Brown butter chocolate chip cookies are nutty brown butter filled chocolate chip cookies with soft and chewy centers, crisp edges and pockets of rich melty chocolate. These brown butter cookies are easy to make and are the perfect twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
There are few things I love more than a soft, chewy and cozy chocolate chip cookie with a fun twist. My Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies, and Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies are just a few chocolate chip cookie recipes I love. I am so excited to add this browned butter chocolate chip cookie recipe to the blog.
- Layers of flavors and textures. From the soft and chewy brown butter filled cookie to the sweet and classic taste of melty chocolate chips, these brown butter cookies with chocolate chips will delight your senses and satisfy your cookie cravings.
- Easy to make, bake and eat. This easy chocolate chip browned butter cookie recipe is quick and easy to make. All you need is two mixing bowls and a whisk or spoon to make the cookie dough. Then simply chill for a bit, scoop, bake and enjoy.
Ingredients
This brown butter chocolate chip cookies requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking soda and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather unsalted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, an egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make these browned butter chocolate chip cookies if you need them.
- All purpose flour: Make this cookie recipe gluten free by using a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure based off weight (210 g) rather than cup for cup.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda gives the cookies a bit of a rise and also brings chewiness to the cookie. Although the texture will be slightly different, the best substitute for baking soda is a double acting baking powder. For this recipe use 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder.
- Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar: Maple sugar would also work well to make these chocolate chip cookies with brown butter refined sugar free.
- Unsalted Butter: Salted, vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter. I personally love Miyokos Plant Butter.
- Egg and Yolk: This recipe has not been tested without an egg or egg yolk. The extra egg yolk is optional for more richness and chewiness.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use any combination (or just one) kind of chocolate chips or bars.
How To Make
Learn how to make brown butter chocolate chip cookies in a few easy steps.
- In a sauce pan or pot, melt the butter on low heat until the butter to begins to foam. Once it starts to foam, whisk or stir the liquid butter frequently. The butter will begin to smell nutty and very fragrant. Once the foam has subsided, the butter should have some brown, lightly toasted bits floating at the bottom. Pour the brown butter in a heat safe bowl to cool for about 15 - 20 minutes to room temperature. Transfer the browned butter to the fridge to chill an additional 30 - 45 minutes or until the brown butter resembles the same texture of room temperature butter.
- In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk in the cooled browned butter with the light brown and granulated sugars until well combined. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. I like to do this about ½ of the dry ingredients at a time. Fold in most of the chocolate chips or chunks. Reserve about ½ cup (85 g) for topping the cookies right before baking. Cover the cookies with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.
4. About 30 minutes before baking the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the chocolate chip browned butter cookie dough and place the cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Top with the reserved chocolate chips ot chunks. Bake for 9 - 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and the centers are slightly puffed. Cool the chewy chocolate chip cookies with brown butter on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature and enjoy.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. Store the cookie dough covered in the fridge for 1 - 2 days. Bring the cookie dough to room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats and bake as directed in the recipe. For longer cookie dough storage, transfer to the freezer.
- Store: Place the chocolate chip cookies with brown butter in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you would like to store the cookies for longer, I recommend freezing them.
- Freeze Dough: Prepare the brown butter cookies through the chilling step. Chill for 30 minutes then scoop the dough into balls onto small lined baking sheet or large plate. Freeze the cookie balls for 20 minutes then transfer them to a freezer proof container for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookie dough balls in the fridge overnight, set out at room temperature for 20 - 30 and proceed with the cookie recipe as written starting with baking.
- Freeze Baked Cookies: Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature transfer them to a freezer proof container in a single lined with parchment paper between each layer. Freeze for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the chewy browned butter chocolate chip cookies is to let them sit out at room temperature until thawed or thaw overnight in the fridge. I like to heat them in the microwave for 20 - 30 seconds to get that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Brown the butter. I highly recommend taking the time to brown the butter. Browning butter creates a more flavorful cookie. If you want to skip this step and use regular melted butter, melt ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons, 141 g) butter and follow the recipe directions as written.
- Measure the flour properly. I highly recommend using a food scale to get perfectly measured ingredients every time.
- Chill the dough. Not only do the cookies have more flavor overall, but chilling the dough is a necessary step for creating the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookies.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Top with more chocolate chips. Reserve about ½ cup (85 g) of chocolate chips for topping the cookies.
- Give your cookies a “cookie scoot.” Within the first minute of removing the cookies from the oven, use a large biscuit cutter (wider than the cookies) to help shape any cookies back into a more round shape. Place the cutter over the cookies so the edges of the cookie are inside the cookie/ biscuit cutter. In a circular motion, gently nudge the edges back into a round shape.
FAQs
Swap the all purpose flour with gluten free flour and swap the dairy ingredients with plant based ones to make these cookies dairy free.
They taste just like regular chocolate chip cookies, but have a distinct nutty flavor in the background. These cookies are thin, with chewy centers and crisp edges.
Yes, brown butter can be used to make any chocolate chip cookie recipe with a few adjustments. Make sure to add 1 tablespoon more butter per ½ cup of unsalted butter to account for the loss of water that comes from browning the butter. Cool the browned butter to room temperature of the chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for melted butter. For room temperature butter, cool the browned butter to room temperature, then transfer to the fridge to chill until the butter has solidified to the consistency of room temperature butter. This takes about 45 - 60 minutes in the fridge.
I find that a medium cookie scoop, with about 2 tablespoons of cookie dough makes the perfect cookie. However, you can make a small (1 tablespoon) cookie if you like. Bake this size cookie for about 7 - 9 minutes. For a larger cookie, use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons, 45 ml) and bake for 11- 14 minutes.
Other Brown Butter Recipes to Try
- Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
- Brown Butter Blondies
- Brown Butter Banana Bread
- Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
If you try this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- 1 small skillet or saucepan
- 1 heat safe bowl
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 whisk and flexible spatula or spoon
- 1 medium (2 tablespoon, 30 ml) cookie scoop
- 2 baking sheets
- 2 sheets parchment paper
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
- 1¾ cup (210 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 - 1½ cups (6 - 9 oz.) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks
Instructions
- In a sauce pan or pot, melt the butter on low heat until the butter to begins to foam. Once it starts to foam, whisk or stir the liquid butter frequently. The butter will begin to smell nutty and very fragrant. Once the foam has subsided, the butter should have some brown, lightly toasted bits floating at the bottom. Pour the brown butter in a heat safe bowl to cool for about 15 - 20 minutes to room temperature. Transfer the browned butter to the fridge to chill an additional 30 - 45 minutes or until the brown butter resembles the same texture of room temperature butter.¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
- In another bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt until well combined. Set aside for now.1¾ cup (210 g) all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk in the cooled browned butter with the light brown and granulated sugars until well combined. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. I like to do this about ½ of the dry ingredients at a time. Fold in most of the chocolate chips or chunks. Reserve about ½ cup (85 g) for topping the cookies right before baking. Cover the cookies with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to chill for 1 hour or up to overnight.¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg, room temperature, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , 1 - 1½ cups (6 - 9 oz.) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks
- About 30 minutes before baking the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons, 30 ml), scoop the chocolate chip browned butter cookie dough and place the cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Top with the reserved chocolate chips ot chunks.
- Bake for 9 - 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set and the centers are slightly puffed. Within the first minute of removing the cookies from the oven, use a large biscuit cutter (wider than the cookies) to help shape any cookies back into a more round shape. Place the cutter over the cookies so the edges of the cookie are inside the cookie/ biscuit cutter. In a circular motion, gently nudge the edges back into a round shape.Cool the chewy chocolate chip cookies with brown butter on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature and enjoy.
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