Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

Directions

1. Cut up the stick of butter intended to make brown butter with (since we're melting it, it doesn't need to be room-temperature like the other stick) To create brown butter, cut the stick into chunks and melt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter melts and begins to smell nutty. Swirl the pan often. Remove from heat when just shy of golden brown. Place in a bowl and stick it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, just to slightly thicken it.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Warm the milk slightly, about 10 seconds in a microwave, and add the instant coffee. Stir a bit to help the coffee dissolve.
4. In a stand mixer set with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter, the brown butter, and the sugars on medium-low speed for 5 minutes.
5. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract and beat for one minute.
6. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, about a 1/4 cup at a time, until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. Add the coffee/milk mixture.
7. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and add the chocolate to the dough, stirring by hand just until the chocolate chips are well-distributed.
8. Chill for an hour. The dough won't harden, so don't worry about the fact that it still looks soft. The milk keeps it fairly loose unless you chill it for hours, which you can also do if you prefer to make ahead of time.
9. Preheat oven to 375.
10. Drop teaspoons of cookie dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will be fairly delicate at first before they cool, so let them sit on the pan for at least a few minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack. Makes about four dozen cookies.