Brown Butter Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

Begin by browning the butter. Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat, until it begins to foam. Make sure you stir and scrape the sides and bottom of the pan frequently during this process with a rubber spatula (you don't want the butter solids to burn at the bottom of the pan).

After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan; continue to stir and remove from heat as soon as the butter is visibly brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a separate heat-proof bowl and cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

While the brown butter cools, prepare the nutella centers for these cookies! Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and use two spoons to create 12 equal sized scoops of nutella using about 1 Tbsp of Nutella per scoop. Place this pan in the freezer to allow them to firm up.

With a hand or stand mixer, cream together the cooled brown butter and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture lightens in color. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream or greek yogurt on a medium high speed until the mixture is smooth.

Add in the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Mix on low-speed just until combined, you do not want to overmix your dough! Gently fold in the chopped chocolate chips.

The dough should be a bit sticky at this point. Chill the cookie dough for 30-60 minutes, until it's thicker and easier to handle. This also helps the dough to absorb the flavor of the brown butter, and prevents the cookies from overspreading while they bake.

About 20 minutes before your cookies are done chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Use a cookie scoop to make 12 equal sized cookie dough balls.

Remove the chilled scoops of Nutella from the freezer.

Flatten each ball of cookie dough in the palm of your hand, and place a frozen scoop of Nutella in the center. Fold the dough around the Nutella and shape into a hockey puck, being sure the Nutella is fully covered. Set aside and repeat with the remaining cookie dough.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, aluminum foil, or a silicone baking mat.

Place the cookie dough balls 2-3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Top with a few extra bits of chocolate if desired.

Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. Rotate the pans halfway through to help the cookies bake evenly.

Remove them from the oven and garnish with sea salt while they're still hot.

Let the cookies cool on the pan for 15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy with a glass of cold milk!