These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are the perfect elevated chocolate chip cookie with a toffee flavor coming through from the brown butter, and a lightly crisp edge and gooey center. Top it with some flaked sea salt and you'll never look back.
HOW TO BROWN BUTTER
Browning butter may sound like a daunting task to someone who’s never done it before, but it’s not hard at all. And I promise once you try it and smell it you’ll never want it another way again.
Put 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) in a large saucepan over medium heat. You are going to want to stir it at first while it melts, then let it go past boiling, and past foaming, til it turns a nice golden brown with a nutty smell. Make sure you are keeping an eye on it because it goes from the perfect brown to burnt fairly quickly.
Once you have finished browning the butter, pour all of it, even the brown bits on the bottom, into a glass bowl. Put into the fridge and let it solidify until it is a nice soft butter. This should take about an hour.
HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- Place browned butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, mix until smooth on low speed, anout 30 seconds each egg. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. And flour mixture to bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. I usually like to stop mixing when I still have flour remnants around the bowl. Fold in chocolate chunks, saving a handful to stick on top of the dough balls.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a ¼ cup cookie scoop. At this point I usually like to chill my dough for a few hours.
- Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown outside rim.
- Sprinkle with a little flaked salt if you like that kind of thing. You know I do.
TIPS FOR MAKING THESE BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- Allow butter to solidify again. This will help to keep the texture intact as you make the cookie dough. When its still a liquid it makes the dough feel a lot more crumbly.
- Chill the dough. I know it can be hard to have to wait for the cookie dough to chill, but it makes a difference in the spreading of the dough. This helps them to keep there shape better.
- Use chocolate bars. Chocolate bars cut into chunks are so wonderful to use in cookies because there are no stabilizers in chocolate bars, therefore they are able to melt. Chocolate chips are meant to hold their shape, so they don't allow for melty chocolate puddles like in the pictures of these cookies.
- Bake cookies on parchment paper. Parchment paper also helps cookies from spreading, and helps cookies to bake more evenly.
FREEZING THE DOUGH AND/OR COOKIES
I love having frozen cookie dough balls ready to bake at anytime in my freezer. To do this, just chill the cookie dough as mentioned above in individual balls. When totally cold, place however many dough balls you don't want to bake into a ziplock bag. Label the bag with the name, temperature and bake time so you don't need to look it up later. Then when you just want a few cookies, bake as directed. No need to alter the temperature, or the bake time.
These cookies can also be frozen after baked. Just make sure they have come to room temperature so that the chocolate doesn't get all over each of the cookies. They can be stored in an air tight container for a few months, not that they'll last that long.
OTHER BROWN BUTTER RECIPES TO TRY:
Brown Butter Salted Toffee Blondies
Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment below if you make them and love them as much as I do.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) butter browned and solidified again
- 1½ cups (330 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (420 g) all-purpose flour
- 15 oz (425.24 g) chopped chocolate or chips trader joes pound plus is my favorite
- flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Start by browning the butter. You'll take one cup of butter and melt in a medium saucepan, and then continue to cook past the point of boiling. You will do this over medium heat, past the point of the butter foaming, until it turns a nice golden brown, and has a nutty smell. Make sure you are stirring and watching it, because it will turn from perfectly brown to burnt fairly quickly. Once finished browning, pour into a glass bowl and put back in the fridge to solidify again. You will want it to become a soft solid again to start the cookie dough. This should take a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place browned butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, mix until smooth on low speed, anout 30 seconds each egg. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. And flour mixture to bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. I usually like to stop mixing when I still have flour remnants around the bowl. Fold in chocolate chunks, saving a handful to stick on top of the dough balls.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a ¼ cup cookie scoop. At this point I usually like to chill my dough for a few hours.
- Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes. You're looking for a nice golden brown outside rim.
- Sprinkle with a little flaked salt if you like that kind of thing. You know I do.
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan before moving to a cooling rack to hold their shape.
Cara
Love me some brown butter and the extra sea salt is divine. I also love when recipes give Graham’s for measurement. So much better in my opinion! This will be on repeat
brooke
I'm so happy we both share a love for brown butter and extra salt!! Thank you so much for trying them!
Kinzie
This recipe is amazing - I’ve made it so many times and each time my whole family is like, “wow these are ridiculously good!” ❤️
brooke
Thank you so much!! I love when you can please the whole family! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating and review.
Julie
Put the butter on the stove on medium. Took dog for walk. Came home to the smell of burnt butter. Poured it into a bowl leaving black grit in the pan. Made said cookies. OMG. Heaven!!!!
Thank you for loving salt and browned butter, they’re 2 of my favorite things!
brooke
I'm glad they worked out in the end and that you liked them!! Thanks!
Kinzie
These are amazing - so so good. I’ve made them at least 5 times. One of the best recipes around!
Kallie
The only chocolate chip cookie recipe you’ll need. That’s the only thing to know.
brooke
I love this!! And yes, these are a staple at our house too!
Ashley
Hands down the best cookies I have ever made!
Julie
Probably the best cookies I’ve ever made! My only complaint would be that I eat WAY too many whenever I make them.
Haley
Hands down the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I’ll ever use again!!! These are fantastic!!! The brown butter just takes it over the edge!
brooke
Thank you so much!! I agree, brown butter is truly amazing!
Ashley
Hi! Do you have a recommendation for the type of chocolate bars you like to use? I’m going to make these for a girls night and don’t want to let anyone down 🙂
brooke
I usually use the milk and dark chocolate pound plus bars from trader joes, but any good quality chocolate will be great. Chopping up a bar always helps create the melty pools of chocolate, but some people prefer chips. Guittard chocolate chips are my favorite if you buy chocolate chips.
Allyson
Love these cookies! Just curious what flour you use? I always weigh mine, but the gold medal flour I use is only 360g for 3 cups. Debating adding a bit more for the next batch 🙂 Thanks!
Sydney Ellen Rucker
Brown Butter Makes Everything Better!!! These are so so yummy. Side Note: Ran out of AP flour so I did Half AP Flour/Half Almond Flour. They spread a little more BUT the texture is so chewy and nutty!! Loved it!
Eleanor
Amazing!!! So good. We use this recipe a TON. I did put the butter in the freezer for thirty minutes to speed up the process. Is that a mistake?
brooke
Thank you so much! The butter should be fine chilled in the freezer as well!
Melissa
I don’t think you understand how amazing these cookies are! I take them to every event and they are devoured, sometimes before the actual meal starts! The brown butter is the key! Thanks Brooke for another homerun!
brooke
Oh yay!! Thanks Melissa! I think brown butter makes everything better!!
S
My cookies came out much puffier than pictured. Yours look more dense and chewy. Where did I go wrong?
Brooke Homec
If they're puffier its usually because there is more flour than needed. Did you with or scoop your flour?
Kim
The browned butter puts these over the top. They are delicious!
Natalie Lowery
Such a delicious cookie! The browned butter elevates the flavor and adds such a nutty kick. I love this recipe and can’t wait to make these again.
So Good!!!!!!!!
Natalie Lowery
Love these chocolate chip cookies!!! The brown butter elevates the cookies and make them irresistible. Bake them asap.
Nikki
The brown butter is a game changer! My family can’t get enough of these.
Amy Schelhaas
I made tons of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Browning butter has always made me nervous. Thankfully, I’ve mastered it! These were awesome. I didn’t have many chocolate chips so I used butterscotch chips as well. 10/10!
Brooke Homec
I'm so glad you're now a brown butter fan like me! It just adds so much extra flavor. Thank you for trying and leaving a review!
AB
Love this chocolate chip cookie recipe! It is always a hit!