Brown Butter Cookies - Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! (2024)

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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.

Brown Butter Cookies - Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! (1)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Easy Brown Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips
  • What Does Brown Butter Do to Cookies?
  • Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – Key Ingredients
  • How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Why Are My Cookies Flat and How To Fix It
  • How to Store
  • More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes to Try
  • Get the Recipe

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.

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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!

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!

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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.

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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

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Brown Butter Cookies - Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! (6)

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 cookies

Print Recipe

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
  • 1large egg
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups (175g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoonsalt
  • ¼ teaspoonbaking soda
  • ¾ cup (135g) roughly chopped chocolate bar
  • Flaky sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Next add the egg and vanilla extract and continue beating until well incorporated.
  5. 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.
  6. Before the dough thickens, add the chocolate chunks. Beat until incorporated.
  7. Line abaking sheetwith parchment paper or use asilicone baking sheet. Scoop the dough using alarge cookie scoopand place on baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
  8. 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

Nutrition Information:

1

310

24.5 g

159.6 mg

16.9 g

37.7 g

1.6 g

3.6 g

49.1 mg

  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
Brown Butter Cookies - Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe! (2024)

FAQs

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.

What does brown butter do to cookies? ›

“Browning all the butter removes the water content, but the dough still needs some of that water to come together. Browning only some of the butter is enough to achieve that signature nuttiness, while the remaining unbrowned butter provides enough water content for the dough to come together.”

How to make cookies brown on top? ›

If it appears that the tops aren't browning well, move the baking sheet to the top shelf and the cookies will receive more reflected heat from the top of the oven. If the bottoms need more browning or the cookies are very thick, move the sheet to the bottom shelf.

What makes homemade cookies hard? ›

Cookies become hard when the moisture in them evaporates. This can be caused by leaving them out in the air for too long, baking them for too long, or storing them improperly. The lack of moisture makes the cookies hard and dry, which makes them difficult to enjoy.

How do you keep brown butter cookies from spreading? ›

“When chilled cookies bake, the butter stays in a solid form longer, slowing the spread,” says Dawn. “30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator does wonders, and you can bake the cookies right from the fridge.” Not only will chilling help the fats firm up and the flour hydrate, but it also helps the flavors develop.

What makes brown butter better? ›

Brown butter, also known as beurre noisette, is made by cooking unsalted butter long enough to turn the milk solids brown while cooking out any water present in the butter. Often described as tasting nutty or toasty, it has a deeper, richer, more intense flavor than melted or clarified butter.

How do you know when brown cookies are done? ›

Golden Brown Edges – Check the edges of the cookies for a golden brown colour. This indicates that the cookies have caramelized and are likely done.

Can I use normal sugar instead of brown for cookies? ›

Brown sugar adds a dense chewiness to certain types of baked goods like cookies. When brown sugar is replaced with white sugar, you may end up with a slightly crispier result. Still, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. White sugar can be used to replace brown sugar, producing only slight changes in texture and flavor.

Why did my brown butter cookies get hard? ›

Too much flour in your brown butter chocolate chip cookies can make them dry, tough, crumbly, or too thick, none of which are good.

Why are my brown butter cookies greasy? ›

The most likely cause is your butter being too warm when you added your sugars. The warm butter can melt the sugars and leave you with a greasy, messy cookie dough that will spread like crazy. Unfortunately there is no way to fix this (even chilling the dough won't help 😞).

What if I put too much butter in my cookies? ›

Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.

Why did my cookies turn out so hard? ›

the more you mix cookie dough. the more the gluten develops and they become hard and dry and an unfavorable texture.

How to prevent cookies from getting hard? ›

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out. We recommend white bread so that no flavor is transferred to the cookies.

What is the best way to soften butter for cookies? ›

Pour hot water into a ceramic or glass cup or bowl (something that can fit over your butter). After a few minutes, dump the water out of the vessel and quickly cover your butter. The heat from the cup will soften your butter in just a few minutes. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention using your microwave.

Why are my molasses cookies so hard? ›

Bake soft molasses cookies on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. It's very important to not over bake the cookies or they will be hard and dry instead of soft and chewy.

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