I have become a woman obsessed. (Which actually isn’t anything too new.) I am not obsessed with gleaming jewels, fancy cars or even couture dresses. My obsessions are much more quotidian, though if you ask me, they are just as difficult to obtain. I am obsessed with a cookie– a cookie from the great City Bakery.

Count me among the many food bloggers who love this place, and amongst the thousands of New Yorkers who adore their chocolate chunk cookies. Yes, from my first taste of that quite large, deep brown cookie, with bittersweet chocolate chunks nestled into the rich dough– I was hooked. And I became obsessed with recreating them at home. But I do not live next door to this delightful bakery cum restaurant; I do not even live a handful of subway stops away. So I vowed to find that recipe somewhere.

Well…I couldn’t find it anywhere. That recipe must be a well-guarded secret, passed down to the bakers at City Bakery, hand-written on some tattered piece of paper, marred with chocolate smears, and bits of dried egg. In other words I could not find that recipe anywhere on the Internet. And I looked. For days. Pouring over websites that mentioned even the word “city” in them, and there were a lot, but I could find nothing. So I made a batch, well, several, myself, trying to recreate the perfection.

And I will be the first to admit that a City Bakery cookie these are not, but they are the best homemade chocolate chunk cookie I have ever eaten. And the key to these cookies is simply melting and browning the butter prior to blending it in the batter. The aspects of a City Bakery cookie, which I tried so hard to emulate, are the caramel color and depth of flavor. Browning the butter was the key. It produces a cookie that is crisp on the outside, chewy and delectable on the inside. These cookies are large in size, and with chunks from a bittersweet chocolate bar inside, they are sweet (it is a cookie after all) but without being cloying.

So (sniff sniff), these cookies will have to do, at least until some disgruntled employee from City Bakery publicizes the recipe on the Internet for all the world to see. But they are a pretty close second, so I won’t feel too bad for eating them right up.

Bittersweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I make these cookies with pieces from a bittersweet chocolate bar, but they could be made with semisweet or dark chocolate, if you prefer. I buy a bar, then break off chunks to create a difference in size and shape.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, browned and cooled
1 ¼ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
4-5 oz. bar semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, broken into chunks

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on low speed until it is smooth and lump free.

Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until fully incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

On low speed, add the flour mixture in stages. Beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix with a wooden spoon until they are just incorporated.

Preheat oven to 350. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Spoon the dough into golf ball sized portions. Batter should make approximately 12 cookies.

Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges, turning the sheets front to back and switching racks halfway through. Remove from the oven, and put hot cookies on a cooling rack to let cool and settle.

* To brown the butter, melt butter over medium low heat in a silver, or light colored saucepan. Butter will melt and pop, then begin to change color. Swirl pan, butter will begin to smell nutty, and should be removed from heat when it is caramel in color. About 3-5 minutes. Put brown butter in a large mixing bowl to cool before adding the rest of the ingredients, about 20-30 minutes.