Chocolate Chip Cookies - Brown Butter & Toffee
				Makes 20 large cookies or 40 small ones
Ingredients
2 sticks	butter, sliced
1 cup	granulated white sugar
1/8 tsp	salt
________
2 sticks	butter, sliced
4	ice cubes
________			NOTE: Prep these at least 1 day before to develop the flavor in the dough. It’s worth it.
1 1/2 cups	dark brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 cup	granulated white sugar
2 tsp	espresso powder
2 tsp	salt
1/2 tsp	baking soda
________
2	eggs
2 tsp	vanilla extract
________
2 1/2 cups	all-purpose flour
________
7 oz	dark chocolate, 70%ish cacao
some	flaked sea salt
Directions
First make the toffee. Cover a jellyroll pan with a sheet of parchment or a Silpat and set it aside. In a small saucepan equipped with a thermometer, combine the butter, sugar, and salt (the first set of ingredients). Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally with a spatula. Be careful you don’t hit the thermometer while stirring, which will fling molten sugar all over you. When the temperature hits 200̊, stir constantly and vigorously. When the temperature reaches 300̊, remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture onto the lined jelly roll pan. Tilt the pan around to create an even layer about 1/4" thick. It doesn’t have to look pretty. Put the pan on a trivet in the frig to cool and harden completely (at least 15 minutes). Meanwhile, continue on ahead. Now make the brown butter. In a small sauté pan, add 2 sticks of sliced butter. Put it over medium heat stirring occasionally with a spatula. The butter will fizzle and churn until all the water in it evaporates. Then some magic will happen. It will become quiet and you’ll just see a soft frothing action. It’s hard to describe, but you’ll know it when you see it. Let it froth like that for 15 seconds, then turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner. It’s ok if it appears to be separated or if there are little crumbs of stuff in the bottom of the pan. Gently add one ice cube to the butter and stir to dissolve it. Repeat for the remaining 3 ice cubes. This will cool the mixture down enough so it doesn’t cook your cookie dough in the mixer. Leave the pan on the stove top until you’re ready for it. Now make the dough. Add the third set of dry ingredients to a mixer equipped with a beater. Mix on low to combine (about 30 seconds). Add the brown butter into the mixer. Gently start the mixer, then mix on low until combined (about 30 seconds). Crack the eggs in a small bowl and add the vanilla extract. Whisk it up, then add it to the mixer. Gently start the mixer, then mix on medium for 2 minutes until glossy and smooth. Add 1 cup of the flour to the mixer. Gently start the mixer, then mix on low until it is incorporated. Scrape the bowl then add a second cup of flour and do the same. Add the last 1/2 cup of flour and do the same. Then mix on medium for 1 minute. Let the dough sit in the mixer while you prep the next step. Chop the chocolate into random size chunks, not too big, fingernail size with some smaller bits. Remove the toffee from the frig. Get a freezer bag and break the toffee into the bag, then seal the bag. Use the flat end of your meat tenderizer and smash the toffee into chunks about the same size as the chocolate. Throw the chocolate and toffee into the mixer and mix on low until evenly distributed. It will be thick and chunky. These cookies will NOT work on a cookie sheet. There’s a lot of butter in this recipe, and the dough will run all over the place and make one huge cookie. Get a couple 6-bun pans if you have them. If not, get out a couple 12-muffin tins. Spray them with Baker’s Joy. Using a medium cookie scoop (a #40 or 1.6 tablespoon size), place 2 scoops in each bun compartment smushing the lump down slightly. If you’re using the smaller muffin tins, just put in one scoop each. When you bake them they will melt out to fill the cups. If you run out of bun/muffin tin space, place your remaining double/single scoops on a jelly roll pane lined with parchment paper or a Silpat and smush them down slightly. You’ll bake them in batches using the tins you have. Place your pans in the frig uncovered for at least 24 hours to develop the flavor. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350̊. Remove only the bun/muffin pans from the frig (leave any extra on the trays in the frig). Bake at 350̊ for 15 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven. The cookies will be really soft at this point. Do NOT try to take them out yet. Sprinkle on a little pinch of flaked sea salt over each cookie, and let the cookies cool in the pans on the stove top for 15 minutes then for 15 more minutes on a trivet in the frig. Remove the pans from the frig and run a knife around the edge to pop them out. If you need to do another batch, re-spray the tins with Baker’s Joy, transfer your reserved dough patties into your tins, and repeat the baking and cooling process.

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