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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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This chocolate chip cookie dough freezes exceptionally well

More to Bake and Eat


Another Favorite: 3-Ingredient Buttery Shortbread Cookies


Did you make this?

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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

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Recipe Rating




56 comments

    • Jacque Hastert
    • 5 stars

    These cookies are to die for! I made them last night and learned that I will have to double the batch next time.

      • chewoutloud

      Awesome, Jacque! So super happy you guys loved these cookies as much as we do! 🙂 🙂 🙂

    • Sophia
    • 5 stars

    These look so good, chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite! The brown butter gives it such a nice rich flavor. Delicious!

      • chewoutloud

      So happy you love these cookies, Sophia!! 🙂

    • LaKita
    • 5 stars

    These chocolate chip cookies look absolutely perfect and delicious! They are my favorite cookie and I will definitely save this recipe for later.

    • Jenny Graves
    • 5 stars

    Delicious! They really are the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Bookmarked your recipe to use again and again. Thanks so much for sharing them!

      • chewoutloud

      So happy you liked these, Jenny!

    • Amanda
    • 5 stars

    Love this chocolate chip cookie recipe! Browned butter really is the secret!

      • chewoutloud

      Yay, so happy you enjoyed these cookies, Amanda 🙂

    • GUNJAN C Dudani
    • 5 stars

    The other day my daughter wanted to bake some chocolate chip cookies at home. I am so glad I found your recipe. We can now have a home baking project.

      • chewoutloud

      SO happy you guys like these 🙂

    • Amanda
    • 5 stars

    These cookies are just beautiful! I love the flavor brown butter adds to anything, so these sound delicious.

      • chewoutloud

      The brown butter makes all the difference! Thanks, Amanda 🙂

    • Analida Braeger
    • 5 stars

    Thanks for the great recipe and all the tips! These were fun to make and even better to eat!

      • chewoutloud

      Awesome! So so happy you liked these as much as we do 🙂 🙂

    • Geoff Stuart
    • 4 stars

    Subtracting a star because you omitted the walnuts or pecans. Can’t call these the world’s best unless they include nuts. Otherwise they’re just too cloyingly sweet. Love the browned butter and dark brown sugar. Thanks for springing this recipe from behind the CI paywall. It deserves to see the light of day.

    The font on your site is so light it gives me eyestrain. Please consider shifting to a thicker, darker font.

      • chewoutloud

      Thanks for your thoughts, Geoff! My husband would agree on the nuts…he likes walnuts in his cookies, too 🙂

    • Issy

    Do you chill your dough before baking? (and how long?)
    And how do you shape the balls? Do you scoop them then roll them into regular balls or do you make tall balls of cookie dough? I am testing this recipe and I really want to make perfect cookies!

      • chewoutloud

      Hi, Issy! I typically do chill my dough before baking, just out of habit. Usually 1 hour at least. I like to shape my dough balls about 1-inch around, and make them a bit taller so they don’t flatten as much. Hope you love these cookies as much as we do. Happy baking, and so glad you are here today 🙂

    • christina b.

    I’m intrigued by this recipe! I’ve been trying to find the right CCC recipe that gives you that deep toffee flavor, with chewy centers and a crispy edge. Do these have a crispy edge? Meanwhile the boyfriend has been pleased with all my attempts at finding the perfect recipe 😉

      • chewoutloud

      LOL, he’s so lucky for sure! 😉 These do have a slightly crispy edge with chewy center. The deep toffee flavor is most definitely there 🙂

    • lucas

    We tried then today and they are amazing. Great recibe. thank you!!

      • chewoutloud

      Awesome, so happy to hear it, Lucas!

    • Alicia Taylor at Taylorlife.com

    Oh! These look so tasty – and I adore the polka dot set!

      • chewoutloud

      Thanks, Alicia!

    • Nati

    I had no idea that chocolate chips cookies were supposed to be chewy! That’s a good thing to know, because I usually dislike when cookies or biscuits are chewy.

    • The Belly Rules The Mind
    • 5 stars

    These cookies look good. Moist and chewy just as they should be. Kids love chocolate chip cookies anytime.

      • chewoutloud

      My kiddos, too! 🙂 Thanks for being here today!

    • Rahul Khurana

    These choco chip cookies look so tempting. I can eat dozens of them everyday. The pics are really shot well. 🙂

      • chewoutloud

      Thank you!

    • Gennifer Rose

    Chocolate chip are my favorite! Pretty much anything with chocolate is amazing 🙂

      • chewoutloud

      Agreed, Gennifer 🙂 Thank you!

    • Elizabeth

    Chocolate cookies are definitely my weakness. I can’t wait to try this recipe.

      • chewoutloud

      I’m right there with you, Elizabeth! 🙂

    • priti

    They look so delicious, I just now feel like to eat one…but first gotta make them 😉

      • chewoutloud

      Right. Wouldn’t it be nice for these to just magically appear when the craving hits? 😉

    • Joanna
    • 5 stars

    Who doesn’t love chocolate chip cookies? I live your recipe that makes them gooey inside, that’s my favorite bit. Thanks for the recipe!

      • chewoutloud

      I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love ccc! 🙂 🙂 Thank you, Joanna!

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