Description

Brown Butter Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies - these are a variation on the classic chocolate chip cookie. Brown butter provides depth of flavour along with spelt flour. The cookies are easy to make with a short chill time and are the perfect way to start baking using alternative grains such as spelt flour.

Ingredients

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225g unsalted butter, straight from the fridge
160g muscovado sugar
70g dark brown sugar
100g granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
155g all-purpose flour
155g spelt flour (alternatively use all-purpose flour)
¾ tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
350g dark chocolate from a high quality chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
Flaky Sea Salt for Finishing

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Instructions

Place the butter in a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted, and then continue to cook, swirling the pan often, until the butter foams and turns golden brown and nutty - this should take 3-4 minutes.
Measure out 175g (see Notes section below) of the brown butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to cool slightly.
Place the bowl of the stand mixer with the brown butter onto the mixer, and fit with the paddle attachment. Mix the brown butter, muscovado sugar, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla, then increase the mixer speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture has lightened in colour and thickened.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer off, add to the mixing bowl, then mix on low until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish the incorporation of the dry ingredients by hand if needed - scrape down the bowl and ensure that all the mixture at the bottom of the bowl is fully incorporated. Add the chopped chocolate and mix briefly to incorporate.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°f/ 180°c. Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a two tablespoon scoop, place level scoop fulls of dough onto the prepared baking trays - 8 per tray works well for me, but I like to start with 6 just to make sure there will be enough space. Roll each into a ball and arrange on the trays, leaving ample room for spreading.
Bake the trays one at a time for 11-12 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed up and set around the edges. Remember that they will continue to cook a little once you remove them from the oven. If the cookies have lost their round shape a little in the oven, you can use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to nudge it back into a circular shape. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sea salt, then cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Repeat the baking process with the remaining cookies. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

You may notice that there are two quantities of butter in the recipe - the initial quantity of butter, then a second measurement in the method which is the quantity of brown butter. The larger initial quantity is to account for water loss when browning - read more about that in my FAQ.

If you are using the recipe scaling feature (2x or 3x) be aware that any quantities, measurements, pan sizes, and cooking times given in the method do not scale automatically - it's only the quantities in the Ingredient List that scale automatically.

Keywords: Cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brown butter, spelt, chocolate puddles