Are you in desperate need of a raise, lover, friend, or just some general praise? These brown butter chocolate chip cookies have the potential to get you all of those things. Ok. I can’t promise the raise, but ya never know! 

Anybody can make a decent chocolate chip cookie right? The good news is that anybody can also make a better chocolate chip cookie because these little guys are better than the standard but still pretty straightforward to make.

The brown butter addition just takes these completely to another level than many chocolate chip cookie recipes and only adds a little bit onto your prep time. 

The Brown Butter Secret

The flavor is really boosted in these cookies because of the brown butter coupled with the brown sugar and vanilla.

The brown butter process is a standard process for making brown butter. If you’ve never browned butter before, don’t stress about it. It’s really simple.

Start by adding your butter to a medium pot over medium-low heat and let it melt. Once it starts to foam, turn the heat down to low and whisk the butter. As the butter cooks, the water will evaporate from the butter leaving only the oil and the milk solids. Eventually, the milk solids will separate out and start to brown which gives it the distinct brown color and also the delicious nutty flavor.

It’ll take about 15 minutes for the butter to brown. Just whisk it every minute or so to make sure that it’s heating evenly. There’s no need to lord over it though.

You know your done when it smells very fragrant and nutty.

Want more brown butter ideas? Try these brown butter burgers or these brown butter zucchini muffins!

Brown butter and sugars.

See those little brown specks at the bottom? Those are butter gold!

Let this cool for a minute and then add all your sugar to the brown butter. Stir it all together.

Crunch Time Tips

You can rapidly cool brown butter so you can use it immediately in this cookie recipe by pouring it into a metal bowl and placing that metal bowl in an ice bath. Stir the brown butter and it will eventually cool and harden. 

How to make chewier chocolate chip cookies

Bread flour has a slightly higher amount of gluten in it which is why it’s great for breads. It gives you that really chewy texture that you can’t reproduce with all-purpose flour. In fact, most bakeries use even a higher-gluten flour than bread flour which is pretty hard to find in stores.

If you substitute the all-purpose flour in the recipe for bread flour, these brown butter chocolate chip cookies have a bit more chew to them than you’re probably used to. It makes for a fantastic texture.

What Chocolate works best for cookies

I’m not going to chocolate gate-keep here. I’ve used pretty much all-ranges of chocolate in chocolate chip cookies and I’m here to tell you that it’s all fine. Your cookie will be delicious. 

Personally, I like a larger piece of chocolate rather than the small chocolate chips so I usually go with a Ghiradelli semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chip. You can also mix and match if you want. 

But, don’t let the exact chocolate type prevent you from trying these cookies. The brown butter gives them a lot of flavor even if you use the smaller chocolate chips. 

“These are the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had!”

– My 9-year-old neighbor, Sam.

From here on out the process is the exact same as making any cookie dough. Add the butter/sugar mixture to a stand mixer or use a hand mixer (on medium) to cream the butter and sugar together. It should lighten up a bit and turn fluffy. My took about 4 minutes to get to the right point.

Making the dough.

Then add your egg and egg yolk and continue to mix. Add the vanilla and half and half (or milk), and eventually, you’ll have a very smooth caramel-colored mixture.

NOTE: If you don’t cool your butter and sugar mixture before you make the dough, the dough will be more liquid (because the butter is melted). This is okay. Just know that it will set up completely as the dough chills in the fridge.

This is the stuff dream cookies are made of.

Turn the mixer to low and stir in the flour mixture in a few batches just until it’s combined.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Done.

Then add in all the chocolate chips and stir again until they are evenly distributed. Try not to over-mix the dough.

Chilling the dough is key

This dough needs to chill before you use it. Wrap it up in plastic wrap and store it in your fridge for an hour or two before baking. If you happen to live in a cold region, you can just stick it outside covered for a few hours! 

You could keep it in your fridge for a week like this without a problem.

Baking the cookies

When you’re ready to bake, roll the dough into heaping Tablespoon-sized balls and add them to a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cookies spread out on a baking sheet.

Bake them at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies are always better if they are slightly underbaked so I recommend pulling them out closer to 10 minutes.

Let them cool for a few minutes (move them to a rack if you have one handy), and then dig in!

These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are best right out of the oven, but they were actually still very good a day later.

I didn’t have any left to try after that point. If they make it longer than 24 hours without being consumed, you probably did something wrong!

Substitutions and additions

Generally, with baking I don’t recommend making a ton of substitutions but there are a few ideas here that you can take or leave.

  • Feel free to leave out the lemon in the recipe. It adds a little zing to the cookies but I’ve made it without and it’s equally good.
  • Flaky Sea Salt – if you have a good flakey sea salt, a sprinkle on top of the cookies is a wonderful addition.
  • Chili powder – Likewise, a little sprinkle of chili powder in the dough will give the cookies some complexity. Chocolate and chili are made for each other! 
  • Change up the chocolate. Try dark chocolate or even something like caramel chips.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Print Pin
4.75 from 4 votes
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 24 Cookies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
These cookies are almost over the top, but not quite. Their texture and deep flavor is way better (in my opinion) than a normal chocolate chip cookie.

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 2 ¼ Cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 Teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 Cup unsalted butter, browned
  • ½ Cup sugar
  • 1 Cups dark brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Half and Half, or milk
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 ½ Teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 Cups chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Mix flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.
  • In a medium pot, add butter over medium heat and cook until melted.  Turn heat down to low.
  • Cook, and whisk occasionally, until milk fats seperate out and slightly burn on the bottom of the pan.  Little brown specks will appear and it will smell very nutty, about 15 minutes.
  • Let brown butter cool for a few minutes then add sugars and stir to combine.  Let cool for a few more minutes until warm.
  • Add sugar/butter mixture to a stand mixer bowl or a bowl with a hand mixer and cream together on medium speed until slightly fluffy and combined, about 5 minutes.
  • Add egg and yolk, vanilla, half and half, and lemon juice.
  • Next add flour in a few batches and stir on low speed until well incorporated.  Don’t overmix though.
  • Stir in chocolate chips.  Cover and store in the fridge for at least an hour, but you could store it for up to a week.
  • When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.  Add large tablespoons of dough to a parchment sheet lined baking sheet.  Roll dough into balls.
  • Bake for 9-10 minutes.  Preferably underbake these.
  • Cool for a minute or two preferably on a wire rack and eat as soon as possible!

Notes

Note: If you want to bake these cookies right away, chill the brown butter and sugar as you cream it together by cooling it in a bowl in an ice bath. It will chill down and then your dough will be cool enough to use right away, although you’ll still get best results by resting the dough for at least an hour. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 260IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American

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Here are a few other great recipes to try!