Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies  Recipe (2024)

By Millie Peartree

Updated Oct. 11, 2023

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe (1)

Total Time
1 hour 50 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 50 minutes
Rating
5(896)
Notes
Read community notes

There is nothing more magical than a gooey-centered, crispy-edged chocolate chip cookie. What makes this particular recipe especially enchanting is the inclusion of brown butter. It mixes right into the dry ingredients, infusing the batter with its nutty flavor without the need for a mixer or any other special equipment. An optional dash of cinnamon has a warmth that feels like a hug, and the brown sugar gives you that chew with a slight molasses taste. Whether for a holiday or an afternoon snack, these cookies may become your go-to.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 16 cookies

  • 1cup/226 grams unsalted butter
  • cups/320 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon baking soda
  • 1teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 1cup/220 grams light brown sugar
  • ¼cup/50 grams granulated sugar
  • 1large egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
  • 2teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 12ounces semisweet chocolate, preferably from a bar, roughly chopped (or use 12 ounces chocolate chips)
  • Flaky sea salt (optional), for topping

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)

354 calories; 17 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 30 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 179 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, stirring and swirling the pan often, until the butter foams, turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 5 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and set aside to cool.

  2. Step

    2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, if you like. Line 2 rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.

  3. Add the sugars to the melted brown butter; mix until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

  4. Step

    4

    Stir in the chocolate. Working one at a time, scoop out a ¼ cup of the dough and roll into a ball. Place the balls on the prepared sheet pans, and chill for 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

  5. Step

    5

    When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake just until the edges start to turn golden, rotating halfway through, about 15 minutes.

  6. Step

    6

    Remove from the oven and bang the pan on the counter. (This creates a flatter, chewier cookie.) Sprinkle cookies with flaky sea salt, if you like. Let sit on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Ratings

5

out of 5

896

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Laura

Suggest that the baking time with cookies this large is going to be more like 19-20 minutes for me.Love the tip about banging the tray on the counter. That is a boss move and I did it. The recipe really isn’t that salty, so the flaky salt on top is definitely welcome.And the verdict: these are great cookies! Love the chocolate to cookie ratio, and the cinnamon and brown sugar in the background just elevate the toastiness of the brown butter. Where has this been all my life?

Val

As for not enough room to chill on a sheet pan, I roll dough into balls and just use the mixing bowl to chill them in the fridge.

Terri O

If your cookie sheets won't fit in the refrigerator, I have placed the shaped cookies in a plastic container with parchment paper between the layers

NAM_WA

This is one of many recipes that I've noticed include placing something in the refrigerator before baking. I wonder if I am alone in not having a refrigerator empty enough to get a pan of cookies in it? Could one refrigerate the dough (in its much smaller bowl) into the fridge before scooping into balls for baking and still get satisfactory results?

Ann O’Neill

Same fridge issue with an alternative to placing pre-scooped balls into a smaller container. Try rolling the dough into a log and refrigerating the log. Cut into the same number as the recipe’s yield and they’ll be a like size.

RL

Melting the 2 sticks of unsalted butter is step 1, but you want to take it to step 2, where you keep it on the heat until it toasts/browns - a good indicator that it's near ready is when you stop hearing sizzling sounds (keep scraping the pan with a spatula so that the milk solids don't stick and burn). In the end, you'll have a liquid that's the color of amber or even caramel - some like to go even darker, but once it gets to dark coffee, it's burnt. Your nose is a good guide throughout.

TL

Underbaking these is key. I overbaked the first few and they had all the appeal of hockey pucks. I underbaked the next ones and then smashed them a bit with a spoon to flatten them and give the flaky salt somewhere to stick. They were so good they made my husband lose his train of thought.

Beth

I've found that when I have covered cookie dough in a bowl and left it in the fridge that it results in a drier cookie. I'd personally recommend wrapping the entire ball of dough in plastic/beeswax wrap before refrigeration.

JC

Brown butter is what happens when you melt the butter over the stove top until the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pot and begin to brown. The solids can go from light brown to burnt pretty quick, so remember that carry-over heat will help them get to golden brown. Brown butter just imparts more flavor. Start with unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt that goes into the cookies, since you can't control the amount that's in the butter.

Laura

These were fantastic! They were so buttery and oily going into the fridge that I thought I did something wrong. I left them uncovered hoping to dry them out a touch. But they turned out beautifully! I did add the touch of cinnamon and loved it. Very subtle, but enjoyable. I also agree that the flaky salt on top is a must! Ours were very much best warm. The next day they were quite dried out, even after spending the night in a covered container.

