Name: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 13 min
Total time: 63 min
Ingredients: 1¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 g); ½ tsp baking soda; ½ tsp fine salt; 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tbsp ); ½ cup dark brown sugar (100 g); ¼ cup white sugar (50 g); 1 large egg; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 4 oz dark chocolate chips or chunks; Flaky sea salt

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
What Makes Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Special
Why The Dough Making Matters More Than The Baking
What You’ll Need To Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tips & Variations
Frequently Asked Questions
What to Make Next

What Makes Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Special

I’m already a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies, but these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies feel a little extra special because of the brown butter. Browning the butter essentially caramelizes the milk solids in the butter and gives your cookies a nuttier flavor profile that helps balance their sweetness. I find a lot of cookies these days, including the ones at bakeries, are very delicious, but they start to become a little too rich for me after 2 bites. The brown butter as well as the flaky salt help balance those sweet and rich flavors of the Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, and you’ll be able to eat as many as you’d like!

Brown butter chocolate chip cookie broken open to reveal a soft, chewy center with melted chocolate and a tender crumb.

Why The Dough Making Matters More Than The Baking

When it comes to baking, there’s a common misconception that the actual cook time is the most important aspect, but in my opinion, it’s actually the dough. It is easy to make this cookie dough because it only takes one bowl to actually combine all the ingredients, but the rest time is arguably the most crucial step in this case because letting the dough rest gives the flour some more time to hydrate. This will yield a thicker cookie with a chewy center instead of your cookies just spreading out flat. It’s a slept on step that’s super important when baking cookies!

What You’ll Need To Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dry Ingredients

1¼ cups all-purpose flour (150 g)
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine salt

Wet Ingredients

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
½ cup dark brown sugar (100 g)
¼ cup white sugar (50 g)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate

4 oz dark chocolate chips or chunks

Optional Garnish

Flaky sea salt

How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Add butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until it foams, then turns amber with nutty brown bits. Immediately pour into a heat-safe bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

Unsalted butter melting and foaming in a saucepan over medium heat as the milk solids begin to brown, creating nutty brown butter for chocolate chip cookies.

Whisk the brown butter with brown sugar and white sugar until smooth.

Warm brown butter combined with granulated sugar and dark brown sugar in a stainless steel mixing bowl before whisking to create the cookie dough base.

Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until thick and fully emulsified.

Egg and vanilla extract added to the brown butter sugar mixture, ready to be whisked into a thick and emulsified cookie dough.

Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold gently just until no dry spots remain.

All-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt added to the cookie dough and gently folded in to prevent overmixing.

Fold in the chocolate chips. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 20–30 minutes.

Dark chocolate chips scattered over brown butter cookie dough before folding in for even chocolate distribution.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Scoop large dough balls, about 3 tablespoons each. Bake for 13 minutes until edges are set and centers look slightly underbaked.