Ultimate Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Published Feb 09, 2024
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Seriously the best brown butter chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever eat with perfectly crisp edges, a soft in the middle and pockets of chocolatey goodness. They’re absolutely life changing!
Stop what you’re doing and run to your kitchen to make these brown butter chocolate chip cookies! They’re truly life changing!
These cookies aren’t your typical EBF dessert… they’re made with all-purpose flour, butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Sometimes ya girl just needs a real deal cookie, am I right?
These cookies took a ton of testing. I think we tested over 20 batches before landing on the recipe I’m sharing today. I wanted them to be PERFECT before sharing with you and now they truly are.
The idea for this cookie came to me after having the chocolate chip cookie from Tandem Coffee in Portland, Maine. It’s huuuggeee…. crisp, a little chewy and has the perfect chocolate to cookie ratio. After having this cookie multiple times on trips to Portland I was determined to come up with a similar cookie recipe that I could make on special occasions for my family.
You know moms that have their signature dessert that everyone loves? These cookies are mine and I know I will be making them for years to come.
Ingredients Needed
You only need 9 simple pantry staple ingredients to make these cookies. I bet you already have everything in your kitchen right now!
- butter – we’re using two sticks of unsalted butter in this recipe. One stick gets browned, which provides that rich, nutty flavor. The second stick needs to be softened and will get mixed in with the wet ingredients. Browning only one stick of butter prevents the cookies from becoming too greasy. Trust me on this one!
- sugar – we’re doing a half-and-half ratio of light brown sugar and granulated white sugar. The brown sugar adds a nice molasses flavor and helps to keep these cookies nice and chewy in the middle, while still allowing them to get crisp around the edges.
- eggs – we’re using two eggs in this recipe. Make sure they are room temperature before mixing them into the wet ingredients. If you don’t take your eggs out of the fridge with enough time to come to room temperature you can place them in a bowl with warm water and let them sit for a few minutes. This will quickly bring your eggs up to room temp.
- all-purpose flour – we’re using good ol’ all-purpose flour for these cookies. I don’t recommend swapping it with another flour as the results will be different.
- pure vanilla extract – the perfect flavor enhancer.
- baking soda – helps the cookies rise and become light and fluffy.
- salt – to balance all the flavors out.
- chocolate – can’t have chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate! I tested these cookies with both chocolate chips and chopped baking chocolate and I preferred the chopped chocolate. It made them feel more like bakery-style cookies, which I love. I used Ghirardelli 60% Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar, but feel free to use your favorite brand of chocolate.
- flaky sea salt – for topping after baking, which adds a gourmet touch! I love Maldon sea salt flakes.
How to Brown Butter
The process of browning butter may seem intimidating at first if you’ve never done it, but it’s pretty straightforward and when done correctly it adds an incredibly rich and nutty flavor to your recipes. Here’s how to easily brown butter:
- Start by adding your butter to a saucepan over medium heat.
- The butter will start to melt, crackle and foam. Make sure to constantly whisk or stir the butter so it doesn’t burn.
- Spoon the butter will begin to darken in color and appear with small bubbles at the top. Keep stirring and as soon as the butter turns a deep amber color and gives off a nutty aroma it’s ready. The whole process should take about 8-10 minutes.
How to Make Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Start by adding one stick of butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until butter starts to brown. Set browned butter aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl mix together the softened butter, cooled and browned butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer until the mixture is combined and smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla.
Step 2: In a separate medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 3: Using a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Step 4: Add the the chopped chocolate to the batter and stir to incorporate. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 5: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F and line two baking pans with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop about 2-3 Tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to roll dough into balls, but don’t press them down! Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Sprinkle with sea salt immediately after pulling the cookies from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack rack to cool completely.
Tips For Making The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Don’t substitute ingredients: This recipe was specifically designed to be with all-purpose flour, brown sugar, white sugar and butter, so I wouldn’t recommend swapping any of the ingredients as you the end result will be different.
- Don’t burn butter: Monitor the butter closely as it browns. It should be a rich golden color with a nutty aroma. Too light, and you’ll miss the flavor; too dark, and it can become bitter and burn.
