Skip to content

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Touted as THE Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, these brown butter chocolate chip cookies live up to their name. They stay so soft and chewy for days. Brown butter makes all the difference, creating a toffee-like depth that is unmatched.

cooks illustrated chocolate chip cookies, perfect chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie recipe

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who’s on board for baking and eating the perfect chocolate chip cookies? Around here, we never turn down buttery, richly flavorful chocolate chip cookies. These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are just that and more.

We’re usually well stocked with goodies like Chewy, Thick Triple Chocolate Cookies, Chewy Chocolate-Brownie Cookies, and Best GF Chocolate Chip Cookies, so my gluten-free friends can party too.

This stunning recipe was originally found among my 10-year Cook’s Illustrated magazine collection. They were immediately put to the test, because who doesn’t like the sound of brown butter chocolate chip cookies?

cooks illustrated chocolate chip cookies, perfect chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie recipe
Browned butter makes a world of difference in these chocolate chip cookies

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: What They Taste Like

I’m genuinely into every single chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s worthy of being published here, including these crazy-good cookie bars. None of us can pick just one favorite, though we keep taste testing, just to make sure.

That said, there’s something noticeably special about these brown butter chocolate chip cookies – the browned butter piece is key to this recipe, as it’s all about that nutty-caramel flavor of browned butter in this particular chocolate chip cookie recipe. We kept as close to the original recipe as possible; after making them countless times, we’ve made adaptions to streamline the process without affecting outcome.

Once you taste the amazing combination of rich browned butter and dark brown sugar, chances are extremely high you’ll rank these as the perfect chocolate chip cookies, too.

These cookies are everything – they’re rich and complex, with deep flavors of chocolate, butter, and toffee notes. Plus a wonderfully soft, ultra-chewy texture that remains for days.

cooks illustrated chocolate chip cookies, perfect chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie recipe
These chocolate chip cookies stay fresh and chewy for days

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Freezer Friendly

You can make a big batch, share with friends, and know your cookies will stay fresh and chewy until they’re devoured. For that reason, these cookies are great for shipping to loved ones.

Or you can keep some in the freezer for cookie emergencies, because sometimes people come over and other times you just need some darned good cookies.

This chocolate chip cookie dough can be frozen airtight for up to 2 months. The baked cookies themselves can be frozen airtight for 2 weeks. Possibly longer, but we’ve never been able to keep cookies around very long because… well, cookie emergencies.

cooks illustrated chocolate chip cookies, perfect chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie recipe
This chocolate chip cookie dough freezes exceptionally well

More to Bake and Eat


Another Favorite: 3-Ingredient Buttery Shortbread Cookies


Did you make this?

Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

4.79 from 28 ratings
Touted as Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, these cookies lived up to their name. They're soft and chewy and stay that way for days. Browned butter here makes all the difference, creating a toffee-like depth that makes your taste buds oh-so-happy.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 23 minutes
Servings: 36
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 3/4 sticks
  • 1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, 8 3/4 ounces
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 1/2 ounces
  • ¾ cups packed dark brown sugar, 5 1/4 ounces, see note
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, room temp
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temp
  • 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Heat 10 tablespoons butter in a large heavy pan on medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Constantly stir until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, about 2 min.
  • Remove pan from heat; transfer browned butter to large bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into the hot butter until completely melted; set aside and let cool to room temp.
  • Preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle position. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk flour and baking soda together; set aside.
  • In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add both sugars, salt, vanilla, and melted butter; blend on medium-high until fully incorporated.
  • Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 1-2 min. Mixture should end up thick, smooth, and shiny.
  • Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips. At this point, dough can be wrapped airtight and placed in fridge until ready to bake. We recommend chilling dough at least 30-60 minutes.
  • Scoop the dough into balls of about 1.5 tablespoon each. Place on lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 8 minutes or until edges and bottoms are browned; the cookies will be puffy and quite soft, but cookies will set as they cool. Bake only 1 pan at a time.

