“Chocolate chipless cookies? But like, what even is the point?” asked more than one befuddled colleague when I told them I was developing a chocolate chip cookie recipe minus the chocolate chips. “I don’t know, just the perfect distillation of buttery, butterscotch-y cookie essence?” I replied, wild-eyed, deep in the midst of my 11th batch. They’re not chocolate chip cookies and they’re not sugar cookies either—they’re an elusive middle ground, a gravity-defying bridge between two worlds, a crack in the space-time continuum.
Without the chocolate for melty-gooey texture and bittersweet flavor (or any other add-ins), cookie dough has nowhere to hide. Every ingredient has to work hard, hitting its full potential, especially the big three: sugar, butter, and flour. This means dark brown sugar in lieu of light brown or white sugar for maximum molasses notes. Instead of simply being creamed or melted, butter is browned, bringing a host of nutty, toasty overtones. It’s with the flour that things take an unusual turn. How does one make plain all-purpose flour—bland and starchy but essential for structure—more flavorful? By toasting, it turns out. Think about the brown crust on bread, the deepness of a New Orleans gumbo, or the golden bottom of a cookie. All of these are extremely delicious because the flour has experienced a Maillard reaction. Toasting a portion of the flour in butter on the stovetop, before working it into the dough, is a cheaty way of boosting these flavor compounds, saturating the cookies with a toffee-like goodness. Don’t be afraid to take it far; you’re looking for the color of milky coffee—if the mixture begins to smoke, get it off the heat.
Even with all the tricks up its sleeve, these chewy cookies come together in under an hour, no stand mixer needed. But be warned: They are inherently divisive. You’ll either face impassioned disbelief that the chocolate is absent or relieved delight. Presenting them to someone in the former camp? Call them “brown sugar cookies” and move on with your day. But for those of us in the latter camp, here is the ultimate version of a chocolate chipless cookie, with soft buttery centers good enough to make even the chippers of the world turn on their tribe.