The flexitarian prescription

Truth be told, the first time I made these I didn’t understand what the big deal was. You melt some butter in a pan and use it instead of softened sticks in your recipe. Yea. So, what. Well ,,, as it turns out, I didn’t do it correctly—hence, I really didn’t get what the big deal was. Alas, I have now mastered the art of making perfectly browned, perfectly nutty, brown butter and I will tell you, it’s a game changer when it comes to chocolate chip cookies.

But … rather than give you yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe—I mean let’s face it, having another recipe for chocolate chip cookies is like having another recipe for lasagna … dumb. Figure out one you like and stick with it.

Me, I stick with the tried-and-true Tollhouse recipe on the bag of the bag, with four changes:

• Use brown butter instead of sticks
• Add 1 teaspoon of espresso powder (not the actual coffee, but the powder you find in the baking section)
• Use dark chocolate—not semi-sweet, not milk chocolate
• Sprinkle sea salt over the cookies when they finish baking

How to Make Brown Butter

Heat the butter in a pan over medium high heat—so, if your burned goes from 1-10, put it on 6.5-7. DO NOT WALK AWAY!! There is a very fine line between over cooking, or burning, your butter and stopping the process when it’s reached perfection. How will you know? One, as the milk solids separate the top will retain its yellow color and begin to froth and bubble—essentially, it’s caramelizing; two, the “liquid” underneath will turn a golden-dark brown; and three, a lovely smell will fill the air … as if you’ve been transported to Christmas scene in an old movie and the street venders are roasting chestnuts. Yes, it is that gorgeous of an aroma. All in all, it should take about 7-8 minutes. Make sure you stir the butter often, at least every 10 seconds. And that’s all there is to it. Enjoy!