These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are an irresistible treat with the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors. The browned butter adds a rich, nutty caramel undertone, complementing the semi-sweet chocolate chips and a hint of sea salt.
Growing up, my mother wasn’t much of a baker, but every Sunday we had a roast and a big batch of Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies. These cookies became a cherished tradition in our household. After school, we’d sit together with a cup of tea, enjoying the cookies while chatting about life. Even now, over a decade later, whenever I visit her in New Zealand, she still offers me those beloved Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies.
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are an elevated twist on that nostalgic treat. With the rich, nutty flavor of browned butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a hint of sea salt, they strike the perfect balance between sweet and salty with a subtle caramel undertone. While browning the butter takes a bit more time and effort, the result is undeniably worth it. Chilling the dough is a crucial step, allowing the flavors to meld and preventing excessive spreading during baking, which ensures a soft center and crisp edges.
These cookies are a delightful combination of gooey and crunchy textures, making them an instant hit in any kitchen. They disappear so quickly that you’ll find yourself making batch after batch.
Browning butter might seem daunting, but with a few tips, it’s easy to master. Start with a lower heat to avoid burning, and keep a close eye on the butter as it cooks. Stir constantly until it reaches a beautiful amber color with a nutty aroma. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that these cookies are among the best you’ve ever made. Enjoy the process and the delicious results!
▪️ Brown Butter – You must brown the butter for this recipe to enhance the nutty notes and depth of the chocolate chip cookie. Once you have browned the butter, you must add a tablespoon of water or an ice cube of water back into the brown butter to replace the lost liquid. This will also help the melted butter to cool down in temperature so it can be added into the sugar.
▪️ Sugar – This recipe uses both granulated and brown sugar.
▪️ All-Purpose Flour – You must make this cookie gluten-free by using one-to-one gluten-free flour if you prefer.
▪️ Egg – Use one whole egg at room temperature that weighs around 56 g with the shell. You need to pre-crack your egg into a small bowl and whisk it together so that it is completely blended and will allow easier addition to the mixture.
▪️ Quality Chocolate – It is imperative to use good quality chocolate in your cookies. I highly recommend using a good quality baking chocolate bar that you chop up into smaller pieces or you can also use chocolate chips. Whatever you decide, make sure that it’s of high quality. I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate with this recipe as it balances the richness of the brown butter.
▪️ Vanilla extract – Always use a good vanilla extract or vanilla paste; avoid using vanilla essence if you’re able to.
▪️ Sea salt – You can use kosher, diamond, or any type you have. However, different salts have different potencies of saltiness, so you must keep that in mind when you are adding it to your dry ingredients and batter. If your butter is salted, you may want to omit the salt altogether.
▪️ Digital scale –The power of precision in your baking with a digital scale can make a world of difference in the end result. I rely on mine to measure almost all of my ingredients, ensuring the most accurate results. You can easily and affordably purchase one from a supermarket or store like Target or Amazon for around $20 USD.
▪️Oven Temp – When baking your cookies (after chilling), preheat your oven to 350°F at least 20 minutes before baking. An oven thermometer is necessary to make sure your oven is heating accurately. Apart from the kitchen scale, it’s probably the best money you can spend on general baking. Home ovens are off by 15°, sometimes 25°, and even more.
▪️Oven Rack Placement – For the most even bake, position your oven rack in the middle of the oven. If you’re familiar with any hot spots in your oven, adjust the rack accordingly to avoid underbaked or overbaked cookies in that batch. This simple yet effective step can significantly enhance the quality of your cookies.
▪️Parchment paper – Cut out a piece of parchment paper that is the size of the 1/2 sheet tray. This will ensure that your cookies don’t stick to the tray, making clean-up a breeze and preserving the shape of your cookies.
▪️ Cookie Scoop – Using a scoop or a digital scale to measure your divided dough evenly is always helpful in providing even baked batches of cookies.
▪️Wire Cooling Rack – Investing in a wire cooling rack is another kitchen tool I highly recommend. Having a wire rack will decrease the cooling time of your bakes, save you from soggy bottoms, and reduce the stress of finding a place to set your piping hot trays and pans straight out of the oven.
1. Brown the Butter – To brown the butter, begin by melting the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot on the stove over low-medium heat. Constantly stir the butter to prevent it from burning. The butter should start to foam after 3-5 minutes; the milk particles separate at this stage. Keep stirring as the butter turns into a deep amber color. Be sure not to step away, as it can quickly go from amber to burnt in less than a minute. Once the butter reaches a deep amber color, transfer it to a heatproof bowl.
2. Add a tablespoon of water or an ice cube—Adding water to the browned butter helps restore the moisture and liquid that evaporates during heating, contributing to the perfect texture of your cookies.
