These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are exactly the kind of bake that fills the whole kitchen with that warm bakery smell. You get chewy, gooey centers, crisp edges, and big pockets of melty dark chocolate in every single bite.
Instead of starting with softened butter, this recipe begins with browned butter, which adds a rich, nutty flavor to the dough. It is a twist on my classic chocolate chip cookie, and honestly, it might be the best version yet.
Why You’ll Love these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have tested this recipe more times than I can count, and a few things keep bringing me back to it. Here is what makes these cookies so good:
Brown butter brings nutty caramel notes. Browning the butter before it goes into the dough gives every bite a deeper, toastier flavor that regular butter simply cannot match.
Chopped dark chocolate bars create gooey pockets. I like at least 60 percent dark chocolate because the gentle bitterness balances the sweet dough, and chopping it by hand gives you large melty puddles plus the right spread. Any chocolate works, so use whatever you love.
Gooey centers with crisp edges. The texture is the whole point here, soft and chewy in the middle with a lightly golden rim.
Mostly brown sugar for chew. Brown sugar keeps the cookies extra chewy and adds a warm flavor that white sugar alone cannot deliver.
Full measurements and the step by step method are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tips for Making Perfect Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These small details make a big difference, so please read them before you start scooping.
Measure your flour the right way. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife, or use a kitchen scale. One cup of flour equals 125 grams. Scooping straight from the bag packs in too much flour and gives you dry, cakey cookies.
Choose chocolate bars over chips. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers and less cocoa butter, so they melt differently and change how your cookies spread and how they feel in your mouth. Chopped bars give you those gorgeous gooey pockets.
Scoot your cookies while they are hot. Right out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around each cookie. This nudges the edges inward and gives you a perfectly round cookie with a thick center. No cutter? Press the edges toward the middle with the back of a spoon instead.
Fold gently at the end. Fold in the flour and the chocolate chunks only until everything is just combined. Overmixing builds gluten and makes the cookies tough.
If you make these, I would love to hear how they turned out. Leave a review or tag me in your photos, because seeing your bakes truly makes my day.
Other Cookie Recipes to Try Next Time
Once you have these brown butter cookies under your belt, keep the oven warm and try another favorite from the blog.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you want the classic version made with softened butter, this is the recipe to bake next.
Pistachio Cookies
Nutty, tender, and a lovely change of pace when you want something a little different.
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Big peanut butter flavor with that soft, chewy texture you are looking for.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Sweet white chocolate and buttery macadamia nuts make a rich, crowd pleasing cookie.
Ingredients
Here is everything you need for these cookies. I recommend European style butter if you can find it, because its flavor really shines once it is browned.
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (196 g) salted butter, European style is best
1 3/4 cups (219 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla
7 oz (198 g) dark chocolate bars, chopped. I chop half into very large chunks and half into small chunks.
Flaky sea salt and extra chopped chocolate for topping the cookies
Instructions
Brown the butter. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (196 g) salted butter to a medium saucepan and heat it over medium heat. Let the butter melt and come to a simmer, then keep simmering until it is foamy, smells nutty, and has browned. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. Remove the butter from the heat and transfer it to a large bowl, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so you get all those brown bits.
Chill the brown butter. To do this quickly, fill a larger bowl with ice and set the bowl of brown butter on top. Stir as it cools until it has about the same consistency as very softened regular butter. You can also simply refrigerate it until it reaches that texture. The ice method is just much faster.
Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 350 F (175 C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups (219 g) all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set the flour mixture aside.
Whip the butter. Whip the chilled brown butter with an electric mixer on medium high speed until it is light and fluffy.
Cream in the sugars. Add 3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar and 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar to the bowl with the brown butter. Cream everything together with the mixer until it is pale in color and slightly fluffy. It will not look the same as regular creamed butter and sugar, and that is completely normal.
Add the egg and vanilla. Add 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is pale in color and fluffy.
Bring the dough together. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined, or fold them in with a rubber spatula.
Fold in the chocolate. Add 7 oz (198 g) chopped dark chocolate chunks and fold them into the dough with a rubber spatula.
Scoop and chill. Scoop the dough with a large, 2 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop into 16 scoops. I overfill my scoop to get extra large cookies. Chill the scooped dough balls for 15 minutes to help them firm up a bit.
Bake and finish. Arrange the dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 6 cookies at a time for 10 to 11 minutes, until light golden brown. As soon as they come out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around each cookie to give it a perfect circular shape and thick center. They will have spread a little while baking. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. While they are still cooling, press extra chocolate chunks on top of each cookie and sprinkle on a little flaky sea salt.
