Brown Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Method

1. Melt the butter in a light-colored 16 cm pan over medium heat, swirling the pan constantly. It will foam up, crackle, then go quiet; it is ready when the specks on the bottom turn hazelnut brown and it smells nutty (about 5 min). Immediately scrape everything, brown bits included, into a large heatproof bowl and let it cool for 10 min until warm but not hot.

   Add in this stepUnsalted butter (for browning) 70 g

   medium heat

2. While the butter cools, whisk both flours, the baking soda and salt in another bowl. Chop the chocolate with a knife into 1 to 1.5 cm chunks and keep all the fine shavings too.

   Add in this stepAll-purpose flour 50 gBread flour 35 gBaking soda ¼ tspSalt ½ tsp

3. Whisk both sugars into the cooled brown butter, then add the egg, yolk and vanilla and whisk hard for 1 min, until thick, glossy and lighter, like caramel.

   Add in this stepDark brown sugar, packed 60 gGranulated sugar 25 gBeaten egg (1 egg is about 50 g) 25 gEgg yolk (1 yolk is about 18 g) 9 gVanilla extract 1 tsp

4. Fold in the flour mixture with a spatula; when a little dry flour remains, add the chocolate chunks and shavings and fold just until no flour shows.

   Add in this stepDark chocolate bar (60 to 70% cacao) 85 g

5. Divide the dough into 6 balls (about 60 g each), shaping them tall rather than flat, and press a few chocolate chunks onto the tops. Cover and chill for at least 1 h (up to 3 days for a deeper, toffee-like flavor).

   Add in this stepDark chocolate bar (60 to 70% cacao) 15 g

6. Preheat the oven to 190°C for a full 15 min and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

   oven

7. Place the cold dough balls on the sheet, at most 6 per sheet and 8 cm apart, and bake one sheet at a time in the oven for 10 min; you will bake 1 sheet(s). Pull them when the edges are deep golden and the centers are still pale and puffed. Right away, put a round cutter or glass larger than each cookie over it and swirl to shape a perfect circle, then sprinkle with flaky salt.

   Add in this stepFlaky sea salt, for finishing 2 pinch

   oven

8. Cool on the sheet for 10 min until the centers settle, then move to a wire rack. Warm, the chocolate is molten; fully cooled, they turn deeply chewy.