Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies feature crispy edges with a soft and chewy center. This cookie recipe is easy to make and delicious too!
Have you ever tried brown butter? If so, you know how delicious it can be in desserts. If not, then this brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe is a great starting point!
Brown butter is essentially regular butter that’s been melted and cooked until the water has evaporated and the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan and brown. It has a rich, nutty flavor that makes it a perfect addition to just about any baked good.
In today’s post I’m covering everything you need to know about how to brown butter as well as how to make these cookies. And don’t worry – I promise it’s easy!
How To Brown Butter
First things first, you want to brown your butter and chill it. I recommend using a light colored skillet or saucepan so that you can easily tell when your butter is browned. Here’s a simple breakdown for how to prepare it:
- Slice butter into tablespoon-sized pieces: This will help the butter melt evenly.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan or skillet: I recommend melting the butter over medium heat.
- Once melted, cook for 6 to 9 minutes, stirring often: The amount of time this will take will depend on the skillet/saucepan that you use as well as your stove. I recommend stirring the mixture often while it’s cooking to ensure that it cooks evenly. As soon as you smell a nutty aroma and see brown bits on the bottom of your pan (see picture above on the left for reference), it’s time to remove the butter.
- Remove it from the heat and transfer to a heat-proof dish: This will ensure that it doesn’t cook any further and end up burned.
- Chill the butter: While this isn’t necessary every time you brown butter, it is necessary for these cookies. Make sure to chill your brown butter until it’s solid, this will take about 1.5 to 2 hours.
How To Make These Cookies
To make these brown butter chocolate chip cookies, simply combine the chilled browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl and mix until everything is well combined. See the brown specks in the pictures above? Those are the browned bits in the butter and add maximum flavor to these cookies!
Once the butter and sugars are mixed together, mix in a couple of room temperature eggs and pure vanilla extract. I recommend stopping to scrape down the sides of your bowl and mixing again to ensure that all of the wet ingredients are well combined.
Then, whisk together your dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until they’re fully combined.
You may notice this recipe is similar to my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe with a few small adjustments. The most important adjustment is that we’re reducing the amount of flour. Why? When you brown butter the water from the butter evaporates which means you lose some of the moisture in your cookie dough. To compensate for that, you will be using 1/4 cup less flour in these cookies.
Once the dry ingredients are well combined, add them to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then mix in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Since the butter is chilled before mixing up the cookie dough, I’ve found that there’s no need to chill the dough. At this point, you can go ahead and scoop the cookie dough and bake it. I typically use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and bake my cookies for 9 to 12 minutes.
If you prefer softer cookies, I suggest removing them from the oven closer to the 9 to 10 minute mark and let them cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets.
Baking Tips
- I suggest using a light-colored skillet or saucepan so that you can easily tell when the butter is browned.
- As soon as you see brown bits on the bottom of your pan and smell a nutty aroma, make sure to remove the butter from the heat so that it doesn’t burn.
- Make sure to chill the butter until it’s completely solid, this usually takes about 1.5 to 2 hours. I also recommend leaving it uncovered so that it chills faster.
- When measuring your flour, make sure to use the spoon and level method. Too much flour can lead to super thick cookies that don’t spread in the oven.
More Cookie Recipes To Try
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Lemon Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Monster Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter sliced into tablespoon-sized pieces
- 2 and ½ cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 and ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and ½ cups (270 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the sliced butter to a skillet or saucepan. Place over medium heat until the butter is completely melted. Once the butter is melted, allow it to cook for an additional 6 to 9 minutes, stirring often or swirling the pan often, or until the butter is browned. The butter is browned once you see brown bits of milk solids on the bottom of the pan and smell a nutty-aroma. Immediately remove the butter from the heat and pour it into a heat-proof dish. Transfer to the refrigerator uncovered for 1.5 to 2 hours or until the butter is solidified.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the chilled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 2 to 3 minutes or until well combined.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract until fully combined, making sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, then mix in the chocolate chips on low-speed until fully incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
- Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set and the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 to 10 minutes, then carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Hi There,
What’s the reason for chilling the butter once it’s browned? Other recipes for brown butter cookies continue on once it’s melted 🙂
Cold butter prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. You could mix everything together while the butter is still melted, but you have to wait for the butter to cool off enough (or it will melt the sugars in the cookie dough) and you would still have to chill the cookie dough. I find that just chilling the butter, mixing the dough together, and immediately baking it is easier.
My cookies came out flat. It spread out into puddles.. It tasted good though, but a bit messy
Sorry to hear that. Was your butter completely solid again when you mixed the cookie dough together? If it was too warm, it could cause that to happen.
I found your blog around Easter while searching for a carrot cake recipe and I’ve been hooked ever since. Probably made close to 20 of your recipes in the past few months and all of them have been fantastic! I like that you list the weight of each ingredient because I like to use a food scale as I find it helps each recipe come out perfect every time. Can’t wait to see what recipes are next!
Thank you so much, Sara! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes on my site!
This is the first recipe I try from you and I honestly really like it. Great job!
Thank you, Sarah! So glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Awesome cookies! I bake all the time, but have never made brown butter chocolate chip cookies. I followed the recipe exactly and I’m super surprised by how good they are! I almost added walnuts, but I’m glad I didn’t because of the nutty flavor from the butter. They won’t last long in my house!
Thank you, Sarah! So glad you loved the cookies!