These are the best Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re perfectly soft with a touch of salt and an irresistible nutty caramel flavor.
The main difference between these cookies and our Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies is that the butter is simmered until the milk solids begin to brown and caramelize. The resulting nutty caramel flavored butter can be used in everything from cookies and cakes to chicken and veggie dishes.
Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
When it comes to cookies, it’s hard to top these easy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They’re just as soft and chewy as our regular Chocolate Chip Cookies but with a toasted butterscotch flavor that is virtually impossible to resist.
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Making brown butter is a cinch, just be sure to keep an eye on the butter as it cooks so that it doesn’t go from mouthwatering to burnt. It’s best to allow the butter time to firm back up in the fridge before trying to make the cookie dough. However, if you are running short on time you can still use the melted brown butter. Your cookies will be a little flat but still delicious.
Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
- Butter – I usually use unsalted butter to make this brown butter so that the flavor is pure butter. You don’t absolutely have to put the browned butter back into the fridge once it has cooled, but just note that your cookies will be a little more flat.
- Sugar – this recipe calls for using granulated sugar in addition to the brown sugar. If you prefer you can use all brown sugar, but just keep in mind that the cookies will come out slightly different.
- Brown Sugar – you can use either light or dark brown sugar for this recipe, depending on how deep of a molasses flavor you want. Brown sugar helps keep the cookies nice and chewy and it adds loads of flavor.
- Eggs – it’s best if your eggs are at room temperature before adding to the cookie dough. If you forget you can run them under warm water just before adding to the dough.
- Vanilla Extract – pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
- Flour – all-purpose flour works great for cookie dough. It has the perfect amount of gluten content to keep the cookies soft yet chewy.
- Salt – sea salt works great.
- Baking Soda – this helps give the cookies super soft and chewy.
- Chocolate Chips – you can use either regular or mini chocolate chips.
- Flaky Salt – this is optional but I highly recommend adding just a few flakes to each cookie as soon as they come out of the oven.
How to Brown Butter
Browning butter basically takes the milk solids and toasts them a bit, giving the butter a nutty, caramel flavor. It’s simple to do, just make sure you don’t want away while it cooks. Once the butter begins to brown it goes from perfect to burnt very quickly!
- Melt the butter. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Continue to cook. Continue to cook the butter, stirring occasionally until it turns a golden brown color and has a nutty aroma.
- Cool. Remove from the heat, transfer to a small bowl without scraping the bottom of the pan, and let cool to room temperature. Once it has cooled, place in the fridge until it becomes solid again.
How to Make the Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Bring the brown butter to room temperature. Remove the butter from the fridge and let it come to room temperature, or gently microwave for about 10 seconds at a time until soft but not melted.
- Cream the butter and sugars. In a large bowl with a spatula, or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, or about 3-4 minutes.
- Mix the rest of the cookie dough. Add the eggs and vanilla, scraping down the sides. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and whisk well, then add the flour mixture into the brown butter mixture and mix until just combined. You may want to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to be sure all of the ingredients are combined. Add chocolate chips and mix gently, just until all ingredients are combined.
- Scoop the cookies. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease lightly with pan spray, then scoop and roll 1¼” balls and place on the prepared trays.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, but the center is still soft.
- Cool. Remove from the oven, add the flakey sea salt, if desired, and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Brown Butter Cookie Recipe Variations
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee: Fold chopped toffee bits or Heath bar pieces into the cookie dough along with the chocolate chips.
- Dark Chocolate Chunk Brown Butter Cookies: Use chunks of high-quality dark chocolate instead of traditional chocolate chips for a more intense cocoa flavor.
- Nutty Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Stir chopped toasted nuts such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds into the cookie dough for added crunch and flavor.
- Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies: Mix rolled oats into the cookie dough along with the chocolate chips for a hearty and extra chewy texture.
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut: Fold toasted shredded coconut into the cookie dough for a sweet and nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with the brown butter.
- Brown Butter Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies: Add a tablespoon of instant espresso powder to the cookie dough to enhance the chocolate flavor and add a subtle hint of coffee.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have the time, it’s always a good idea to chill your cookie dough before baking. This gives the butter a chance to solidify so that it stays inside the dough rather than oozing out while it bakes. If you don’t have the time to chill the dough, just be sure that you at least allow the brown butter to chill before making the cookies.
Your brown butter should be cooled at least to room temperature before using. If your butter is too warm, the cookies will be flatter than usual (although they will still taste amazing!).
Absolutely! Any cookies that would taste good with a nutty caramel flavor added to them would taste great with brown butter. A few of my favorites would be these Crushed Oreo Cookies, DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cowboy Cookies.
You can either freeze cookie dough in a freezer bag or you can freeze the portioned cookie dough balls. I prefer to freeze the balls of dough because it makes it easy to just transfer straight from the freezer to baking sheet.
Storing and Freezing Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Room Temperature: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: you can freeze baked cookies for up to 1 month, or freeze the cookie dough for up to 2 months. There’s no need to thaw the frozen portioned cookies before baking. Just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups butter, browned
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2½ cups chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon Flaky Sea Salt, optional
Instructions
How to Brown Butter for Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, stirring occasionally until it turns a golden brown color and has a nutty aroma.
- Remove from the heat, transfer to a small bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Once it has cooled, place in the fridge until it becomes solid again.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Remove the butter from the fridge and let it come to room temperature, or gently microwave for about 10 seconds at a time until soft but not melted.
- In a large bowl with a spatula, or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, or about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the vanilla and the eggs, scraping down the sides.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and whisk well, then add the flour mixture into the brown butter mixture and mix until just combined. You may want to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to be sure all of the ingredients are combined.
- Add chocolate chips and mix gently, just until all ingredients are combined.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease lightly with pan spray, then scoop and roll 1¼" balls and place on the prepared trays.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown, but the center is still soft.
- Remove from oven, add the flakey sea salt, if desired, and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 2 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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These perfect Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, chewy, and delicious. They’ve got a nutty caramel flavor that can’t be beat.