Julie

Well. I devoured the comments, then made the cookies. Can't remember the last time I mixed cookie dough w a wooden spoon. Used c. 1/2 bag of Ghirardelli semi sweets and half tsp of cinnamon. Possibly the best ccc recipe I've ever tried, thank you.

D. Yorkin

the chocolate chips melted when i put them in - need to let the brown butter cool

Ldsse

Baked exactly according to the recipe. I don’t care for the cookies. The texture is quite dry — almost sandy. The dough was crumbly and did not hold together well. The finished cookies are too salty for my taste (I did not even sprinkle salt on top). The intense butter flavor is cloying and after eating 2 cookies I have indigestion. They also took quite a bit longer to prepare than other chocolate chip recipes. Lightly browning the butter took about 10 minutes not 5 as the recipe states.

Sean

Since you have to refrigerate the dough first anyway, might it be easier and faster to just roll the dough into a log in plastic wrap and freeze that, then cut disks? It would save space in the freezer as well, for those of us in Europe who don't have walk-in freezers like everyone in the US (kidding, but our refrigeration is super small).

Lauren

I enjoyed these a lot but didn’t find that the banging of the pan changed the shape of them at all - maybe I baked them too long? I froze some of the dough balls and am curious to see how they do baked from frozen.

KT

I recommend skipping the cinnamon and using 70 percent chocolate bars cut into chunks. Finish with smoked flake sea salt, which enhances the flavor of the brown butter.

emily

My new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Instead of chilling the dough on a tray, I roll them and put them into a baggie in the freezer. I find that when they are frozen first, the cookies come out a bit taller and with more depth. I also add a little extra salt and a combination of semisweet mini chips and dark chocolate rounds. SO GOOD!

Laurie K

These cookies are delicious! I followed the lead of several others and rolled the dough into two rounds then sliced them - the second time I made them! The first time they were so big! Didn’t change anything else. Do yourself a favor and make these.

Suzy

I used a standard size cookie scoop and got 23 cookies. Baking this size for 15 minutes was the perfect time to size ratio. I've made this recipe 3 times and actually prefer it without the cinnamon.

Dallas

Great recipe for chocolate chip cookies, I think the brown butter really adds a depth of flavor. Per other comments I purposely underbaked them (around 13 min total at 350F) and they came out perfect. I only used 9 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips and these were borderline over-chocolately so you probably don't need 12 ounces.

Pia

Very good, substituted chocolate chips with peanut butter cups. Goes very well with the brown butter.

Joy Dascalakis

There’s way too much flour in these. They end up too cakey.

cookease

Every time I use butter…in any form…I get a cookie that flattens out completely and doesn’t look like these…and I did leave the dough in fridge over night!

Tonic

Was not very impressed. Followed recipe to a T. For me, came out too cakey. No goo or chew to it at all. The flavor profile was nice, but texture killed it. Sorry.

Joe

These came out fantastic! I’m sick at home and made these to try and make myself feel better and it definitely did the trick. Tip: for max pools, reserve some chocolate chunks to use as topping:)

Phil

Been making these for a while- prior to putting them on the pan -- chill the dough for 30 Mins before baking and you're good to go (got this tip from an award winning baker)

rachel

I love these cookies - they’re a big hit when I bring the dough to a dinner party and bake them fresh. The recipe calls for far too many chocolate chips (and this is coming from a huge chocolate fan). I usually add 1-1.5 cups and adjust by sight. They don’t really need the full hour in the fridge, but fall apart if at room temperature so some cooling is helpful

Kate T from WI

I have tried this recipe twice, and I cannot get the butter to brown properly. I’ve tried both room temp and refrigerated butter at medium heat (5 on a gas stove), and the butter takes at least twice as long to brown as the recipe states, which means too much of the water in the butter is cooking off, so my cookie dough and the cooked cookies come out dry and brittle. Anyone have tips? I really want to nail this recipe!

Joy Dascalakis

Maybe go a little lower in the temperature. Also, I think this recipe has way too much flour. Drop it down to about 250 grams and see if that helps.

Monnie

These chocolate chip cookies changed my life. I didn't know a dash of cinnamon could change the flavor profile so much. I browned the butter and added a dash of heavy cream(saw it in Claire Saffitz's recipe). Put the dough in a lidded bowl overnight in the fridge and shape them right before baking. Made them a tad smaller due to laziness. My oven runs a tad hotter so I left them for 8 to 10 mins. 8 min is slightly undercooked and 10 min was perfect. Try this recipe and it won't disappoint:)

Tiffany

Made completely as stated and they were sooooo good. I have shared this recipe with all my people and told them to make these ASAP. This will now be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Add that salt at the end! not optional IMO.

