Brown Butter Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies

These cookies are a celebration of everything you may have in the pantry.  And Brown Butter!

Baking Through a Pandemic

Here is a delicious cookie to enjoy during the cooler months, as we start planning our new found desire to organize, and allow our minds to drift towards Spring (yes!) cleaning.  We’re stuck at home right now.  Covid lockdowns this winter aren’t making getting out and about any easier.  Add to this, the fact that we have no snow! We’ve barely had any snow down here in Toronto.  I know that our neighbours north of the city are seeing the white stuff, but our winter is grey and dull and naked.  But with nothing pretty outside to go play in, getting outside is less and less appealing. So, that leaves us to nesting and making our inside environment more efficient and desirable to be in.  And after a day of this, we need cookies! Apparently even cats need cookies, here is Zelda checking out the finished batch!

This is a cookie that spreads ever so lovely into a crisp edged but chewy interior texture.  It has everything that I love in a cookie.  Chocolate (two kinds), brown butter, and plenty of vanilla.  And finished with salt.  Because there is nothing quite like that sweet salty combo.  I think my favourite way of showcasing this flavour bomb is in my Salted Bourbon Caramel Cheesecake on a Walnut Mesquite Crust.  It has the perfect sweetness but is balanced by the rich salty caramel topping.  You haven’t tried it?? You better!

Yes, these can be gluten free if using the suggested flours.  This recipe uses chestnut flour and tapioca flour.  The chestnut flour has the best nuttiness but is very delicate.  It requires the tapioca flour to create the stability, and chewy nature of a good cookie. But feel free to replace the chestnut flour and tapioca flour with the full amount of either a gluten free cup for cup blend, or regular AP flour.

How should you Store Nut Flours?

When it comes to chestnut flour, as with all nut flours, I do suggest storing them in the freezer till needed.  These flours have residual oils from the nuts, and if left out in your pantry, they will go rancid.  And since they aren’t cheap (have you seen how much the cost of almond flour has risen in the last few years?!) You will be so happy that you are taking good care to protect your investment.  Just store them in a sealed container, and then whisk them up to get rid of any lumps before using.

Don’t rush to Bake!

These cookies are best if you let the dough firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Or else they will really spread into a large mess!  If you want to freeze the dough balls, just let them warm up slightly and then place them onto the baking sheets.  I save some of the chocolate and pecan pieces to decorate the tops with, just before they go into the oven.  If baking from frozen, allow extra baking time.

I think this is the time to bring out two types of chocolate.  I don’t use milk or lighter than 72% chocolate usually, but the blend of the two, especially with the salty finish and the chestnut flour really works.  And having the lighter chocolate makes these more appealing to kids.  Most kids don’t really want an entire cookie filled with dark bittersweet chocolate, so this is a great compromise.  And when it comes to the salt, as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle some large flakey Maldon salt on the top of each cookie, letting some of it settle into the chocolate puddles.

Other Topping Options

Why not add chopped up pretzels (if gluten isn’t a worry for you) to replace some of the chocolate?  Or how about some pop corn?! What a fun addition that would be, and kids will love it!  And it’s naturally gluten free.

What if you’re not worried about Gluten? Why use Chestnut Flour?

Chestnut flour has a distinct slightly sweet nutty flavour that no other nut has. It one of the rare starchy gluten free nuts, making it a tasty low calorie option if you do eat gluten free but still want some carbs. It is the tree nut with the lowest fat content. If you just can’t source it, although Nuts.com has a reasonable priced bag of chestnut flour available, you can use almond or hazelnut flours.  They will yield a denser result due to having a higher fat content. Obviously the final flavour will be the influenced by the nut you choose.  In the end, I really do recommend trying to find chestnut flour.  It is delicious and can be used in cakes, crepes etc.  And as I mentioned above, feel free to go the regular wheat or gluten free blend flours.

Hope everyone is having a great January.  Have a cookie, a cup of coffee or tea, and next thing you know, it will be February, and we’ll be on the home stretch to Spring! This recipe was inspired by one found in Alanna Taylor-Tobin’s book, Alternative Baker.  She’s basically my gluten-free mentor, whether she knows it or not!  Check out her website here!

If you make these Brown Butter Chocolate Cherry Cookies, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

5 from 1 vote

Print

Brown Butter Double Chocolate Cookies

Sweet and salty. Gluten free. Crisp and chewy!

