The Way to Make Friends

This is how.

See?  You're hungry aren't you?  And those happy, chocolate chip memories are just bubbling up.  Like how for several birthdays in a row, you asked not for cake, but for chewy, crispy, buttery chocolate chip cookies.  And whenever you go to a pot luck and there's a plate of chocolate chip cookies, you first slyly inspect it to see whether they look homemade or package made.  Because there is no sense in wasting calories on the package ones.  

Wait... it that just me?

There also might have been a time when I was visiting my brother at college, and I made 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies to give to the girls I was staying with.  Because I think first impressions are best made from behind a haze of butter and chocolate.  Don't you?  Yeah, that's why we're friends.  Those awesome college girls also decided to befriend high school me.  It might have all been a ploy to check me out for their sorority, but hey, either way, we bonded.  

Ok, so we can all probably wax poetically about chocolate chip cookies, but why would I post a recipe that Tollhouse perfected eons ago?  Because this is just a bit different, in a very important way.  Two words: Brown. Butter.

If you're up on your food blogs, you'll have seen brown butter everywhere: in pasta, cakes, pulled pork, and a host of other places it only questionably belongs.  But it absolutely belongs here.

Browning butter is a pretty simple activity, though it requires some watchfulness.  Basically, you melt butter and whisk it around while it looks like above.  After about 2 minutes, it begins to develop a brown... fuzz.  Or particles.  Yeah, that sounds gross.  Something like this:

I could just say that it turns brown, but how helpful is that?  When it develops brown-ness (better?), pull it off the heat right away, but keep stirring for 30 more seconds.  When it's mixed with sugar, it smells like caramel.  Swoon.  Browning the butter gives the cookies more depth of flavor.

From there on out, it's a pretty simple procedure.  Also, this recipe only makes 24-30 cookies, which is half the usual amount.  Because it's just the two of us over here, and Mr. S&S is already my friend.  Established friendship means that neither of us needs to eat 30 cookies in one sitting.  Just 12.  It's called self-control, people.

You deserve these.  Right, friend?

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 24-30, but is easily doubled for maximum friend-making
Adapted from Tollhouse 

1 stick of butter, browned (also a great tutorial here)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/8 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
A couple of pinches sea salt for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 and brown butter according to directions.  Set butter aside to let cool, and mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, mix together butter, the sugars, and vanilla.  Beat in the egg.  Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine.  Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Using about 1-2 tablespoons batter per cookie, scoop dough onto cookie sheets.  Sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt over each dough ball.  Bake for 9-11 minutes.  Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for 1 minute, then transfer to cooling rack.

You're also your own friend.  Remember that.