Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies bake up with browned butter depth, cinnamon and nutmeg in the dough, and pockets of melted chocolate. The edges set lightly crisp while the centers stay chewy.

By Julienne

Cook time: 12 minutes

Servings: 16

Ingredients

• 170 g unsalted butter divided: 113 g browned, 57 g melted into the browned butter
• 15 ml water for loosening the browned butter if needed
• 150 g light brown sugar packed
• 75 g granulated sugar
• 1 each large egg room temperature
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 180 g all-purpose flour
• 3 g baking soda
• 3 g fine salt
• 2 g ground cinnamon
• 0.5 g ground nutmeg
• 180 g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. The oven is fully preheated and the pan is lined.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt 113 g of the butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling often, until it turns amber and smells nutty, 4 to 6 minutes. If the butter foams aggressively before you can judge color, add 15 ml of the water only if needed to keep the solids from scorching, then continue cooking briefly. Scrape the browned butter into a large bowl and let it cool for 5 minutes, then whisk in the remaining 57 g butter until melted and smooth. The butter is browned, fragrant, and warm rather than hot.
3. Whisk the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the butter. Whisk in the egg and vanilla until glossy and combined. The mixture looks shiny and emulsified, with no visible streaks of egg.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and fold just until a few flour streaks remain, then fold in the chocolate chips. The dough is evenly mixed but not overworked, and the chips are distributed throughout.
5. Scoop the dough into 16 mounds on the prepared sheet, spacing them well apart. If the dough feels very soft, chill the sheet in the refrigerator for 5 minutes before baking, then bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. The edges are set and golden; the centers are soft and puffy.
6. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. The cookies are set enough to lift without breaking and finish firming as they cool.