I love Chocolate Chip Cookies. Who doesn’t? And I have made at least a dozen chocolate chip cookie recipes over the years. My default has been this great recipe from the NY Times. But it is not the recipe that my boyfriend longs for.
Years ago, some good friends of mine brought browned butter chocolate chip cookies to a party. My man said that they were the best chocolate chip cookies he ever had. They are the ones he always talked about. Unfortunately, my friends lost the recipe and never made them again. They are the unicorn cookies. 
This is by far the closest and best that I’ve made to that mysterious cookie. I’ve been told that it is still not the same, but pretty darn good. I made them one night when I came across a recipe from Smitten Kitchen and decided I needed cookies. Sometimes, you just need cookies. I altered her recipe to include browned butter and did some other substitutions as well, (because I realized I didn’t have enough eggs in my fridge) and they worked out perfectly!
These cookies are nutty, dark, chewy, and richer than your average chocolate chip cookies. They are my new go to cookie. I love the NY Times cookies, but they are more high maintenance than these. These you can make and eat asap. In fact, this makes so many cookies that I even scooped out about half of the cookie dough and stuck them in my freezer. Now whenever I want cookies, I just throw a few in the oven and have fresh baked cookies!
So while these might not be the magical unicorn cookies, they’re really really good. I may not ever find that cookie that he dreams about, but in the meantime, these are my new favorite. And I think they’re his too.
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, browned
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 TB sour cream
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Brown the butter. Put one stick of butter in small sauce pan over medium heat and cook until butter is lightly browned and has a nutty aroma. Set aside to cool.
3. Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In your mixer, cream together the browned butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
4. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and sour cream until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough a tablespoon at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy!
Photographs by Jessica Yager.
