Chocolate chip cookies. The good old stand-by. There must be at least 20 recipes on this site for chocolate chip cookies, but each with a variation. This time I’ve added cracked (but still fairly whole) hazelnuts and plump dried cranberries. Oh, and I browned about half of the butter, which give them a great, extra nutty taste. Not sure if this is tremendously summery, but hey, you can eat cookies year round, no?
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, cracked
3/4 cup dried cranberries
Directions
Melt one stick of the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Continue to stir until butter bubbles and crackles, then turns a rich medium brown. pour into a work bowl with a single ice cube and set aside to cool.
Sift together cake flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In the work bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the remaining softened butter and the brown sugar. Add the granulated sugar, and then, while the mixer is running, pour the browned butter in slowly.
Once fully incorporated, beat again vigorously until mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Finally, add the eggs and vanilla extract, and beat again until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix gently just until incorporated. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips, hazelnuts and cranberries. Chill the dough for at least a couple of hours (don’t skip this step).
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F and line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls of about two tablespoons each, and place on the prepared baking sheets about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until edges are set and centers are still soft. Cookies will continue to set once they’ve been removed from the oven. Let cool on wire racks.