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies  Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does browned butter do to cookies? ›

Brown butter: the brown butter is what really makes them so unique. The flavor profile is nutty, sweet, toasty and reminiscent of a caramel hazelnut flavor. Sugar: instead of doing a half-and-half ratio of regular granulated white sugar and brown sugar, I do mostly brown sugar and only a bit of white sugar.

Why are my brown butter cookies hard? ›

Adding too little butter can cause the cookies to be tough and crumbly. You should use unsalted butter to control the salt content, but if you only have salted on hand, reduce the amount of added salt accordingly. Sugar sweetens the cookies and makes them an enticing golden brown.

Why are my chocolate chip cookies crunchy and not chewy? ›

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

Is browned butter better for baking? ›

Brown butter is where it's at bakers. The slightly nutty, warm, caramel notes of brown butter elevates the flavor of everything from brownies and blondies to pie crust and pancakes.

What happens when you use melted butter in chocolate chip cookies? ›

Cookies made with melted butter often deflate and become denser when they cool, resulting in a perfectly cooked fudgy center — a similar textural result to brownies that get rapped (aka banged against an oven rack mid-bake to deflate them) or Sarah Kieffer's iconic pan-banging cookies that turn out pleasantly compact.

How do you keep brown butter cookies from spreading? ›

1) Don't grease your baking pan — line it instead

“For the best results, choose a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to line your pan,” Dawn recommends. “Simply greasing your pan — basically adding fat to it — will encourage your cookies to spread.” (Check out our side-by-side test baking to see for yourself.)

Can you brown butter too much? ›

Over-browned butter will taste bitter or even burnt, and be darker brown in color, as you can see in the photo below. This is why you should never step away from the pan while browning butter – it can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.

What cookie ingredient will rise and be softer? ›

For soft cookies, use: Brown sugar, as it has a high moisture content and retains moisture better than white sugar. Also, when combined with eggs, brown sugar can prevent spreading (taller cookies tend to be softer and fluffier). Shortening instead of butter or in addition to butter.

What makes cookies fluffy and not flat? ›

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

What does more egg do to cookies? ›

Yolks also act as an emulsifier, making a creamy dough even before it's baked. Egg whites, on the other hand, can have a drying effect. A cookie made with extra egg yolk (or, in this case, only egg yolk), will be lighter and chewier than a cookie made with whole eggs.

What is the secret to chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

Should I use baking powder or baking soda for cookies? ›

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Should you stir when making brown butter? ›

Brown butter isn't one of those things you can start cooking and walk away from. It requires your total attention, which means stirring the butter every once in a while. Without stirring, the butter has more potential to cook unevenly, and the milk solids can stick to the bottom of the pan and eventually burn.

Do brown butter cookies taste better? ›

Browning the butter gives the cookies a more intensely nutty, butterscotch flavor.

Should you refrigerate cookie dough before baking? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

What makes cookies taste the best? ›

The key is to always use top-quality ingredients as they'll result in a better cookie; it really is that simple.
  1. Always use butter.
  2. Choose the right sugar.
  3. Choose the right flour.
  4. Check your flour is in date.
  5. Choose the right kind of chocolate.
  6. Cream the butter and sugar.
  7. Beat in the eggs.
  8. Fold in the flour.

What does granulated sugar do to cookies? ›

Sugar easily binds with water, which accomplishes two main things. 1) It locks in moisture, keeping your baked goods from drying out; and 2) It inhibits the development of gluten which keeps your cookies, cakes and sweet breads softer.

What is the purpose of browning butter? ›

Brown butter, also known as buerre noisette in French, is made by heating butter until the milk solids caramelize, imparting a golden color and toasted, nutty flavor. The French technique is an easy way to ramp up the flavor of regular butter without adding any extra ingredients.

Does browning butter reduce the amount? ›

Check for doneness: To check if the butter is browned to your liking, while the butter is in the saucepan, clear away some of the foam and spoon a little of the butter onto a white plate. Account for evaporation: Brown butter reduces in volume by 20-25% as water content cooks off.

Does butter change the texture of cookies? ›

Butter doesn't affect just the flavour of your cookies, it has a major impact on their texture and structure, too.

Does more butter make cookies softer? ›

Also, underbaking them by a minute or 2 will help them retain a dense, chewy bite, explains Jenny McCoy, pastry baking arts chef-instructor at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York. Adding more moisture to your dough in the form of extra butter, egg yolks, or brown sugar will make your cookies even softer.

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