Running Foodie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Just in time for National Chocolate Chip Day. Actually, I didn't plan that at all - I'm the last to know about all these ancillary food holidays, and I'd go crazy trying to blog recipes for all of them.

Instead, I choose to repeat recipes with variations to keep myself from being bored. I suppose I could make a more complex cookie except that I've had this lazy streak I can't seem to shake. I have plans, though. Plans that look eerily similar to a baguette. Plans that remind me of granola bars. Things like that.

These cookies, though. They're thick, chewy, full of flavor, and incredibly simple to make. What makes them unique isn't the use of brown butter. It's not the ground coffee. It's the sweetened condensed milk. I looked around the internet and found a recipe that uses condensed milk, though their version creams the butter like a traditional cookie and doesn't use any other sweetener. I'm stuck on chocolate cookies with brown sugar because it has a caramelized toffee flavor. The texture is unbeatable, too. After my first test, I knew I struck gold.

Because the butter is melted you don't need to bust out a mixer. Just whisk the cooled butter with the brown sugar, then whisk in condensed milk, egg, and the remaining ingredients. You do need to refrigerate the dough overnight, but whatever. Except for having to wait a day to bake them (a hour or two might suffice, though I haven't tried it), these are great for spur of the moment baking impulses.

The key to thick cookies is using a lot of dough per ball. (That's not anything you don't already know.) These aren't the biggest cookies, but they're bigger than I normally make. Each ball uses 1/4 cup of dough, and I don't shape them into balls - I press chilled dough into a measuring cup, then pop it out with a spoon which creates a perfect disc of dough. You do need to press it down a little, about 3/4", so that the dough cooks evenly. If it's too thick, it won't spread as nicely. If you press it too much, it will be too thin. Get it? It's a little easier and less messy than rolling them into balls, too.

If you try these out, let me know what you think. Recipe after the jump.

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Running Foodie's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe by Christina Provo

Yields about 20 large cookies

Ingredients -

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, browned and cooled to room temperature
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp ground coffee (I don't use this anymore)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions -

1. Pour cooled brown butter into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in brown sugar until combined, followed by the sweetened condensed milk. When mixture is smooth, break in egg and whisk to combine; stir in vanilla.
2. Combine flour, ground coffee (optional), baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Using a wooden spoon or plastic spatula, stir in the flour until just a few traces of flour remain. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts or pecans and stir to distribute through the dough. Portion dough into 1/4 cup balls or 3 ounces each. Refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place portioned dough balls on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 14 minutes. Tops should be lightly browned and surface will be just set. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes; transfer to wire rack to cool completely.