- Use room temperature ingredients: Make sure your browned butter has cooled to room temperature before adding it to the rest of your wet ingredients. If it’s too hot it could melt the sugar, causing the cookies to spread too much. You also want to make sure your eggs are at room temperature. If they’re too cold, just run them under warm water for a few minutes to come to room temp.
- Measure flour correctly: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour for the best results.
- Chill the dough: Don’t skip chilling the dough! It enhances the flavors and prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking.
- Cool properly: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. This helps them set without becoming too hard. If you move them too soon they could just fall apart.
Can I Freeze These Cookies?
Absolutely! The great thing about these cookies is that you can freeze the dough and bake later or you can freeze the baked cookies.
- To freeze the dough: After your cookie dough chills in the fridge scoop the dough into balls and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and let the dough harden in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once hardened, you can transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months. Once ready to bake, place frozen dough balls onto a baking sheet and bake as directed. You might need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
- To freeze the cookies: After baking, let the cookies cool completely and store in a freezer-safe container. You can eat these cookies straight from the freezer or let them thaw at room temperature or in the fridge before enjoying.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your browned butter was still hot when adding it to your wet ingredients it can melt the sugars and result in greasy, thin cookies that spread too much. It’s very important to let your butter cool before adding it to your batter.
If your cookies turned out thick or dry you probably have too much flour! For the best results I recommend weighing the flour with a kitchen scale. If you don’t have a scale I found that 2 1/8 cups equals 300 grams of flour. If measuring this way, just be sure to spoon your flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop up the flour with the measuring cup. This will likely result in the flour getting packed down and too much flour being added to the recipe.
The edges should be set and slightly golden, and the center should still look soft, almost underbaked. They’ll firm up as they cool, trust me!
For softer, chewier cookies, bake them for a shorter time. For crispier cookies, flatten the dough balls slightly before baking and extend the baking time by a few minutes.
More Cookie Recipes
- 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Birthday Cake Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Be sure to check out all of my cookie recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes on EBF!
Ultimate Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, one browned, one softened
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 300 grams all-purpose flour, 2 ⅛ cups*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz 60% baking chocolate, chopped
- Flakey sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan or pot heat 1 stick of butter over medium heat, whisking constantly until butter starts to foam and become fragrant and golden. Once butter is brown, remove from heat and let cool completely before mixing it into remaining ingredients.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the softened butter, cooled and browned butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer until the mixture is combined.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add in the vanilla.
- Reduce speed and gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Mix in the chopped chocolate. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Once you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop about 2-3 Tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to roll dough into balls. Don’t press down!
- Bake in the oven (on the middle rack) for 10-12 minutes, or until the bottoms and edges are golden, but the center is still soft. Be careful not to over bake if you want that perfect soft middle!
- Remove from oven. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt immediately and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If measuring the flour without a kitchen scale be sure to scoop the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife to ensure you get the right amount of flour.
- To freeze the dough: After your cookie dough chills in the fridge scoop the dough into balls and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and let the dough harden in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Once hardened, you can transfer the dough balls to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months. Once ready to bake, place frozen dough balls onto a baking sheet and bake as directed. You might need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
- To freeze the cookies: After baking, let the cookies cool completely and store in a freezer-safe container. You can eat these cookies straight from the freezer or let them thaw at room temperature or in the fridge before enjoying.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love to learn something new
Hope you enjoy these, Marsha!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies! I like a chewy chocolate chip cookie and these, like Brittany says, are the perfect combination of chewy center and crisp around the edges 💓 So yummy!
AHH! This seriously makes me so happy to hear, I am glad you are loving these cookies as much as we are, Ellen. Thank you for your review + star rating, it means the world to me!
10/10! Cookies from scratch never turn out for me, but these came out perfect. My family devoured them instantly.
WOO! This is absolutely amazing, Sarah! I am so glad these turned out amazing for you and you’re loving them. Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
I’ve been craving chocolate chip cookies. This recipe worked perfectly! Thank you so much for absolutely delicious cookies. Brown butter from now on❤️
YAY! I am so glad you gave this one a try and these cookies turned out amazing for you, Barb! Thanks for sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me! Brown butter always! ❤️❤️