Browned Butter Nutella Cookies

Let’s talk cookies shall we? These ones are AMAZING!

I am not exaggerating. I’d forgive you for thinking that I was, this is my recipe on my blog, so of course I’d say positive things. That said my experience of eating these was filled with repeated, repeated expressions of pure joy and excitement at the outcome of a hunch. My poor boyfriend probably thought I had finally left the land of the sane after the fifth time I said ‘these are just….just…..incredible,’ and that was with my first cookie. Enough justification of myself, let me tell you how they taste. The texture is crisp on the outside with a thicker chewy center, there’s added crunch from the nuts but it’s the flavour that’s the essence of these cookies. Think gourmet Nutella and depth, such depth. Each bite seems to initiate itself boldly with a rich chocolate and hazelnut hit but then the flavour achieves another level, the nutty flavour emerges and your whole mouth feels as if you are enjoying something special. These cookies are not for the faint-hearted one cookie filled me for dessert (I do make them quite big) and the depth and richness of the flavours satisfied me completely. 

So why is there a second layer of flavour? Browned butter my friends, Browned Butter!! I know I’m not the first person to use browned butter in a cookie but these puppies utilize the real essence of the browned butter to it’s fullest, the deep nutty flavour. To add to that they are also flavoured with ameretto and piles of hazelnuts and 70% dark chocolate chips. This is not a cookie for a kid, I mean they can eat them of course the alcohol burns off, but it would be like giving an amazing aged red wine to a alcopop drinker. No this, this is a grown up cookie. Even the colour, it’s deep dark brown, almost the colour of my healthy bread, but these are not double chocolate chip, the colour comes from the molasses of the brown sugar and the browned butter. I know I’m waxing lyrical here and honestly with these puppies I could probably do so for a lot longer, but I do not wish to lose your interest so let me tell you how to make your own and please please do!

Browned Butter Nutella Cookies (adapted from Alton Brown's Chewy Recipe)

 170g Butter

50g White Sugar

275g Muscovado Sugar

340g Bread Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk 

2 tbsp Milk

1 tbsp Amaretto 

100g chopped toasted hazelnuts

100g Dark chocolate chips

1. In a saucepan melt and cook your butter until it has browned

2. Meanwhile beat together the flour, salt and baking soda.

3. Pour the browned butter into a bowl and add the sugars, mix until fully incorporated

4. Add the eggs, milk and amaretto and beat again until fully combined.

5. Add the flour bit by bit and beat between additions. Mix to form a dark brown dough

6. Add the nuts and chocolate chips and mix once more to combine.

7. Now chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. When you take it out it should be this dark.

 8. Preheat your oven to 160'. Scoop out tablespoon amounts of the chilled dough and then roll into balls before putting them on a baking sheet.

9. Bake for 12 minutes (that was perfect for my oven, but experiment with your own).

10. Remove and cool on a wire wrack. This is how the cooked cookies appear. Normally I advise to squish the cookies but not these, leave these alone. Then just enjoy =)