Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown the butter and cool it. Put the butter in a medium pan over a medium-high flame. Melt it, then keep it moving with a gentle swirl until the milk solids turn gold and it smells toasty, about 5 minutes. Take the pan off the hob and swirl a little longer, about 15 seconds, until the colour deepens to a full brown. Pour it into a bowl, whisk in the ice cube, and chill until it is fully cold, about 20 minutes, whisking now and then (an ice bath speeds this up). It is ready when it just starts to look opaque and firm at the edges.

Whip the eggs and combine. Meanwhile, whisk the flour with the bicarbonate and salt. In a mixer on the whisk, beat the granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla on medium-high until the mix is a pale brownish yellow and falls in thick ribbons, about 5 minutes. Swap to the paddle. Add the brown sugar and the cooled brown butter and mix on medium for about 15 seconds. Add the dry ingredients on low, stopping while a little raw flour is still visible, about 15 seconds. Add the chocolate and mix on low until the dough just comes together, about 15 seconds more. Pack it into a lidded box and chill for a night at least, and as long as three days.

Scoop, tear and bake. When you want to bake, heat the oven to 160°C, with shelves in the upper- and lower-middle. Line trays with paper. Scoop about 3 tablespoons (around 28 g) per cookie, 6–8 to a tray. Split each scoop, then press the halves back together with the broken faces outwards. Bake for 13–16 minutes, until the rims are golden and the middles still soft, swapping the trays halfway (top with bottom, and turning them around).

Salt and cool. As soon as they come out, dust a little coarse sea salt on top and press it on lightly. Rest on the trays for 2 minutes, then cool fully on a rack. Bake the rest of the dough the same way. Once cold, keep them in a tin at room temperature for up to 5 days.