan.
- Let the sugar melt into a caramel sauce, swirling the pan occasionally but do not stir until all of the sugar has melted. Continue to cook the caramel until it turns a golden brown colour.
- Immediately pour the caramel onto the prepared silicone mat and leave to cool
- To make the cookies, place the brown butter and all of the remaining sugar into a large bowl and mix together using an electric whisk on a medium speed until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla, then beat together for two minutes on a high speed until the mixture is lighter in colour.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt before adding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until combined on a low speed using the electric whisk.
- Take the cooled caramel and break it up into smaller shards. Place these in a small bag and bash them into smaller pieces using a rolling pin.
- Add the caramel pieces and the chocolate chip chunks into the mixture and stir together with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop out a spoonful of mix and roll it into a ball. Place several balls onto the each tray and cook in the oven one tray at a time for 11-12 minutes.
- Sprinkle the cookies with salt when they come out of the oven, before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
You’ve got to try these cookies!
