Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies transform classic cookies into gourmet treats with their chewy texture, crisp edges, and amazing caramel undertone and depth of flavor from brown butter, rich chocolate, and an optional sprinkle of sea salt!
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There aren't many sweets I love more than a good ol' chocolate chip cookie. But these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies take my favorite treat and elevate them about ten levels!
If you're not already familiar with the wonder that is brown butter, it's regular butter that's gently cooked until the water evaporates and the milk solids turn golden, resulting in a rich, intense butter that tastes both nutty and caramelized. In other words? When you swap browned butter for regular butter in a recipe, magical things happen!
That being said, it's not as simple as substituting browned butter for regular butter in just any recipe. There are some minor adjustment that have to be made to ensure success! And this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe has perfected the secret formula.
Ingredients
So what does it take to make a batch of Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies? Pretty standard chocolate chip cookie ingredients, actually...
- Salted butter. I almost always use unsalted butter in my baking. However, for this recipe, salted butter develops deeper flavor during the browning process, which then permeates through the cookies. So if you’re going to go to the trouble of making Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, I’d go ahead and start with salted butter. 😉
- All-purpose flour, baking soda, + salt. The dry ingredients. I always use unbleached flour.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar. I prefer using light brown sugar in this recipe, but dark brown sugar will work as well.
- Eggs. At room temperature.
- Whole milk. Adding a small amount of milk makes up for the water lost during the butter browning process. It also serves to prevent the cookies from drying out as quickly.
- Pure vanilla extract. One of the prominent flavors in chocolate chip cookies, so I always recommend using the good stuff!
- Semisweet chocolate chips. Again, using good quality chocolate chips is only going to enhance your cookies.
- Flaky sea salt. Optional but recommended, a sprinkle of flaky salt adds another layer of flavor to make the browned butter and the chocolate POP!
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
The first step is making the browned butter! And while it's easier than you think, it does require a bit of patience, taking between 5 and 10 minutes.
- Get ready by setting a medium heatproof bowl by your stove. Cut your butter into pieces and place in a medium (light-colored or stainless steel) saucepan set over medium-low heat. Stir until melted.
- The butter will start foaming, sizzling, and crackling. Stir it continuously as the water evaporates, but lower the heat if the butter starts browning too quickly. Eventually, the foam will subside, the butter will smell nutty, and the solids at the bottom of the pan will turn golden brown.
- Immediately pour the butter into the waiting bowl to halt the cooking process before the brown bits burn, which can happen quickly. (If the brown bits turn too dark/burn when you make your brown butter, you can strain it through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove them.) Set the browned butter aside to cool for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the cooled brown butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar until well-blended.
- Beat in the eggs, milk, and vanilla until completely smooth and combined.
- Slowly and gradually stir in the dry ingredients on low speed until just combined.
- Quickly stir in the chocolate chips. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven. Scoop the dough into 1 ½-inch balls and space out on prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake until your Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies start to firm up around the edges with soft, puffy centers, anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will sink back down as they cool.
- If desired, sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt as soon as the pan comes out of the oven. Allow the cookies to cool directly on the pans.
I mean, how amazing do these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies look? They've got crisp edges, chewy centers, gooey chocolate chips, deep and complex caramel flavor, and a pinch of salt to bring everything into perfect balance.
Simply. SCRUMPTIOUS!
Tips + Tricks
I tested these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies multiple times to get them just right. Believe me, my family didn't mind eating my rejects for weeks on end! 🙂 That being said, all of that testing resulted in some tips for success:
● If you don’t wish to use an electric mixer, you can make this cookie dough by hand with a wooden spoon. Just be sure to thoroughly combine the ingredients in each step.
● For accurate measuring, be sure to fluff and spoon the flour into your measuring cup, then level off the top of the cup with the flat side of a butter knife.
● Chilling the dough for 1 hour before baking enhances the flavor of the cookies, prevents them from spreading too much, and also helps them to not dry out so quickly once baked.
● I bake my cookies on a 13- by 18-inch half sheet pan, arranging them in four rows of three with 2 ½ inches between the dough balls.
● For “prettier” cookies, press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each dough ball (without smushing it down) before baking.
● Make sure your baking sheets cool down between batches or the cookie dough will spread too much.
Cooling + Storage
As difficult as it is to wait, I recommend allowing your Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies to cool on the pans for 15 to 20 minutes before eating them. And for whatever cookies don't get scarfed down immediately, allow them to finish cooling completely on the pans (rather than on a cooling rack).
These cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll stay fresh for a few days before they start drying out. However, adding a piece of white bread to the storage container will help your cookies stay soft and fresh longer!
Is this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe a bit fussier than throwing together a batch of regular chocolate chip cookies? Yes.
But is it difficult? No.
And is it worth it? HECK YEAH!!!
My advice is to make these the next time you want to impress someone with your baking prowess! 🙂
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies amplify and enhance everything that's already great about regular chocolate chip cookies.
The depth of flavor and the contrasting textures are out of this world.
They're my new favorite, and I bet they'll be yours, too.
More Tempting Cookies
- Ultimate Cowboy Cookies
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Soft + Puffy Sugar Cookies
- Coconut Macaroons
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) salted butter
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Make the Brown Butter: Set a medium heatproof bowl by your stove. Make the brown butter by cutting butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and placing in a medium, light-colored or stainless steel saucepan set over medium-low heat. Stir until melted. The butter should start foaming, sizzling, and crackling (slightly raise the heat if necessary, but don’t go too hot or the butter will burn). Stir continuously as the water evaporates but take care that the butter doesn’t start browning too quickly. Eventually, the foam will subside, the butter will smell nutty, and the solids at the bottom of the pan will turn golden brown. Immediately pour the butter into the waiting bowl to halt the cooking process before the brown bits burn, which can happen in mere seconds. This whole process will typically take between 5 and 10 minutes.
- Cool the Brown Butter: Set the bowl aside and allow the brown butter to cool for 30 minutes. During this time, you can measure out/prep the other cookie ingredients (combine the dry ingredients, crack the eggs into a bowl with the milk and vanilla, etc.).
- Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Make the Cookie Dough: In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cooled brown butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar until well-blended. Beat in eggs, milk, and vanilla until completely combined. Slowly and gradually stir in the dry ingredients on low speed until just combined. Quickly stir in the chocolate chips. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Prep the Oven: Arrange rack in center position and preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Bake the Cookies: Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to shape the dough into 1 ½-inch balls and arrange, 2 ½ inches apart, on prepared cookie sheet. Bake until the cookies start to firm up around the edges with soft, puffy centers, anywhere from 12 to 15 minutes. The cookies will sink back down as they cool.
- Cool and Store: If desired, sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky salt as soon as the pan comes out of the oven. Allow the cookies to cool directly on the pans. Once completely cool, transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- I almost always use unsalted butter in my baking. However, for this recipe, salted butter develops deeper flavor during the browning process, which then permeates through the cookies.
- If the brown bits turn too dark/burn when you make your brown butter, you can strain it through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove them.
- If you don’t wish to use an electric mixer, you can make this cookie dough by hand with a wooden spoon. Just be sure to thoroughly combine the ingredients in each step.
- For accurate measuring, fluff and spoon the flour into your measuring cup, then level off the top of the cup with the flat side of a butter knife.
- Adding a small amount of milk makes up for the water lost during the butter browning process. It serves to prevent the cookies from drying out as quickly, as does chilling the dough for 1 hour before baking.
- I bake my cookies on a 13- by 18-inch half sheet pan, arranging them in four rows of three with 2 ½ inches between the dough balls.
- For “prettier” cookies, press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each dough ball (without smushing it down).
- Make sure your baking sheets cool down between batches or the cookie dough will spread too much.
- As difficult as it is to wait, I recommend allowing the cookies to cool on the pans for 15 to 20 minutes before eating them. And then, for whatever cookies are left, allow them to finish cooling on the pans before storing in an airtight container for up to a few days. You can add a piece of white bread to the container to keep your cookies soft and fresh longer!
