Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: These cookies are bursting with nutty, toasty brown butter flavor without going too sweet.
Texture: This recipe nails that bakery-style contrast — a perfectly chewy center with crispy edges.
Ease: Browning the butter is an extra step, but otherwise, they’re super simple. You won’t even need a mixer!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: These cookies are the perfect combo of gooey centers, crisp, golden edges, and a rich, brown butter flavor.
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My Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are chewy in the middle, crisp at the edges, and full of rich, nutty flavor. The secret is browning the butter, a simple step that makes a big difference in taste and texture.
I’ll guide you through these step-by-step, but they’re pretty easy to master. You don’t even need a mixer to make these incredible cookies!
Reader Love
These are sooooo good, I’ve been baking for many years and this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have tried. I chilled them for two days and the flavor was outstanding, I would recommend not skipping that part. Can’t wait to make them over the holidays!
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Ingredient Notes
Every ingredient in the perfect chocolate chip cookie plays a role in that chewy, gooey, bakery-style texture. Here’s why they matter in this brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe so that you can bake with confidence:
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- Brown Butter: This is the star of the show! Browning the butter transforms its flavor, creating nutty, caramelized notes that give these cookies depth and complexity.
- Bread Flour + All-Purpose Flour: Bread flour has more protein, which results in a chewier, thicker cookie. If you only have all-purpose flour, you can use it for the full amount, but you’ll lose some chewiness.
- Dark Brown Sugar: This sugar adds rich flavor and moisture to keep your cookies soft and chewy. You can use light brown sugar (1:1 ratio), but your cookies will lose a little richness.
- Granulated Sugar: White sugar gives your cookies structure and just enough crispness for that perfect texture contrast. I strongly recommend that you don’t reduce the sugar in these cookies. Sugar doesn’t just sweeten, and cutting it out will change the texture of your cookies!
- Chocolate: This recipe combines chocolate chips and chocolate baking wafers (or fèves). The chips hold their shape, while the wafers melt into irresistible chocolate puddles.
- Sea Salt: This is optional, but you can add a sprinkling of flaky sea salt after pulling your cookies out of the oven.
Sprinkle of Science
Step-By-Step: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
I tested and tweaked this recipe until every batch had the perfect balance. These have gooey centers, chewy middles, and just-crisp edges. Here are my tips for cookies that are picture-perfect, taste great, but are totally doable at home.
1. Brown the Butter
I have hundreds of cookie recipes on my site, but there’s just something magical about brown butter cookies.
How do you brown butter for cookies? Start by melting butter, and then cook until the milk solids in the butter become toasted. The result is a deeply nutty, caramelized, butterscotch flavor that perfectly enhances chocolate chip cookies.
Brown butter is super simple to make. Just be sure not to walk away from it, as it can burn quickly. Scrape all the brown bits into the mixing bowl, too, as they’re the most flavorful.
Love the flavor of browned butter? Try these next: Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Butterscotch Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
2. Mix & Cool the Butter Base
After browning the butter, mix in the sugars and let the mixture cool completely before adding the eggs. This keeps the eggs from scrambling in the warm butter and helps the dough come together. Cool butter also thickens slightly as it sits, giving the cookies a chewier texture.
3. Build the Dough
Mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately is one of the easiest ways to get perfect cookies every time. Whisking the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together first ensures even distribution of ingredients, so every cookie spreads and rises the same way.
When you gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet, you’re also less likely to overmix, keeping your cookies from getting too dense or dry.
4. Chill for Flavor & Structure
I know it’s annoying to have to wait to enjoy cookies, but I promise you it’s SO worth it. The dough improves in taste and texture as it chills. If you don’t want to wait for your cookies, feel free to bake a few after chilling for at least two hours, just to satisfy the craving. Bake the rest after 24 hours!
Freezing doesn’t work the same as chilling, so there are no shortcuts here. To fully develop the flavor and texture, it requires a minimum of 24 hours (and up to 72 hours) in the fridge.
5. Scoop, Size, and Bake
If my fridge space is more limited, I’ll refrigerate the entire mass of dough. If you do the same, you need to allow plenty of time for the dough to come to room temp before portioning. Don’t scoop cold dough. You’ll break your scoop!
I’ve found that this brown butter cookie dough is best as big cookies using a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop. To make smaller cookies, use a medium 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop and reduce the baking time to about 10 minutes. Note that the texture will be affected with a smaller scoop of dough.
The easiest option is to scoop and then chill. However, there’s a bit more risk that your dough will dry out in the fridge this way, so store the cookie dough balls in an airtight container or good-quality zip-top bag to prevent them from drying out.
Baking Tips for Best Results
From measuring your flour accurately to knowing exactly when to remove the cookies from the oven, a few minor tweaks can transform your results from “good” to “I can’t stop eating these.”
- Measure correctly. I use a digital kitchen scale to weigh my ingredients, especially flour. Incorrectly measured flour can lead to cookies that are tough, crumbly, dry, too thick, or just blah. If you don’t have one, use the spoon and level method.
