2485. BROWN BUTTER BACON CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4 oz semisweet chocolate bar, diced into 1/4″ pieces
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons milk chocolate, grated
1 cup bacon that’s been fried until crispy and diced into roughly 1/4″ pieces

Put your oven rack in the middle and heat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk 1 3/4 cups flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Set this aside.

Fry up a few pieces of bacon. You want the bacon to be as crisp as possible without being burnt. Cut the bacon into roughly (and this is very roughly) 1/4″ pieces.

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until melted. Continue cooking until it turns a dark, golden brown and smells divine. Swirl this pan constantly and stir the bottom frequently for good measure. As soon as it’s done, take off the heat and pour immediately into a heatproof bowl. Stir in remaining 4 tablespoons of butter so that they melt.

Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoon vanilla.

Add egg and egg yolk and mix until mixture is fully incorporated.

Let sugar/egg/butter mixture stand for a few minutes. Whisk again for 30 seconds. Do this several times–you want to make sure that the sugar has “melted” into the liquid. When ready, mixture will be smooth, thick and shiny.

Chop chocolate. Grate your milk chocolate

Using wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in grated chocolate, chocolate chunks and bacon pieces. Don’t over mix but make sure no flour pockets remain.

Using a teaspoon, place a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I get about 14 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake for 10-14 minutes, until cookies are golden-brown and set along the edges but the middle is still soft. Remove from oven and set baking sheet on a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes, keeping the cookies on the baking sheet.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Kristina, Mouth from the South, August 3, 2009 | adapted from Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen