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 optional sprinkle of sea salt!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Chill Time 1

Total Time 1 35

Servings to 36 cookies

Calories 144kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

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.

Video

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!

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