- Check your oven temperature. Most ovens run a little hot or cold, which can throw off baking times. I use an oven thermometer to ensure baking accuracy.
- Choose the right pan. For best results, use a quality light-colored baking pan or cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper. The pan you bake on has a huge impact on your cookies. I have a guide to baking pans with side-by-side testing!
- Use fresh leavening agents. Make sure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh and active to ensure your cookies spread and rise perfectly. My guide explains these two leaveners and how to test for freshness.
- Don’t overbake. Bake these cookies just until the edges set and turn a golden brown. The middles may still look a little “wet,” and that’s OK! The pan’s residual heat will continue to cook them through to perfection.
- Chill the dough. I know I’ve already mentioned this, but don’t skip the chill period. Chilling gives the flavors time to deepen, resulting in thicker, chewier cookies.
Storage & Freezing Notes
When stored in an airtight container, these cookies stay soft and chewy for 2-3 days at room temperature. For longer storage, chill the dough for 24-72 hours first.
I like to portion out the dough and place it on a baking sheet, then freeze just until solid. Transfer the frozen dough balls to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 weeks. This way, you can bake off small batches of fresh cookies whenever you like!
FAQs
What makes this chocolate chip cookie recipe especially easy?
Even though these cookies look and taste bakery-worthy, the process is very approachable. No mixer is needed. Everything you need is easy to find at the grocery store, and browning the butter is easy to master.
How does browning the butter affect the flavor and texture of chocolate chip cookies?
Browning the butter transforms the flavor of your cookies in the best way. It develops rich, nutty, almost caramel-like notes that deepen the overall flavor, giving your cookies a more complex taste.
On the texture side, the dough has slightly less moisture, which helps create thicker, chewier cookies with crisp, golden edges. It’s a small extra step with a huge payoff in both taste and texture.
More Cookie Recipes to Try
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (250 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (127 grams) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (255 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (140 grams) semisweet chocolate baking wafers (from Guittard or Valrhona)*
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Swirling the pan occasionally, continue to cook the butter. It should become foamy with audible cracking and popping noises.
- Once the crackling stops, continue to swirl the pan until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. When the bits are amber in color, about 2 to 3 minutes after the popping stops, remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl.
- Add in the sugars, stir, then set aside to cool completely.
- In a medium or large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla to the browned butter mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and wafers.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours but no more than 72 hours. Let the dough sit at room temperature until just soft enough to scoop.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls using a cookie scoop and drop onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each piece of dough to spread.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This post was originally published in 2015 and recently updated with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Hi these look delicious!
Could you please help with a substitute for egg in this recipe? Thank you
Hi Srishtti! Unfortunately, we do not test our recipes with egg replacements or substitutes. Eggs bring so much structure, moisture, color, flavor, tenderization and more to baked goods, and we have not found anything that can replace the real thing. I know others have experimented and found something that works for them, so feel free to try out different things and see what works for you. Good luck! 🙂
Hi I was wondering what if I put my cookie dough in the fridge for more than 72 hours?
Because I’m thinking of making them and also freezing them in the freezer, would that be a problem?
Hi Marlenn! It depends how much longer your cookie dough was in the fridge! We generally advise that cookie dough only sits in the fridge for 24-72 hours because exceeding that window can dry out the cookie dough — but also, if it’s much past 72 hours, you run the risk of spoilage! If the dough was covered well, or in an airtight container, and it hasn’t been sitting much past 72 hours, you should be fine to bake some and freeze the rest. Smell them and make sure they smell good, and inspect them carefully. If you see any signs of mold, or if the edges have started to discolor and turn darker, throw them away! Good luck!
I LOVE this recipe. My kids aren’t huge fans of chocolate chips can I just leave them out or would I need to find a new recipe or make changes to this one?
Hi Sandra! You are welcome to experiment without the chocolate chips, but we have never tried this, so I can’t say for sure how that will go. The cookies will very likely spread much more and be thinner without the chocolate chips, but it may work just fine. Let us know how it goes if you give this a try – or alternatively, I highly recommend Tessa’s Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookie recipe – they’re SO amazing. Happy baking 🙂
Any suggestions for a gluten free sub on the bread flour? I am thinking about trying tapioca starch, but I’m so excited about this recipe that I don’t want to mess it up!
Hi Jackie! I’m sorry, we don’t test gluten free substitutes for our recipes, but The Loopy Whisk (she has a website and is also in Instagram) is a great resource for GF recipes. I’d suggest checking her out/giving her a follow! Good luck 🙂
Is it ok to use convection oven to bake cookies?
Hi Cindy! Yes, absolutely! Just drop the temperature 25°F, and begin to check for doneness earlier, at least 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the recommended baking time. If you like, you can read more about the differences between ovens here, in Tessa’s “Ovens 101” article!
I love these cookies! The brown butter flavour is amazing. Question. Could I form the dough into balls right away and then chill the dough balls overnight before baking? Instead of chilling the full block of dough and then forming into balls? This would save me time when ready bake and I think it would work? Thought?
