the best chocolate chip cookies

So…where to begin. It’s been a crazy few weeks. COVID-19 cases rising, stores shutting down, feelings of uncertainty and anxiety casting a pall over an otherwise beautiful spring. There are a lot of questions for everyone right now. What will the future look like? When will this end? Will I ever wear anything besides sweatpants again?

Everyone and their aunt is sharing chocolate chip cookie recipes right now, but I couldn’t resist. This one is my favorite. You know the brown, almost caramelized edges of a good chocolate chip cookie? These taste like that the whole way through.

The base is the Nestle Tollhouse recipe, with some changes that make a huge difference. Less butter (and browning it!), a little bit of maple extract, using fewer chocolate chips, and adjusting the baking temperature and time. These changes result in a cookie that tastes, intensely, like a chocolate chip cookie. I don’t know how else to explain it, but trust me. You don’t even have to break out the mixer.

Don’t skip the chilling time. Chilling it really makes a difference—it lets the flavors blend and intensifies them. If you absolutely cannot wait, bake two or three of the cookies after an hour or so and chill the rest of the dough. It’s not like we don’t all have time.

This is a great afternoon quarantine activity. Make the dough after lunch and bake them after dinner. If you’re self-isolating alone or in small numbers, the dough freezes well, too, so you can bake one or two at a time later. I recommend having one before you check the news, and possibly another one after. You may feel like the world’s on fire, but at least you’re eating a really good cookie.

directions

1. Brown the butter. Heat it in a small pan over medium heat. Don’t walk away! This only takes about 5 minutes, and it’s only a few seconds’ difference between lovely, nutty brown butter and a burnt black mess. It will bubble and foam up a bit, and then the bits on the bottom will start to turn brown. Stir it every so often to keep it from burning. Once the bits on the bottom are a nice amber-ish color, take the pan off the heat and pour the butter into a large mixing bowl.
2. In the large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to mix the butter, sugars, vanilla, and maple extract until well combined.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
4. Add half of the flour, all the baking soda and salt. Mix the cornstarch, baking soda, and salt into the flour with a fork, then mix the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture, then add the rest of the flour. You will think there is too much flour. There isn’t. Keep mixing. Once the flour is incorporated, mix the chocolate chips in. The dough will smell strongly of maple, but don’t worry. You won’t taste the maple strongly once they’re baked.
5. Cover and chill for as long as you can bear it, at least 4 hours but preferably overnight. (If you must, bake a couple of cookies after 1 hour to hold you over.) This is a very important step, so resist the urge to skip it entirely.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop dough into two-tablespoon rounds and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Be sure to leave space between the cookies. Bake for 13-16 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown around the edges. (They should still look a bit underdone.) Remove from oven, press a few chocolate chips on top, sprinkle with sea salt (or just regular old kosher salt), and cool on baking sheet for ten minutes before moving them to a wire rack. Let them set for 30 minutes before you eat them.