Chocolate Chip Cookie Upgrade: Crinkly, Chewy, Browned Butter | Easy No-Mixer Recipe

The ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Simple techniques turn the classic cookie we're all familiar with into something next level, loaded with texture and flavour. Plus, it's super easy to make. It all comes together in one bowl, with no mixer required.

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Hi! I'm Sheldon (aka Sheldo), an avid baker and cook. You may know me from season 4 of The Great Canadian Baking Show. Subscribe for more videos every week with delicious recipes you can make at home.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
150g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter (if not weighing, melt butter first then measure in liquid measure cup)
30g (2 tbsp) cold water
100g (1/2 cup) sugar
100g (1/2 cup packed) dark brown sugar (light will also work)
1 large egg, fridge cold
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt (use 1/2 tsp for table salt)
175g (1 1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
150g (3/4 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips (sub any chocolate: bitter-sweet or dark chips, chunks, chopped bars, etc)
Flaky sea salt, for finishing (sub kosher salt, coarse sea salt)

Brown Butter
1. Place butter in a medium stainless teel saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling every so often to melt evenly. The butter will start foaming, steaming, and gently popping. This is the water in the butter evaporating.
2. Once the noise quiets down and the foam subsides a little, most of the water has evaporated. At this point, stir constantly, scraping the bottom of the pot so that the milk solids do not stick.
3. Keep cooking until you see light brown bits at the bottom of the pan and can clearly smell a deeply buttery and nutty aroma.
4. Turn off heat and immediately add the 2 tbsp cold water to the hot browned butter. The butter will sizzle and steam. Transfer butter to a mixing bowl (metal bowl will help with cooling) and set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool.

Make Dough
1. After the butter has cooled slightly but the bowl is still warm to the touch, add in brown and regular sugar. Whisk to fully combine.
2. Add in egg and vanilla extract. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute until the mixture lightens in colour and thickens slightly.
3. Add baking soda and salt. Whisk for 15 seconds to distribute evenly.
4. Add flour to bowl and use spatula to stir and fold until the batter is even and there are no dry patches of flour.
5. Add chocolate chips and fold to distribute evenly.

Shape & Chill
1. Use large #20 cookie scoop to portion into dough balls. If rolling by hand, aim for around golf ball size or 3 tbsp (just under 1/4 cup). The dough will be slightly soft and sticky but still shapeable into rough balls. Use slightly wet hands to help with sticking (but honestly just embrace the stickiness and power through haha). If the dough is too soft to work with, chill for 30 minutes and try again. The recipe makes roughly 12 golf ball sized dough balls (but sometimes I get 11, depending on how much of the cookie dough I snack on).
2. Place all the dough balls close together on a lined cookie sheet. Cover and chill in fridge for 30 minutes minimum, up to 48 hours. The dough can also be frozen. After the balls harden in the fridge, transfer to a freezer bag and keep up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen but add 2-3 minutes to the baking time.

Bake
1. Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C) with rack in the centre.
2. Place max 6 frozen dough balls on one lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt.
3. Bake one tray at a time for 10-12 minutes at 350F. When ready, the outside of the cookies will be lightly browned and crinkly. The centre will be blonde and puffed up.
4. Cool on tray for 5-10 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely before serving.

00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Intro song
00:53 - Welcome!
01:12 - Cookie requirements & why I'm usually disappointed
03:05 - The original chocolate chip cookie
03:07 - Factors of cookie texture
04:34 - Upgrading the cookie
05:13 - Begin recipe (brown butter)
07:19 - Make dough
09:10 - On measuring flour
09:49 - On chocolate chips
10:07 - Finish & portion cookies
11:13 - Bake cookies
12:40 - mmmmmmmm
13:54 - Outro

Featured painting: “Earth’s Shore: Tofino” by Santhe LeBlanc