Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies make a good thing even better by adding nutty brown butter to my classic chewy chocolate chip cookies. No chilling the dough needed!
For other ways to enjoy Chocolate Chip Cookies, try these Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies or Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Why make Brown Butter Cookies
Brown butter is that little something-something that makes everything that much more delicious.
It’s such a simple trick—melt butter on the stovetop and keep cooking it until it’s fragrant and nutty.
Then, add it to recipes like brown butter snickerdoodles and rice krispie treats to give them an instant upgrade.
I’ve been testing this recipe over on my Instagram page and it’s been such a hit!
Here’s why you’ll love them:
- They’re so easy! These brown butter chocolate chip cookies aren’t any more difficult than a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe (or these Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies). The only extra step is making the browned butter!
- They’ve got that irresistible chewy texture we all love in chocolate chip cookies.
- No chilling the dough needed.
- You just have to try them to see for yourself—these are the best chocolate chip cookies! Buttery, slightly nutty, with so much depth and rich flavor in every bite.
For a super thick cookie, be sure to give these world famous Levain Cookies a try soon.
Important Ingredient Notes
- Butter – Although I usually use unsalted butter for baking, this is a recipe where salted does work! Use what you have on hand!
- Light brown sugar – This has a milder flavor than dark brown sugar, which is what we want here—it gives the brown butter flavor the chance to shine!
- Vanilla extract – Use a high-quality pure vanilla extract or homemade vanilla extract.
- All-purpose flour – Measure the flour by lightly spooning it into the measuring cups rather than scooping.
- Semi-sweet chocolate – You can use chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or a coarsely chopped chocolate bar. I like to use chocolate bars because you get a nice mix of large and small pieces.
- Flaked sea salt – This is optional, but really, it’s a must if you love sweet-and-salty treats! It really makes these cookies pop.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
PRO TIP: Before beginning, use our guide on how to brown butter for best tips and tricks!
Brown the Butter: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Continue heating for about 5 minutes, swirling the pan gently. The butter will brown and begin to foam, then stop bubbling. Remove the pan from the heat.
Make the Cookie Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Beat for about 2 minutes with a paddle attachment.
- Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until well mixed.
- Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda until just combined.
Add chocolate. Fold in the chopped chocolate bars.
Bake: Place the pans in the oven and bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired, then cool on a wire rack.
Easy Cookie Recipes
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, see notes
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups chopped semi-sweet chocolate, see notes
- 1 Tablespoon flaked sea salt, optional topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Brown the Butter
- In a small saucepan, add butter and melt over low heat. Continue heating for about 5 minutes, swirling the pan gently to see the butter browning, without stirring.
- The butter will beging to foam and stop bubbling. Remove from heat.
Make the Cookie Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine browned butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat for about 2 minutes with a paddle attachment, until fully blended. Add in vanilla and eggs and beat until well mixed.
- Add flour, salt and baking soda JUST until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in chopped chocolate bars (saving a few bits to put on the tops of the cookies before baking, if desired).
- Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes. The cookies will be darker because of the browned butter. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaked sea salt, if desired. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- For all my tips and tricks on browning butter, check out this easy guide on how to brown butter. I love using salted butter for this recipe, but unsalted will work too.
- Chop chocolate bars ahead of time. I used a total of 3 bars (4 ounce each). Just roughly chop the bars, and you’ll use all the fine bits that fall off with the knife plus the bigger pieces.
- No need to chill the dough! But if you DO want to chill the dough, I recommend portioning the dough with a cookie scoop before chilling. Otherwise the dough is hard to work with.
- Store cookies in a an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
- Freeze baked cookies in a freezer safe, air tight container for up to 3 months. Or portion the cookie dough and freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
- Recipe based off our favorite chocolate chip cookies. The browned butter adds a rich nutty caramel flavor!
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks!
Best ever homemade chocolate chip cookies!
I agree with this 🙂
I’ve made these several times, my husband requests this to be my ONLY cookie recipe…but the last couple of batches I’m struggling, they turn out flat!! Still delicious but don’t look anything like the photo. Flat and thin. They completely deflate. What am I doing wrong!?
I would double check your leavener and make sure it’s fresh. Also check that your cookie sheet is in the center of the oven.
Me again! I just made tonight. I checked my baking soda and it’s still good. Definitely did NOT overmix…but the dough still comes out real runny and wet….I’ve done this recipe before and it’s only recently started doing this. I also used a different butter this time around….they come out delicious still, but thin and chewy/crispy…it’s driving me INSANE….! What am I doing wrong!?!
Hi there. So I’ve made a lot of cookies and this has happened to me before. Since the recipe isn’t in grams which causes a lot of major baking issues I’d recommend you fluff your flour with a fork then spoon it gently into your cup and level it off. Also make sure your using butter such as kerrygold. Every butter has a different amount of water and butterfat your butter could be water heavy and making it spread. Also scoop and chill the dough. If it keeps happening add 1 tbsp of flour till dough is more firm. When baking leave cookies in the fridge after scooping minimum 1 hour and don’t remove them until the oven is preheated. If your adding mix ins like toffee the excess butter can also cause spread. And make sure nothing is expired. Don’t go by the expiration date go by when you opened it and it’s shelf life once opened which you can Google. For example I always toss my baking powder 6 months after opening it. Store baking soda with a desiccant and in a sealed bag. You also need to stop mixing when you still see a little flour then gently fold in your chocolate. Make sure you cream the butter and sugar well as that is what makes cookies rise. I hope all this helps.
Make sure your cookie pan is COLD and never put dough on a pan that has been in the oven for a previous batch of cookies. I always put my cookie pan in the freezer before I put dough on it. Secondly you will have better tasting cookies if you put them on a cookie tray ready to cook and leave them in the refrigerator at least 24- 36 hours before baking. I won first place and reserve champion for my chocolate chip cookies by using this method. It allows the ingredients to “meld” together. Thirdly DON”T flatten your cookie dough when putting them on the cookies tray. Leave the dough in balls and it will flatten out on its own when you cook them. If you would like them a little flatter when you take them out of the oven…immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven take the bottom of a custard cup and gently press down on the hot cookie.
I just made these four Father’s Day. Everyone raved about them. They were delicious!
Awesome!!! The brown butter truly makes a difference!