Notes

Do not use nonstick pan to brown the butter, as you won't be able to tell when it's appropriately colored.
Check that your brown sugar is fresh and still contains its original moisture. Brown sugar that has become dry will result in dry cookies. Dark brown in lieu of light brown creates a much fuller, deeper toffee/butterscotch flavor.
You'll get the best results when weighing ingredients. If you cannot weigh the dry ingredients, use the scoop/scrape method to measure flour. A dry measuring cup meant for measuring flour is much more accurate than a liquid measuring cup. Glass Pyrex type measuring cups with spout on top are designed for liquids.
Dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months. Baked cookies can be wrapped and stored at moderate room temp for a week, or frozen 1-2 months.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.8g | Protein: 1.8g | Fat: 8.7g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Cholesterol: 22.2mg | Sodium: 86.8mg | Fiber: 0.9g | Sugar: 7.4g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Method: Bake

Add a comment

Recipe Rating




56 comments

    • Trish L.
    • 5 stars

    I have been on the hunt for the *perfect* chocolate chip cookie recipe. My 19 year old son said, “Stop looking. This is it. Don’t make any other kind.” I mixed them by hand and rested the dough in the fridge for 24 hours before baking. Delicious!!

      • Amy Dong

      Awww, that is the BEST kind of comment – thank you, Trish! 🙂

    • Jennifer Passmore
    • 5 stars

    Okay, so these look like the MOST PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES I’ve ever seen! So scrumptious looking!

    • Marjie Mare
    • 5 stars

    These cookies look so good. I am saving the recipe to make with my daughter.

    • vidya

    oh my! these look absolutely divine.. i will definitely be trying these

    • Katie C
    • 5 stars

    These cookies look gorgeous and with browned butter you can’t go wrong!

    • Forever My Little Moon
    • 5 stars

    I love chocolate chip cookies! These look amazing!

    • Louraine

    I love everything chocolate! Looks yummy and easy to make. Thanks for sharing!

    • NW
    • 5 stars

    Can’t wait to try your recipe. If I want to use less sugar, how much should I reduce to that it still gives the good texture and taste? I find that the regualr store bought chocolate chip cookies i.e. Mrs Field are too sweet for my taste. Thank you.

      • chewoutloud

      These cookies tend to be a bit less sweet than Mrs. Field’s version, so you may want to try this recipe as written. Otherwise, you can always reduce sugar by 2 tablespoons and see what you think. Enjoy!

    • Jay
    • 5 stars

    I’ve tried a million cookie recipes, and this is the one I always come back to! The BEST flavor and texture, although I do find I need to fridge the dough for an hour before baking. I share this recipe with everyone!

    • Marco

    Hi! I just saw this recipe and really wanted to make them. I just have one problem. I DONT HAVE A STAND MIXER I saw that you said to use one but I don’t own one so I was wondering if I could do this by hand. If so how long for each thing? I really wanna make these! I mean brown butter so yeah lmk 🙂

      • chewoutloud

      You can use a hand-mixer instead, and follow same recipe instructions. It may take a minute or two longer until mixture is smooth, but all else remains the same. Hope you love these, Marco!

    • Andrew
    • 4 stars

    Very rich and tasty as promised. But very flat and a bit disappointing from visual presentation POV. I’m betting is has something to do with the melted butter we used to achieve the deep buttery taste. I did refrigerate right up until baking, and even used a spoon to scoop back together about half-way through. No luck…they spread like small pancakes. Is there something I can do to keep them from spreading out? Thanks.

    • Michelle H

    I can’t wait to make these, as I have made the Cook’s Illustrated Oatmeal Raisin cookies with a similar recipe of browning the butter first. They are amazing, BTW! Question: I love adding coffee flavor when I can. Do you think a couple teaspoons of espresso powder would work added to this recipe? Thanks.

      • chewoutloud

      Michelle, I love the idea of a bit of espresso powder 🙂 I am with you on those oatmeal raisin cookies, too!

    • Connie
    • 5 stars

    I’ve made these before and love them! You’re not kidding when you say these cookies are perfect because they certainly are!

      • chewoutloud

      So happy you loved these cookies, Connie! We do, too 🙂 🙂

Get our free email series: 5 Easy Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less

Plus our newest recipes each week