Notes
This is the older version of the recipe, kept here for anyone who baked it before and loves it just as much. It uses unsalted butter and extra egg yolks for richness. Here is what you need:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (196 g) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups (219 g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla
1 tablespoon (15 ml) heavy cream
6 oz (170 g) chopped dark chocolate bars
Brown 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (196 g) unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it is foamy and nutty, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then cool the butter to room temperature while it is still liquid. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk 1 3/4 cups (219 g) all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
Whisk the cooled brown butter with 3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar and 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated white sugar. The mixture starts out liquidy and firms up as you whisk.
Then whisk in 3 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla, and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) heavy cream until the mixture is pale and smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined, then fold in 6 oz (170 g) chopped dark chocolate.
Scoop the dough with a large 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, overfilled for extra large cookies. Bake 6 cookies at a time, 2 inches apart, topped with extra chocolate chunks, for 10 minutes until light golden brown.
Scoot a large circular cookie cutter around the hot cookies for round shapes. Let them cool 5 minutes on the sheet, then move them to a wire rack and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top while they cool.
Recipe details
Yield: 16 large cookies
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Enjoy! 🙂
FAQs
Why use brown butter in chocolate chip cookies?
Brown butter adds a deep, nutty, caramel-like flavor to chocolate chip cookies that you cannot get from regular softened butter. This simple technique of cooking the butter until the milk solids toast enhances the overall complexity of the cookie, making them taste richer and more flavorful without any extra ingredients.
Can I use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate bars?
Yes, you can substitute chocolate chips for chopped chocolate bars in this recipe. However, the cookies will spread less and have a different appearance and texture, as chocolate chips contain stabilizers that help them hold their shape. Chopped dark chocolate bars create larger, gooey pockets of melted chocolate throughout the cookie.
How long should I chill the brown butter cookie dough?
After scooping the dough into balls, you should chill them for 15 minutes to help firm them up before baking. This quick chill solidifies the fat, which slows spreading in the oven and promotes a thicker center and more controlled, even bake for a chewier texture.
How should I store brown butter chocolate chip cookies?
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days to preserve their chewy texture. For longer storage, you can freeze the baked cookies for up to two weeks, or freeze the unbaked scooped dough balls and bake them directly from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are exactly the kind of bake that fills the whole kitchen with that warm bakery smell. You get chewy, gooey centers, crisp edges, and big pockets of melty dark chocolate in every single bite.
Ingredients
Scale
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp g salted butter, European-style 1 3/4 cups g all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup g brown sugar 1/4 cup g granulated white sugar 1 egg, at room temperature 1 egg yolk, at room temperature 1 tbsp ml vanilla 7 oz g dark chocolate bars, chopped flaky sea salt, for topping extra chopped chocolate, for topping
Instructions
1-Add the butter to a medium sauce: Add the butter to a medium sauce pan and heat it over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and come to a simmer. Simmer until the butter is foamy, giving off a nutty scent and has browned. The whole process should take about 10 minutes. Remove the butter from the heat and transfer it to a large bowl. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the brown bits. 2-Chill the brown butter: Chill the brown butter. To do this quickly, fill a larger bowl with ice and place the bowl with the brown butter on top of the ice filled bowl. Stir the brown butter as it cools. You’ll want it to be about the same consistency as very softened regular butter. You can also just refrigerate the brown butter until it is a similar consistency. The ice method is just a lot quicker. 3-Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ (175: Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ (175 ℃). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. 4-In a medium bowl, whisk the flour,: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Then set aside the flour mixture. 5-Whip the brown butter with an electric: Whip the brown butter with an electric mixer on medium high speed until it is light and fluffy. 6-To the bowl with the brown butter,: To the bowl with the brown butter, add in the brown sugar and granulated white sugar. Cream together with an electric mixer until pale in color and slightly fluffy. (It will not be the same consistency as regular creamed butter and sugar.) 7-Add in the egg, egg yolk, and: Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix together on medium speed for two minutes, or until the mixture is pale in color and fluffy. 8-Add in the dry ingredients and mix: Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined, or fold in with a rubber spatula. 9-Add in the chocolate chunks and fold: Add in the chocolate chunks and fold into the dough with a rubber spatula. 10-Scoop the dough with a large, 2: Scoop the dough with a large, 2 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop, into 16 scoops. (I overfill my scoop to give me extra large cookies.) Chill the scooped cookie dough balls for 15 minutes, just to help firm up the dough a bit. 11-Arrange the balls of dough 2 inches: Arrange the balls of dough 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet; bake 6 cookies at a time. Bake for 10-11 minutes until a light golden brown. When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them to give them a perfect circular shape and thick center! (They will have spread a bit while baking.) Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for five minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to completely cool. While they’re cooling, add extra chocolate chunks on top of each cookie, and sprinkle on a little flaky sea salt.
