Brown butter fills these chocolate chip cookies with rich, caramelized flavor. With crisp edges and chewy centers, they’re a bakery-worthy treat!
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are insanely delicious. They have lightly crisp edges, perfect chewy middles, and melty chocolate in every bite. Best of all, brown butter (plus an extra dose of brown sugar) fills them with toffee-like flavor.
I went through a bit of a browned butter phase last year, after I started making these blondies and couldn’t get enough them. Around that time, I tried using brown butter in my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. We devoured every last one of those cookies, but they didn’t have the toasty, nutty brown butter flavor I was after…
Many tests and tweaks later, I’m so excited to share these brown butter chocolate chip cookies with you. With rich, salty, caramel-y undertones, they show off the brown butter at its best. They’re easy to make too—no mixer and no chilling required! Try them the next time you’re craving a bakery-worthy treat. I think you’ll love them!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
I adapted this recipe from these chocolate chip cookies (which, btw, are still a delicious option when you don’t feel like browning butter). The two recipes call for the exact same ingredients, but I use slightly different ratios here to highlight the brown butter.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:
- Chocolate chips, of course! Dark chocolate is my fave, but feel free to use semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate if you prefer. A chopped chocolate bar would also be great!
- All-purpose flour – I use slightly less flour in this recipe to account for the moisture that’s lost when you brown the butter. Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much flour into your measuring cup.
- Unsalted butter – You’ll brown it to add nutty depth to the cookies. Feel free to use salted butter if you prefer. In that case, reduce the salt by half.
- Baking soda – It helps the cookies rise and spread in the oven.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar – I use a higher ratio of brown sugar to white sugar in these cookies than I do in my regular recipe. The molasses flavor of the brown sugar enhances the toffee notes of the brown butter.
- An egg + an egg yolk – The extra yolk perfects the cookies’ chewy texture.
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop! One thing to note: I like using a good amount of salt in cookies to balance the sweetness (think salted caramel). If you don’t love tasting salt in baked goods, feel free to reduce it by half.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Brown Butter
Step 1 of this recipe: browning the butter! This technique sounds fancy, but it only takes a few minutes on the stovetop:
- Slice the butter into pats and place it in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat.
- Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula, cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the butter smells nutty and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden brown.
- To prevent burning, quickly remove the pan from the heat and transfer the butter—including any brown bits at the bottom of the pan—to a bowl to cool slightly.
That’s it! Find more tips and step-by-step photos in my guide to how to brown butter.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once you brown the butter, the rest of this recipe comes together simply:
Start by making the cookie dough. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and the wet ingredients in a large one.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until mostly combined, then add the chocolate chips and mix until well combined.
Chilling the dough is optional here. Pop it in the fridge for up to 2 days for thicker cookies, or bake it right away for ones that spread more (and are ready to eat within 30 minutes…).
When you’re ready to bake, scoop the cookie dough onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. I use a 1/4-cup cookie scoop for this recipe rather than my usual 2-tablespoon scoop. Making the cookies bigger creates the perfect soft center!
Press more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookie dough balls, then press down lightly on the balls to help them spread in the oven.
Bake, one sheet at a time, at 350°F until the edges of the cookies are golden brown, 10 to 13 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Brown the butter in a light-colored pan. This will make it easy to see when the milk solids at the bottom of the pan are golden brown.
- Dough too firm to scoop? Let it sit for a few minutes at room temperature. If you chill the dough and it becomes too firm to scoop easily, just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes. It will soften to a scoop-able texture.
- Take the cookies out of the oven when they still look underdone. This is key for a soft and gooey middle! The cookies will continue to set up as they cool, so you should take them out of the oven before they look fully baked.
How to Store and Freeze
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Can you freeze brown butter chocolate chip cookies?
Yes, these cookies freeze well.
- To freeze baked cookies: Let them cool to room temperature, then seal in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temp or quickly defrost in the microwave.
- To freeze cookie dough: Portion the cookie dough into balls, then freeze in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet until firm. Transfer to an airtight container or bag. Let frozen dough balls sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking according to the recipe.
More Cookie Recipes to Try
If you love this brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, try baking these cookies next:
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Serves 12
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are a bakery-worthy treat! They have lightly crisp edges, chewy middles, and a delicious toffee flavor, thanks to the brown butter and brown sugar. Melty chocolate fills every bite.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Stirring constantly with a spatula or wooden spoon, continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the butter smells nutty and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn golden brown. The butter will foam around the edges in the first few minutes of cooking. The foam will subside slightly before the butter is fully browned. Immediately pour the browned butter into a large heatproof bowl to prevent burning and set aside to cool slightly.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
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Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl with the butter and whisk to combine. Add the egg and egg yolk and whisk until well combined and no streaks of egg white remain. Whisk in the vanilla.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula. When the dry and wet ingredients are mostly combined, add the chocolate chips and mix until well combined.
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Bake the cookie dough right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
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When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Use a ¼-cup cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies. Press more chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies, then press down lightly on the tops of the dough mounds to flatten them slightly. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 13 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown but the tops still look slightly underdone. The cookies will set up as they cool.
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Let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
