Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Nov. 29, 2024
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies stay soft and chewy for days. Brown butter makes all the difference, creating a toffee-like depth that is unmatched.
In This Article
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Why This Recipe Stands Out
Around here, we never turn down buttery, richly flavorful chocolate chip cookies. These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are just that and more. Here’s why:
- The Brown Butter: Browning the butter gives these cookies a deep nutty – caramel flavor that adds a whole other dimension of flavor to the chocolate chip cookies we love.
- Perfect Christmas Cookies: If you’re looking for new cookie recipes to try this Christmas, Brown Butter Cookies are the perfect spin on a classic!
- Cookies Freeze Wonderfully: Both the cookie dough and baked cookies freeze wonderfully making them perfect for all the cookie emergencies.
- Makes Lots of Cookies: Just like our Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, this recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies makes over 30 cookies – perfect for sharing as gifts!
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter – The key ingredient for this recipe, unsalted butter, is browned in a saucepan until caramel-colored.
- Baking Soda – Baking soda helps the cookies spread evenly and cook to chewy perfection.
- Sugar – We use both granulated and dark brown sugar for the perfect balance of soft and chewy with a hint of molasses flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract is essential for the best chocolate chip cookies.
- Eggs – One egg and one egg yolk hold our cookies together and provide a rich flavor and texture.
- Chocolate Chips – Of course, we wouldn’t have chocolate chip cookies without a generous serving of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Substitutions And Variations
Check out our favorite variations for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Add Mix-Ins: Try adding some chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds to Brown Butter Cookies. You could also mix in some shredded coconut, like we do in our recipe for Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Change the Kind of Chocolate: We use semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe. But dark, milk, or white chocolate chips, like in these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies, would also be delicious!
- Make Regular Chocolate Chip Cookies: Of course, if you’re in a time crunch, you can always skip browning the butter and simply make classic Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Top with Extra Chocolate: We love topping these cookies with a drizzle of this Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce and a sprinkle of course sea salt.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Heat butter in a heavy pan on medium-high heat until melted.
- Constantly stir until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, blend both sugars, vanilla, and melted butter until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk, and whisk until mixture is smooth.
- Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips and chill dough for 30-60 minutes.
- Remove dough from the fridge and scoop into 1.5 TB balls. Place on parchment- lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Slightly flatten dough balls into discs and bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
You can make a big batch of these, share with friends, and know your cookies will stay fresh and chewy until they’re devoured. Here’ how we prepare these in advance:
- Freeze the Dough: Wrap cookie dough airtight and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the fridge for a day or until dough is malleable.
- Freeze Baked Cookies: After baking the cookies, allow them to cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Separate each layer with wax paper and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
- Chill Dough Overnight: Feel free to chill the dough overnight as well. Let it thaw at room temp until it’s easy to work with and bake as usual!
Commonly Asked Questions
Why use browned butter in chocolate chip cookies?
Browned butter gives chocolate chip cookies a nutty-caramel flavor that is truly stunning. It elevates chocolate chip cookies to a whole other level!
What is the secret to chewy, soft cookies?
The secret to the chewiest cookies is to slightly underbake them. Your cookies should be golden on the edges and set, but very soft. It’s even okay if the center is still slightly shiny. Let them cool completely and they’ll finish cooking to perfection.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
Yes! Simply replace the all-purpose flour for 1:1 gluten-free flour or check out our recipe for Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
How long will cookies stay fresh at room temperature?
Cookies will stay fresh covered at moderate room temp for up to one week.
Why do you use unsalted butter for this recipe?
Since these cookies use a lot of butter, we prefer unsalted so we can easily control the saltiness. Different brands of salted butter can all have different amounts of salt. So, this just ensures a consistent result.
Did you make this?
Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and chewy and stay that way for days. Browned butter here makes all the difference, as it has a toffee like flavor.
Ingredients
- 14 TB unsalted butter
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, (8 3/4 oz.)
- 1 tsp table salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ cup granulated sugar, (3 1/2 oz.)
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed, (5 1/4 oz.)*
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temp.
- 1 large egg yolk, room temp.
- 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large heavy pan on medium-high heat until melted, while stirring. Constantly stir until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, about 4 minutes total. Once it turns caramel-colored, remove from heat immediately.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together; set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add both sugars, vanilla, and melted butter. Blend on medium-high until fully incorporated, 1 minute.
- 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. Chill dough at least 30-60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle position. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Scoop the dough into balls of about 1.5 tablespoon each. Place on lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Slightly flatten dough balls into a disc shape.
- Bake about 9-10 minutes or until edges and bottoms are browned and cookies have spread nicely. The cookies will be very soft, but will set as they cool.
Notes
- Do not use nonstick pan to brown the butter, as you won’t be able to tell when it’s appropriately colored.
- Butter turns caramel colored quickly, so keep stirring and watching closely to prevent butter from burning. Once you smell the toffee-like aroma and it’s caramel colored, remove from heat immediately.
- If weather is cool outside, I like to set the hot browned butter outside to cool off faster.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape all browned butter into the batter; a lot can be left behind if you’re just pouring it in.
- 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 described in this sugar cookie recipe to measure flour.
- Always bake 1 pan at a time. Actual bake time will vary, depending on how cold your dough is and individual oven differences.
- Very cold dough may feel a bit crumbly if you don’t use it the same day; you can let it come to room temperature so it is easier to work with.
- 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: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
More To Bake And Eat
- Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips (6 Ingredients) – These chewy, soft cookies are fit for every single peanut butter and chocolate lover out there.
- Chewy Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies – Add in some shredded coconut to your chocolate chip cookies for a wonderfully aromatic treat.
- The Best White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies – As white chocolate fans, we adore these chewy white chocolate macadamia cookies.
- Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies – Yes, there’s a perfect chocolate chip cookie out there for gluten-free eaters too!