These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and chewy with a subtle nutty flavor. They’re loaded with chunks of dark chocolate and finished off with a touch of sea salt. If you’re looking to up your chocolate chip cookie game, these are a must-try.
Easy Brown Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips
One thing about me is that I am vey picky about my chocolate chip cookies. And I’ve eaten plenty that were just okay. So, I spent a good chunk of time working on my Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe to make sure it was perfect.
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are the same quick and easy recipe, but they’re made with brown butter instead of regular melted butter. You get the same chewy texture and cripsy edges, but with melted pools of chocolate and the signature nutty flavor of brown butter.
What Does Brown Butter Do to Cookies?
The brown butter gives the cookies a nuttier, richer finish. Basically, the darker you brown the butter (without burning it, of course), the deeper the flavor will be.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – Key Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter – most of the butter will be browned and then you’ll need an additional 2 tablespoons of regular butter, not browned.
- Sugar – we’re using a combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar for a perfectly moist and chewy texture
- Chocolate – I opted for chocolate chunks instead of chips. Chopping up the chocolate bar results in lots of chocolate shards that get blended throughout the cookie dough and they melt down into pools of chocolate.
- Flakey Sea Salt – I love Maldon sea salt. It is life-changing.
Why Do I Need Both Butters?
When you brown butter, you are cooking off some of the moisture in the butter, so by adding another 2 tablespoons of melted butter, you can ensure you’re getting the right amount of fat and moisture needed.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These brown butter cookies are ready in just 30 minutes!
- Brown the butter: Cut the butter into pieces, then melt it over medium heat in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then stir frequently until the butter turns amber and releases a nutty aroma. Remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes. For more detailed instructions, here’s a step-by-step tutorial for how to brown butter.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Melt additional butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then add it to a large mixing bowl with both sugars. Beat until combined, then add the egg and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients: In another bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Slowly mix into the wet batter until a dough forms. Add the chocolate and beat until incorporated.
- Portion and bake: Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough out onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, then bake until the edges are set, but the center is still slightly gooey.
Why Are My Cookies Flat and How To Fix It
Here are a couple of ways you can prevent your brown butter chocolate chip cookies from spreading too much as they bake:
- Let the butter cool: Once the butter is browned, it does need to cool for several minutes before you add it to the other ingredients. If it’s too hot, it will soften everything up and the cookies won’t hold their shape. The best way to tell if the dough is ready is to scoop it onto the baking tray. If it holds its shape, it’s good to go. If it wilts or falls, then it needs to firm up a bit.
- Properly measure the dry ingredients: I always recommend using a kitchen scale when baking, but if you don’t have one, follow the spoon and measure technique to properly measure the flour.
- Line the baking sheet: A silicone baking mat helps prevent spreading.
If your cookies are spreading too much, you can still fix it! Pull them out of the oven and use a spoon or butter knife to push the edges back towards the center. Be sure to do this while they’re still warm!
How to Store
These chocolate chip cookies will last in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To enjoy again, thaw in the fridge or warm in the microwave.
More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Try
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Soft and Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate chip cookies are made with a nutty brown butter, chunks of dark chocolate and a touch of sea salt on top. They are perfectly crispy on the edges but soft and chewy in the middle.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (144g) unsalted butter, browned
- 2 tablespoon (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (48g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (135g) roughly chopped chocolate bar
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- To brown the butter (1/2 cup), use a small saucepan, and cut the butter into pieces. Melt the butter over medium heat and allow it to boil and bubble. Once it’s starts boiling, stir it frequently and it will slowly start to turn an amber color and releases a nutty aroma. Remove the butter from the heat and allow it to cool for several minutes.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave-safe bowl for 15-30 seconds. In a large mixing bowl, combine both the melted and browned butter with the brown and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes.
- Next add the egg and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine and slowly add the dry ingredients into the dough, mixing on low speed until dough starts to form.
- Before the dough thickens, add the chocolate chunks. Beat until incorporated.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet. Scoop the dough using a large cookie scoop and place on baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. The center of the cookies should be slightly under baked but not too gooey. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Right when the cookies come out of the oven, use a knife to flatten out any chocolate chunks on top and give it that smeared chocolate look.
- For the chocolate chunks, I like to roughly chop a thick chocolate bar. Pieces should be no larger than a dime
these are amazing! such a good recipe!!!!
Wonderful!! Thank you so much Bella!
Such a great cookie recipe! I’ve never made browned butter until now but after this recipe I don’t know if I can go back to not browning the butter!! Amazing 🙂
This is awesome Carly! Thank you so much!
This an amazing recipe! The cookies came out perfectly! I made 12 instead of 10 so they were a bit smaller but still very large cookies. Love the brown butter addition, such a wonderful taste it gives to these cookies.
Thank you for sharing the recipes, will add these to my Christmas cookie exchange collection this year!
Oh my goodness Lori, thank you!! I agree the brown butter is super good! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
I just finished baking my cookies. I followed the recipe exact. But my cookies don’t look brown. They are a light color I took them out so hopefully they will brown more. They smell amazing though! 😉
i made these cookies, and they taste delicious. but mine don’t get flat. They stay close to the shape of when i put them in the oven. Not crispy around the edges. I even added time to the minutes to get them to brown more. Help!
Hi Maricel, the most likely reason I can think of is over measuring the flour. This can be a common issue.
The best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made!!
Kat- that is AWESOME!! Thank you for sharing!
Can the dough be made in advance and kept refrigerated a few days? I want to make them for a party but want them to be fresh that day. Will baking them from the fridge affect the taste/shape/appearance?
Hi Sarah, I have not tested this specific recipe with a chilled or frozen dough, but it’s based off my chewy chocolate chip cookies, which I did test. It’s best to freeze the dough, and allow the dough to soften around 1.5 hrs prior to baking.
I made these for my family the other night! They didn’t even last an hour. My brother said they were the best cookies he ever had, so this recipe is going to be a staple, for sure!
That is AMAZING! Job well done Lauren!