Friday, February 24, 2012

Brown Butter-Peanut Butter Truffle Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I am in love...

With every single word of that insanely long title.
Brown butter? Yes. 

Swirls of peanut butter truffle? I'm into it.

Chocolate chip cookies? Get in my FACE.
Three things!

1. I didn't "get" brown butter until I licked it off a hot whisk and burnt my tongue this week. I'm not even ashamed to admit that happen. I did that. It's real life.

Plus, if you want to get technical, it was research. Butter research. What if I browned it and it tasted like shoes and I put it in these cookies and everyone made them and hated them and I got labeled the worst baking blog ever? I'd have to blog about like... shoes probably.
2. I bit into one of these right out of the oven (also research) while on the phone with my dad and yeah, maybe I yelled "OH MY GOD" so loud he thought I was being murdered. Crispy edges, melty chocolate, ribbons of hot, creamy peanut butter, AND that rich something-special from the nutty brown butter?

I can't even deal. 
3. You need these in your life. Trust.
Anddddd if you don't, then I do... because they're definitely almost gone. 
P.S. Instagram! I have it now. Feel free to stalk me and/or steal a cookie and explain all these buttons to me.     

Brown Butter-Peanut Butter Truffle Chocolate Chip Cookies 


Peanut Butter Truffles
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with foil and spray with no-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix powdered sugar and peanut butter until smooth (using your hands works best). Spread in baking dish and flatten with hands. Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes.

To brown butter, melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Whisk frequently and heat until it's golden brown and giving off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl; allow to cool to room temperature

P.S. I nearly singed my face off trying to smell this mysterious "nutty" smell, but trust me, when it's perfect? It'll turn from yellow to golden brown in a second and give off an obvious nutty scent. Like being punched in the face by a really mean hazelnut.

Let's bake cookies!

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove peanut butter truffles and cut or tear into small pieces; place back in freezer for at least ten minutes. Don't worry about them looking perfect; I obviously didn't... 
In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and browned butter. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until just incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Gently fold in chunks of peanut butter truffle. You want them to be visible, not completely blended into the dough. (Note: This makes a lot of peanut butter truffles. Use as much or as little of it as you want!)

Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, flatten slightly with hand, and bake for 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Source: Brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe from Brooke and peanut butter truffle cookie recipe from Picky Palate.