July 4, 2022
It has been a little while since I last posted a new recipe. Between my last post and this post, Kev and I welcomed a baby to the world. Baby Z was born last month and weighed just over six pounds. The first few weeks were a complete blur as we adjusted to life as new parents. In a blink of an eye though, a month has already gone by. It brings us so much joy to watch baby Z grow bigger day after day. Looking back at photos we’ve taken over the last few weeks, I still can’t believe how tiny she was when we first brought her home. My days have been filled with feeding, nursing, and changing Z’s diapers every couple of hours. Learning to care for a baby has been the most challenging experience I’ve ever had. Luckily, my parents have been able to help me with taking care of Z. This gave me some time back to resume some of my favorite activities including recipe development, cooking, and baking. A couple weeks ago, we approached the one-month mark of Z’s birthday. To celebrate the occasion, I baked up a batch of browned butter confetti chocolate chip cookies. I’ve been testing out the ratio of ingredients for this twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie even before Z was born. My version features browned butter, sprinkles, and a mixture of both semisweet chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips to really up the flavors in the classic chocolate chip cookie. These cookies came about towards the end of my pregnancy when I was obsessively experimenting with the flavors of browned butter in treats. Browned butter is one of those flavors where once added to a dish, it gives the dish a distinctly nutty and almost caramel-like flavor. These flavor notes work exceptionally well in baked treats, so I incorporated them into a classic treat like chocolate chip cookies. The nuttiness of the browned butter pairs beautifully with the other flavors in the cookies. The trick to these delicious cookies is the addition of both semisweet and dark chocolate chips. I found folding in a mixture of semisweet and dark chocolate chips really helps to offset some of the sweetness already present in the cookies. The balance of chocolate chips also gives the cookies a more intense chocolate flavor. For Z’s one-month birthday celebration, I had to bake up a small batch of these cookies as a way to celebrate. The cookies are for the adults of course, but I still wanted to differentiate these cookies from other cookies I usually make. Thus, I added lots of colorful sprinkles to the cookie dough right before baking to make these cookies extra special. I still can’t believe Z is already one month old. It seems like just yesterday she was born and placed into my arms. My mom, dad, Kev, and I showered Z with tons of love as we celebrated her one-month birthday. These browned butter confetti chocolate chip cookies will forever be associated with celebrating Z. When she gets much older and can eat cookies, I will definitely bake these again as a way to celebrate her. For now, we will stick with treating the adults in the house to these delectable cookies.
For the browned butter confetti chocolate chip cookies:
(yields 12-15 medium-sized cookies)
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
· 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ cup light brown sugar
· ¼ cup granulated sugar
· 1 large egg, room temperature
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
· ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
· ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
· 1-2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) Heat a skillet on medium-low heat. Melt the stick (½ cup) of unsalted butter over the heat until it starts to brown, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the browned butter from the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl to allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before using.
3) In another bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
4) Once the browned butter has cooled for at least 20 minutes, mix the butter with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until incorporated. Gently fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Keep mixing the cookie dough until all of the ingredients are well combined. Fold in half of the semisweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, and sprinkles. Reserve the remaining half of the chocolate chips and sprinkles for pressing onto the tops of the cookie dough right before baking.
5) Using your hands, shape pieces of the cookie dough into roughly 1-inch balls. Flatten the balls with your hands to form thick discs of cookie dough. Place the flattened cookie dough discs about 1-1½ inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Transfer the baking sheets one at a time onto the middle rack of the oven. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool for 5 minutes before enjoying.
Takeaways: My favorite type of sprinkles to use in baked goods is the long oblong-shaped sprinkles as these tend to hold their shape and colors better in baked goods. They also add a festive touch to baked goods and look absolutely beautiful in photos. These cookies are best enjoyed warm. I like to store leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator and warm them up in the microwave one at a time for 11-15 seconds right before serving. Once warmed in the microwave, the cookies are soft, the chocolate chips are melty, and they are as good as fresh out of the oven.