1Heat one cup of high-quality, unsalted butter over medium heat until the milk fats separate and turn a light, toasty golden-brown.
2Take the browned butter off the heat immediately when milk solids turn brown.
3Refrigerate the browned butter for at least an hour or until completely re-solidified.
4Add the cold butter to the bowl of a stand-mixer.
5Add half a cup of white sugar and 1 and a half cups of brown sugar to the butter.
6Cream together the butter and sugars at medium speed for three to four minutes until thoroughly combined.
7Pause the mixer and crack two cold eggs into the bowl, then mix to combine until homogeneous.
8In a medium bowl, whisk together 11 and a half ounces of all-purpose flour, a tablespoon of kosher salt, a half teaspoon of baking soda, and three-quarters of a teaspoon of cinnamon until thoroughly combined.
9Add about half of the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
10Add the remaining flour mixture and high-quality chocolate chips, mixing until just combined.
11Optionally, cover and refrigerate the dough for up to three days.
12Separate half of the cookie dough and mix in toasted, cooled, freshly-chopped walnuts into the nut half.
13Grab a handful of dough, roll it into a ball, and then tear it open to create a rustic-looking cookie.
14Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-17 minutes, depending on size and desired doneness.
15Optionally, sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt after baking.
16Bake nut cookies second to avoid cross-contamination for those with nut allergies.
Ingredients
1 cup high-quality, unsalted butter
0.5 cup plain old white sugar
1.5 cups brown sugar
2 cold eggs
11.5 ounces all purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
0.5 teaspoon baking soda
0.75 teaspoon cinnamon
high-quality chocolate chips
freshly-chopped walnuts, toasted and cooled
flaky sea salt
Equipment
stand-mixermedium bowlwhiskcooling rack
Tips
Browning butter instantly upgrades cookies.
Refrigerate browned butter for at least an hour or until completely re-solidified.
Use cold butter with a stand-mixer; if not, soften butter slightly.
Do not over-mix cookie dough once flour is introduced to avoid tough cookies.
Consider chopping a block of chocolate for varied sizes and textures instead of chips.
Cover and refrigerate dough for up to three days for more pronounced flavor; even an hour makes a difference.
For rustic-looking cookies, grab a handful of dough, roll it into a ball, then tear it open.
Bake nut cookies separately and second to prevent cross-contamination for those with nut allergies.
Experiment with shortening instead of butter, chilled versus un-chilled ingredients, and aged versus un-aged dough.