Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Take your chocolate chip cookies to the next level with browned butter. These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are thick, chewy, loaded with semisweet chocolate and infused with the rich, nutty flavor of browned butter. Top everything off with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt for browned butter chocolate chip cookies that are positively gourmet.

Recipe includes a video tutorial.

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Chilling Time 30

Servings cookies

Calories 302kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

Mixing bowls
Baking sheet
Cookie scoop
Kitchen Scale (not required, but recommended for best results)

Ingredients

1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter cut into Tablespoon-sized pieces
1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar¹ see note
⅔ cup (135 g) white sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups (340 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
10 oz (285 g) semisweet chocolate² see note
flaky sea salt for sprinkling <- (click the link for the Maldon salt I use)

Instructions

Brown the butter

Place butter in a medium-sized saucepan (preferably a light colored one--this will make it easier to tell once your butter has browned) and melt the butter over low/medium-low heat.
1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter
Once melted, increase stovetop heat to just above medium heat.
Swirl and scrape the sides of the pan constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula - butter will foam and pop. Once the this noise slows, you should notice brown bits beginning to form on the bottom.
Once you notice browning (and you smell that beautiful nutty aroma of browned butter), remove from heat quickly and pour into a large, heatproof bowl.
Allow butter to cool at room temperature until no longer warm to the touch before proceeding with the recipe.

Cookie Dough

Once your butter has cooled, add sugars and stir well.
1 cup (200 g) light or dark brown sugar¹, ⅔ cup (135 g) white sugar
Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir until dough is uniform.
2 large eggs, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2 ¾ cups (340 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cornstarch , 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture, stirring until ingredients are completely combined.
Add chocolate and stir well so that chocolate is well distributed through the batter.
10 oz (285 g) semisweet chocolate²
Cover cookie dough bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
About 15 minutes before dough has finished chilling/before you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Once dough has finished chilling scoop by about 2 Tablespoon-sized portions. Gently roll the dough between your palms so that you have a round ball, then place cookie dough at least 2" apart on prepared cookie sheet.
Bake on 350F (175C) for 10-12 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown (cookies should still be quite soft when you remove them from the oven, and may even appear slightly underbaked in center).
Let cookies cool for about a minute then sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt. Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before removing, then enjoy!
flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Video

Notes

¹Brown sugar

I like to use half light and half dark brown sugar, just because I usually have both on hand and like the blend. Either variety will work fine in this recipe, though. Cookies made with light brown sugar will be lighter in color, cookies made with dark brown sugar will be darker in color and slightly richer in flavor.

²Chocolate

You can substitute chocolate chips instead, you'd need about 1 3/4 cups chocolate chips.

³Brown Butter Note

If you've never browned butter before and are nervous about the process, make sure to watch my video at the top of the recipe card so you can see exactly how I do it. Very important: make sure it cools until no longer warm to the touch before using.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Gluten-free note

I have not tried it myself, but others have successfully made this recipe with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour.

Nutrition