Browned Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know that's a mouthful, but it is a mouthful of incredible flavors. Browned butter is all the rage these days, but I've been using it for about 20 years. We discovered how tasty it is accidentally. One Thanksgiving my brother Tim was making his pecan pie when he forgot about the butter that was melting on the stove. When he remembered it, it was well past melted and on the verge of being burned. Without giving it a second thought, he used it anyway and it was the best pecan we had ever had, so it's became our tradition to use browned butter. And salted caramel? Delicious. The salt brings an extra dimension to the buttery goodness of the caramel. And I know I don't need to say anything about chocolate chip cookies. EVERYONE likes those. So, why not combine all three into one decadent cookie? Why not indeed. Here's what you'll need:

  • 2 1/4 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 sticks butter at room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1/2 C granulated sugar
  • 1 TBL vanilla
  • 1 tsp molasses
  • 23 caramels (random number, but it's how many I had...) 
  • 1 C dark chocolate chips
  • flaked sea salt

Start by browning 1 stick of the butter. If you've never done this before, don't worry because it's easy. Melt the butter over medium heat.  

Let the butter continue to heat. It will start bubbling and spitting and that's okay. It just means the water is cooking out. You will notice that the foam will start to brown slightly. At this point, watch it closely so that it just browns and doesn't burn. As soon as it is a nice amber color, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl. 

Stick the bowl in the refrigerator to cool slightly while you make the dough. If you're not making the dough right away, leave the butter at room temperature so that it will cool without firming up again. 

Unwrap the caramels and cut each one into four pieces. I've tried using the caramel candy baking bits, but I don't like how much they harden after baking, so I prefer to just cut up my own. 

In your mixer, combine the brown sugar and the remaining stick of butter., mixing until they are totally combined. 

Add the granulated sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes until it's lighter in color and starts to get fluffier. 

Add the eggs, vanilla, and molasses and beat until light and fluffy. 

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. 

Stir in the caramel. 

Next, stir in the chocolate chips. 

Scoop dough out onto parchment lined baking sheets and sprinkle a small amount of flaked sea salt to the top of each cookie. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes or until golden brown. 

Perfection! 

Enjoy! 

Lynn

    Browned Butter Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

  •   2 1/4 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  •     1 tsp kosher salt
  •     2 stick butter at room temperature
  •     2 eggs
  •     1 C brown sugar
  •     1/2 C granulated sugar
  •     1 TBL vanilla
  •     1 tsp molasses
  •     23 caramels (random number, but it's how many I had...) 
  •     1 C dark chocolate chips
  •     flaked sea salt

Start by browning 1 stick of the butter. As soon as it is a nice amber color, remove it from the heat and pour it into a bowl. Stick the bowl in the refrigerator to cool slightly while you make the dough. If you're not making the dough right away, leave the butter at room temperature so that it will cool without firming up again. Unwrap the caramels and cut each piece into four pieces. I've tried using the caramel candy baking bits, but I don't like how much they harden after baking, so I prefer to just cut up my own. In your mixer, combine the brown sugar and the remaining stick of room temperature butter, mixing until they are totally combined. Add the granulated sugar and mix for 2-3 minutes until it's lighter in color and starts to get fluffier. Add the eggs, vanilla, and molasses and beat until light and fluffy. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Stir in the caramel. Next, stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop dough out onto parchment lined baking sheets and sprinkle a small amount of flaked sea salt to the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes or until golden brown. 

Gluten Free Almond Cookies

Everyone loves my flourless peanut butter cookies so I thought it would a be great idea if I tried almond butter instead of peanut butter. Well, it was a nice thought. The problem would have been obvious to me if I had stopped to think about it, but I'm more of a dive right in kind of girl. If you've used almond butter you know that it has a much looser texture because of the amount of oil that's in it. The cookies tasted great but they didn't hold together at all. It was just a pile of delicious crumbs. Take 2. What can I do to make them hold together but still be gluten free? Coconut flour? Yes! They were a big hit. We don't have a gluten issue around here, but I have so many friends who do that I like to serve a gluten free option with dessert. This is a good one to have for just such occasions. Here's what you'll need:

  • 2 C almond butter
  • 2 C dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 C coconut flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/8 tsp almond extract
  • 1 C sliced almonds

 

Start by mixing the almond butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract in a bowl. It's easy enough to combine just using a fork so there's no need to bring out the mixer. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and the baking soda. Now here's the complicated part, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Yep, that's it. I will say that at this point it's easier to use your hands because it's a stiff dough. Once you have it all combined, add the sliced almonds. Spoon them onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cookies start to get brown around the edges.

I love the triple dose of almond in the almond butter, sliced almonds, and almond extract. I think of the as the more grown up and sophisticated cousin of the peanut butter cookie. They're pretty too.  

Enjoy!

Lynn

Caramel & Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

What? Caramel and pretzels in a chocolate chip cookie? Yes I did it and it is good. Really good. The pretzels add an unexpected salty crunch while the caramel adds an extra bit of gooey sweetness. If you are tired of plain old chocolate chip cookies, try these. Here's what you'll need:

  • 1 C shortening
  • 1 C dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 C flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C dark chocolate chips
  • 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 C caramel bits
  • 1 C pretzel chips, chopped
  • 1  chopped pecans

Start by creaming together the shortening, the dark brown sugar, and the regular sugar. Add the eggs and mix well.

Now stir in the chocolate chips, caramel bits, chopped pretzels, and nuts. I know it seems like there are more add ins than dough, but just stir it well to combine. Now scoop onto parchment covered cookie sheets. I like to make these cookies really big so that you get plenty of goodies in each bite, so i use an ice cream scoop. You should be able to fit 6 on each cookie sheet, and you'll get 18 total. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until they begin to brown around the edges. 

Yummy!! 

These can be altered to suit your personal taste very easily. The next time I make them, I'm going to double the amount of caramel I use and decrease the amount of chocolate because I'm a caramel lover. Use any proportions you like as long as it adds up to 5 cups of add ins. Any more than that and the cookies may not hold together. 

A word of warning: the caramel bits get really hard if they touch the cookie sheet while they are baking. The next time I make them I am going to leave the caramel out of the dough mixture then press them into each cookie after it's on the cookie sheet. I don't want any chipped teeth on my watch...

Enjoy! 

Lynn