Hi Christy! Here at Handle the Heat, we prefer to chill the entire mass of dough. I know this makes scooping the balls of dough harder when it’s time to bake; however, by allowing all of the dough to chill together, you’re allowing the flavours to marinate more deeply. Also, smaller, pre-portioned balls of dough tend to dry out faster in the fridge. We recommend chilling in one big batch for 24-72 hours, and then allow the dough to sit at room temperature until it’s malleable enough to portion out (about an hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen). I hope this helps!
Thank you, Kiersten @ Handle the Heat
I love this recipe. For anyone who struggled with scooping the chilled dough — I usually just chill it for about 15-20 minutes and then scoop the cookies onto a tray. Then I chill the dough balls for the full 24 hours before baking. That way no muscling through hard cookie dough later and they are all set for you when you’re ready to bake.
Hi Beth. I’m glad you found a way that works well for you, and that you love this recipe! Thanks for the comment!
I’m gonna have the unpopular opinion, but I found these to be way too sweet and have too much chocolate. Waiting for a report back from my sugar loving friends, but so far they’ve been reviewed with “these are fine”. I’m looking for “OMG!!!”
I do like the no mixer aspect, as when I visit family they don’t have any mixers, so I will keep it in the back pocket for that reason alone. But will definitely cut back on the chocolate.
Hi Willow! I’m sorry to hear that these cookies were not as you had hoped! Just a thought: did you brown the butter until it was a fairly deep brown, and the bits on the bottom were amber? I find if the butter is browned until that deep brown stage, the nutty toffee, butterscotchy flavors are a nice offset to the sweetness. You could also try a darker, bittersweet chocolate chip/wafer, instead of the semi-sweet. You can also (of course) cut down on the chocolate, as you said, if you prefer! Please let us know if you would like to troubleshoot any further – we are always happy to help 🙂
How many grams should the brown butter weight once it’s melted? Thanks! Looks delicious
Hi Gigi! With any HTH recipe that contains brown butter, you don’t need to weigh it after browning. We take the evaporated water content of the butter into account when writing the recipe. Can’t wait for you to try this, let us know what you think!
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe, but I have a question about the butter. When you brown the butter, it reduces the amount to less than original 227 grams that is listed. So should I just use what is left after browning the butter which is likely to be much less than 227 grams, or should it be 227 grams of melted brown butter that goes into the batter? Thanks in advance!
Hi Gigi! Yes, use what is left after browning the butter, you won’t need to make any adjustments to the amount 🙂 Let us know what you think when you give this recipe a try!
Hii i wanna know is the bread flour compulsory.
Hi there! Please check out the pink tip box above the recipe for more details 🙂
I have made thousands of cookies in my life, and probably a dozen different chocolate chip cookie recipes. This one sits as one of the better ones that I have tried (and my taste testers certainly enjoyed them, too!), but I don’t think I’ll be making this one again. I followed the recipe to the letter, including letting everything cool down before adding the dry ingredients, and leaving in the fridge for 24 hours. It was incredibly easy to mix with just a silicone spatula (this may be the first cookie recipe I didn’t use my stand mixer for!).
I use a kitchen scale for every recipe (been using one for almost five years now!), I buy good quality ingredients, and I know how to measure an oven temperature. None of that was the problem.
The problem with this recipe is that the cookie dough turns out like cement. It took me almost 15 minutes to scoop 30 cookies out of this recipe, and that’s after leaving the cookie dough on the counter for an hour to soften up! (I tried scooping after 30 minutes, but it was rock-solid still. One hour didn’t make a difference at all!) I bruised my wrist and gave myself welts on my hands trying to scoop this cookie dough. My husband didn’t have any more luck than I did.
I was worried that the terrible dough would mean terrible cookies, but to my surprise they turned out wonderful. Everyone loved them. I just don’t enjoy getting injured while baking. I love this recipe, but there are so many other chocolate chip cookie recipes out there that don’t involve bodily harm, so I most likely won’t be making this again.
Thanks for your feedback, Lauren! Cookie dough definitely hardens up quite a bit after refrigerating overnight due to the butter content, and the length of time it can take to soften up depends on the temperature of your kitchen. Feel free to place the dough in a warmer place in your home to help speed up the process, but I”m so glad that the flavor and texture of these cookies turned out great!
Hi can I substitute blueberries in this recipe?
We haven’t tried that! Let us know how it goes if you do.
I have a half stick of butter I’d like to use. Would it be possible to scale this recipe to 1.5 sticks of butter instead of 2, or would you suggest I just buy another full stick?
Hi Shina! For best results, I wouldn’t suggest reducing the amount of butter. Decreasing by that much will affect the texture and flavor of your cookies. If you’re not able to use 2 sticks, I’d recommend halving the recipe instead and using only 1 stick. Or to include that additional half stick, you’d need to increase all of the ingredients by 1/4 amount (though that gets a little more complicated!). I hope that helps!