Chocolate Cookies 2019

Ingredients:

180 g               bread flour
140 g               all purpose flour
2 tsps              salt
1½ tsps           baking soda
335 g               butter
230 g               brown sugar
50 g                 white sugar
3 tsps              vanilla essence
1 tsps              expresso powder
2 tsps              cocoa powder
3                      large eggs
100 g               semi sweet chocolate chips
50 g                 dark chocolate (chopped)
50 g                 chopped hazel nuts
1 mug             water at room temperature


Method

1.   In a large saucepan, add the butter and melt over medium heat. 

2.   Bring the butter to a boil, stirring frequently. As the water begins to boil 
out of the butter, the milk solids in the butter will separate, sink to the bottom, and  begin to toast and brown. 

3.   Once the butter has turned a nice nutty brown, remove from the heat and pour into a large liquid measuring cup.  Allow it to cool down, give it a stir, carefully add water to the butter to bring it back up to 240 ml of liquid.

4.   In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, salt, cocoa powder and baking soda. (Dry ingredients)

5.   In a large bowl, add the sugars, vanilla, espresso powder, and cooled brown butter. Cream together with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy.

6.   Add the egg and yolk and beat until incorporated.

7.   Add the dry ingredients, about ⅓ of the mixture at a time, and beat between additions until just incorporated. 

8.   Using a wooden spoon, fold the chocolate chips and chunks into the dough.

9.   Refrigerate for 1 hour or, even better, overnight.

10. Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

11. Scoop the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray in tablespoon- sized mounds and 4-5 cm apart. Sprinkle chopped hazel nuts.

12. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.

13. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring  to a cooling rack to cool completely.