BROWN BUTTER DARK CHOCOLATE COOKIES

MAKES 14 VERY BIG COOKIES / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES / COOKING 20 MINUTES

Everybody says their cookie is the best but this is better.

150g brown butter, room temperature 130g unsalted butter, room temperature 285g soft brown sugar

225g caster sugar

18g vanilla paste (we use Heilala Vanilla) 2 eggs

480g pastry flour (low-gluten flour) 8g bicarbonate of soda

7g baking powder

6g table salt

556g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

Place the butters and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until creamy and slightly pale but not fluffy. Scrape down the sides. Begin beating again, adding the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, combining well after each addition. Scrape down the sides.

Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate and mix until you have a smooth dough.

Use an ice cream scoop (full and flat; each portion about 130g) to scoop the dough onto a lined tray, leaving plenty of space between each cookie to allow to spread. Chill in the fridge until the cookies are set (they can keep here for a week). When ready to bake, heat the oven to 165℃. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the faintest bit of colour is visible. Because of the amount of chocolate they will take a while to set.

BROWN BUTTER 200g butter

Melt the butter in a tall saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter splits, whisk constantly to keep the milk solids off the bottom of the pan (if the solids fall and stick to the pan they will burn before the clarified butter has time to develop any flavour). When ready, the butter should be foaming and have a strong nutty smell; this should take around 10 minutes. Stop cooking the butter just prior to the point of finishing as it will continue to colour after it is off the heat. Leave in the pot to cool, whisking occasionally, then transfer to a suitable container and refrigerate until it sets or until you are ready to use.