3. Combined sugar and butter -In a large bowl, combine the sugar and browned butter, then cream them together using an electric mixer or whisk until well combined and lighter in texture.
4. Add egg and vanilla -After creaming the butter and sugar, add the egg and vanilla, and beat the mixture for about 45 seconds until smooth and thoroughly combined.
5. Sieve dry ingredients -Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and gently mix them with a rubber spatula until only a tiny amount of flour is visible.
6. Toss in chocolate chips -Now, it’s time to add the chocolate chips. Gently fold them in with the rubber spatula until the last streak of flour disappears.
7. Chill for 12 hours (2 hours min)—To allow the flavors to develop, Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, but ideally 12-24 hours. Remember, the longer the chilling, the less the cookies will spread.
PRO TIP/ KITCHEN HACK
Tray Placement – Evenly spread cookies out on one cookie sheet tray. Cookies bake most evenly when baked only one sheet at a time.
8. Time—Monitor the oven, as ovens vary. Start checking the cookies at the earliest recommended baking time, as they can quickly go from pale to over-browning due to their small size.
9. Doneness – Don’t overbake the cookies. Once the edges turn golden, they can be removed from the oven.
10. Remove – As soon as the cookies are firm enough to transfer, remove them from the baking sheet and place them on wire racks to cool completely before storing. This will ensure they maintain their crispness and ideal texture.
PRO TIP/ KITCHEN HACK
Perfect Circle Cookies – Straight out of the oven, use a cookie cookie cutter a little larger than you cookies diameter (or a kitchen glass) and swirl the cookie inside the cutter/glass so its touching its edge. The cookie’s edges should start to smooth out and the cookie itself should begin to become more round.
Baked Cookies – In general code cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 5 days depending on the recipe cookie cutter recipes tend to keep longer to keep the cookies soft add an apple wedge tortilla or a piece of bread to the container to reheat them placed an oven heated to 350 Fahrenheit for 3 to 5 minutes or until warmed through I prefer to refrigerate or freeze my Joe and bake cookies as I want them because nothing beats fresh still warm cookies warm cookies.
Cookie Dough – can be stored in the fridge covered for up to three days let’s set a room temperature until warm enough to scoop both of cookie dough can also be placed on a cookie sheet and frozen ones frozen transfer the balls to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to six weeks back from frozen dropping the oven temperature by 25 Fahrenheit and adding few minutes to the cooking time or bring the Joe to defrost at room temperature and baked as directed by the recipe.
Do I need to use brown butter in this recipe? If you would like to omit browning the butter, use sub 6 tbsp of melted unsalted butter instead—do not add the extra tbsp of water/ice cube to the melted butter.
Can I use another chocolate? I highly recommend you first try using the chocolate mentioned in this recipe, as it was designed to balance the brown butter. If you want darker chocolate, I suggest mixing 50/50, bittersweet and sweet.
Can I make these gluten-free? Yes, you can usually use gluten-free flour to make cookies if a recipe calls for AP flour. I recommend using a 1:1 blend of gluten-free AP flour since it is designed to act the closest to AP wheat flour.
When should cookies be removed from the oven? Remember, cookies continue to bake for approximately 20 minutes after they leave the oven. So, even if they don’t look entirely done after the cooking time has passed, you can still take them out of the oven. Leave them on the tray until they are sturdy enough to move without bending or breaking (roughly 3-5 minutes).
My dough is super sticky, / My cookies spread too much. This is often caused by not using enough flour in the dough. Flour can behave differently based on various factors, such as the type of wheat grain, how it is milled, and its liquid absorption. You may need to increase the amount of flour used. Ensure that all ingredients are at room temperature and mix until just combined. Soften the butter adequately; softer butter will result in more cookie spread. Avoid using melted butter, which may cause the cookies to spread excessively. You can also chill the dough for 2 hours before baking – allowing the butter to harden in the fridge will slow the spread as the cookie bakes.
My dough is dry and cracking / My cookies didn’t spread enough. This is likely due to too much flour in the dough, which prevents the butter and sugar from melting and spreading. Flours don’t absorb liquid equally, so use up to 1/3 of the flour at once and adjust it accordingly. Over-handling the dough can strengthen the gluten, preventing the cookies from spreading, so stop mixing as soon as the last streak of flour disappears when folding the dough.
Good Day To Bake is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a way for websites to earn advertising revenues by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. See the Privacy Policy for more details.
Kia Ora, and welcome to Good Day To Bake. My name is Courteney and here in this corner of the internet, you can find my collection of favorite recipes created in small batches, perfect for singles, couples, and cozy households – all of which can be increased to larger portions. You can learn a little more about me here
