Recipe: everything cookie

Brown butter cookies with milk chocolate, pecans, pretzels and sesame seeds. Plus a few tips to achieve a better cookie.

Texture is very important to me. Whenever I’m baking something, texture is the second thing I think of after flavour–not that I’m insinuating that I’m alone or special in this thinking.

In order for food to be interesting and as delicious as possible, I think considering texture is vital. I will often crave foods purely for the texture–the chewiness of mochi, the crunch of a fresh, raw carrot, the bite and chew of the crust of a well baked sourdough loaf–so it is only natural that I try to incorporate various textures in whatever I am making. These cookies are a prime example.

The cookie dough is packed with add ins to ensure that you get a mixture of all in each bite. The gentle crunch of roasted pecans, crispness of salty pretzels, the soft bite of unctuous milk chocolate–all rolled up in a sesame seed-coated cookie that is sweet and salty, soft and gooey in the middle with edges that are golden and crunchy.

Now for a few cookie tips:
1. If you can, always leave your cookie dough to rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours. This rest allows the flavour of the cookies to develop, especially where brown butter and vanilla are present–the flavours deepen and and become more rich. This time also allows the flour to absorb all liquid, and ensures that the cookies bake evenly an golden. Baking cookies from the fridge also ensures that they don’t spread too much. If you like your cookies thick, try putting them in the freezer for 15 minutes or so after their fridge rest and then baking.

2. Some manipulation of the cookies mid and post baking can help the texture of them a lot. I often remove the baking tray from the oven half way through baking and bang it a few times on the counter top–this creates ripples in the cookie dough which leads to lacier, crisper edges, and can work to break up the melted chocolate in the cookie a bit and distribute it more. I also sometimes forego the pan bang, and instead once the cookies are baked I smoosh the middle down with the back of a tablespoon, and use the sides of the spoon to create more defined edges on the cookie.

3. For a more ‘perfect’ cookie, after baking you can take a bowl, cookie cutter or something round that fits the entirety of the cookie inside, place it over the cookie and move the object in a circular motion, catching the edges of the cookie as you go. This helps to create a more uniform roundness.