Course Baking

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, chestnut flour, chocolate, gluten free

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 14 minutes

cooling time 30 minutes

Servings 18 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (56 gram) pecan halves
• 8 tbsp (113 grams) butter
• 1/2 cup (105 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (55 grams) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (80 grams) chestnut flour see Notes
• 1/4 cup (30 grams) tapioca flour see Notes
• 1/2 tsp rounded baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract or paste
• 2/3 cup (4 oz; 110 grams) chopped dark chocolate (78 % or higher) see Notes
• 1/3 cup (1 3/4 oz; 55 grams) chopped milk chocolate see Notes
• 1/2 cup (2 oz; 60 grams) dried cherries or cranberries see Notes
• Maldon sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Place the pecan halves on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant and just a darker golden, about 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven. Let them cool and then chop roughly and set aside.
3. Place the butter in a small pot and melt over medium heat. Let it go through all the stages of turning to brown butter, swirling it occasionally. Once the foam subsides a bit, the butter smells pleasantly nutty, and the there are brown bits (not scorched!) at the bottom of the pot, then remove from the heat.
4. Place both sugars in a large bowl. Add the browned butter to the sugars, scraping any bits from the pot into the sugars. Stir to blend well. Let it cool.
5. Set a mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Sift the chestnut flour and tapioca flour into the bowl to remove any lumps. Add the baking soda and salt and blend.
6. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and vanilla. Once the butter sugar mixture has cooled down a bit, it will be safe to add egg to the bowl. Stir well to blend.
7. Add the flour mixture. Stir well to combine. And then whisk vigorously till well blended. It will firm up a bit, this is fine.

8. Setting 2 tbsp of the chopped pecans and 2 tbsp of the chocolate chunks aside, stir in the remainder, as well as the cherries into the batter, until evenly distributed. Set the bowl of batter into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

9. Preheat the oven to 375F. (in case you turned the oven off from before)

10. Roll out approximately 1 1/2-2 tbsp of the dough to place on two parchment lined baking sheets. The balls of dough should be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter or a bit smaller. You should be able to make around 18 cookies balls. Don't put more than 6 per sheet spread out as much as possible. I use two sheets, with 6 cookies per sheet.

11. Gently push down on the tops of the mounds, and divide the reserved pecan pieces and chocolate chunks over the tops of all the cookies.

12. Place the baking sheets side by side on a rack set at the middle of the oven.

13. Bake the cookies until the edges are golden brown and just set, about 12- 14 minutes (depending on your oven and the size of your cookies), rotating them from side to side and back to front at the 6 minute mark. The middle may still seem soft and underbaked, this is fine. They will continue firming up outside in the residual heat. If desired, occasionally open the door and bang the entire sheets against the rack to help the dough settle into pleasing edges. I do this every two minutes, starting at the 6 minute mark.

14. Remove the sheets from the oven and set them on cooling racks. If desired, use a large glass or english muffin ring to surround the warm cookies and spin to help bring in the edges into a pleasing roundness. Sprinkle with salt while the chocolate is still warm and gooey.

15. Let the cookies cool for about 4-5 minutes. At this point you should be able to use a spatula to remove the cookies from the baking sheets directly onto the cooling rack to finish firming up.

16. They will firm up after 10 minutes or a bit longer. They can be stored in a sealed container for 4 days. (if they last that long!)

Recipe Notes

The dough can be prepared in advance and even frozen. I find it best to roll out the dough balls, place them onto a wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen they can be transferred to a freezer bag. Thaw just enough to be able to place a few strategic pieces of chopped chocolate and pecans onto the tops so that they will stick. Increase the baking time to allow them to bake through to the centre. This recipe makes 18 average sized cookies.

Feel free to replace the total amount of dry flour (chestnut and tapioca) with straight AP flour, or a gluten free cup for cup blend.

Alternative add-ons: pretzel bits will work (if you are not gluten free) Dried cranberries, pepitas, and even popcorn would be great stirred through instead of the dried fruit.

This recipe was inspired by the Cherry Chestnut Chocolate Cookies by Alanna Taylor-Tobin in her book, Alternative Baker.  Check out her website The Bojon Gourmet for other great gluten free baking recipes.