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.
Made this recipe over and over again, but have never added the wafers. The BEST brown butter choc chip recipe there is.
I have added one less egg in my dough by mistake and i just realised this while my dough is chilling in the fridge for abour 12 hours already
What is the best way to proceed?
Hi there! Since you already made the dough, I’d recommend baking them! They’ll still be delicious, but the texture will be slightly different.
Hi Tessa!
Loving all your recipes! I have a few questions.
1. 227grams Unsalted butter – is this the measurement before browning the butter? How long do I need to cool the butter after browning them? Do i leave it in room temperature or it’s ok to pop it in the chiller for it to set?
2. What is the difference with unbleached and bleached flour?
Thank you!
Hi Felicia! Yes, 227 grams is the measurement before browning the butter. You’ll want the butter/sugar mixture to cool to just warm (about 90°F) to ensure that it doesn’t begin cooking the eggs when they’re added. It’s fine to pop the mixture in the fridge for a bit to cool it more quickly, just know the butter and sugar will separate a bit and you’ll want to mix it again before adding the eggs and vanilla.
Bleached flour allows more moisture to be absorbed in a batter or dough to prevent excess spread. It improves the structure and height of cakes, makes taller sturdier breads, and it also makes the flour more shelf stable so it’ll last longer. Tessa’s favorite brand (and the one we test our recipes with) is Gold Medal Bleached. I hope that helps!
Delicious cookies. I was in a hurry to make these cookies so I didn’t follow the instructions completely. After the cookie dough was made I used a 1 1/2 tbs cookie scoop and placed the scooped dough inside a covered container and refrigerated the dough for a couple of hours. Then I baked them and they came out perfect. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to beat the butter and sugar. Simple recipe and delicious.
Hello, made this recipe a few times and turned out great everytime. I just have a problem with the texture. Sometimes they spread (not too much) & sometimes they don’t at all. What could be the reason for this. I always chill them for 48 hrs. Everytime they tasted great. To add as well, I have a conventional oven. I have thermometer hanging at the top heating element which reads exactly how I set the heat to be. But the other Thermometer in the middle rack is off like 20 to 30 degrees. Could this be my issue?
Hi Michael! It’s tough to say exactly what is going wrong here without baking alongside you, but here are some thoughts. Firstly, yes, it could be your oven’s temperature for sure. My oven thermometer hangs on my middle rack, where the vast majority of my baking happens, and that’s how I know my oven runs about 20°F hot! Learn more about that here.
Also, are you weighing your ingredients? Weighing vs. measuring by volume can also have a huge impact on your baked goods, as it’s so easy to add too little or too much flour to any recipe! Tessa also talks about how to measure properly in this article here. While we’re talking flour, are you sometimes changing the brands of flour used? Different brands contain varying percentages of protein, which can change the consistency of the final bake. Bleached vs. unbleached flours also differ and can yield different results. We typically use bleached flour to test our recipes.
This shouldn’t be your issue as it’s happening sporadically, but it’s worth checking if your leavening agent is fresh. If baking powder/soda sit around for a bit, they can lose their rising powder, which can result in flat cookies! Tessa talks about how to test for leavener freshness in this article here!
Another possibility is your baking pans – do you always use the same one to bake cookies? Different materials (even similar-looking ones) conduct heat differently, and some can cause cookies to overspread, or burn on the bottom before they’ve spread, and anything in between. Learn more about that here.
One last thing to leave you with is a little tip I learned from Tessa! If your cookies spread a little, or are even just not as perfectly round as you would prefer, try using a round cookie or biscuit cutter that’s slightly larger than the size of your cookies, and swirl the cookie cutter in circles around the cookie edges a few times. Make sure you do this straight out of the oven (before they have a chance to set up). This makes the cookies perfectly round and thicker again! Here’s a link to the reel on our Instagram, where we shared this fun cookie hack a bit ago 🙂 I hope this helps, and if not, please feel free to reach out again and we can try to troubleshoot with you further! Happy baking 🙂
I made this with unsalted butter. Very good !! I ran out lol can I use salted butter instead?
Hi Bethany! Tessa always recommends baking with unsalted butter (learn why here) but in a pinch, you can use salted butter and skip adding additional salt. I hope that helps! Happy baking 🙂
I’ve made this more times than I can count, for parties, sharing with neighbors, and just me wanting cookies. I haven’t made another choc chip cookie recipe since discovering this one, it’s perfect. <3
made according to recipe except used 72% ghiradelli dark chocolate chopped into chunks instead of the wafers. the flavors were perfect and got better each day. finished with flaky salt and OMG, my favorite cookie recipe ever. the bread flour and brown butter are truly game changers!!! and using a kitchen scale to measure everything! love that you include grams in all your recipes!!
Best cookies I’ve ever made! Everyone loves them and they are now my go to!
My new favorite chocolate chip cookies!! I’m always on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookies and I think these may be them. They are SO flavorful, caramely/butterscotchy, and perfectly chewy. I haven’t yet made them with the bread flour (just all-purpose) but just bought some for next time, and I haven’t been able to find the chocolate wafers anywhere so it’s either been all chips or subbing chopped up Ghirardelli dark chocolate for the wafers. But even with these modifications the recipe is awesome. I usually have to make half a dozen before chilling the dough (because when I make cookies I want some NOW) and then I bake the rest the next day. Definitely worth making a double batch and chilling some dough balls for easy spur-of-the-moment cookies.
Would this be a good dough to freeze? I am making a double batch, one to bake tomorrow and the rest I am hoping to save and freeze for the days I just really want some cookies !
Hi Maria! Yes, this dough freezes perfectly – but read through Tessa’s tips in the pink tip box (above the recipe) for more info on this, as we really recommend chilling the dough in the fridge for 24-72 hours prior to chilling. Happy baking! 🙂
Tessa,
What are your thoughts on using GHIRARDELLI dark chocolate wafers instead of the one you recommended in your recipe? Would I substitute 2 cups of chocolate chips for 1 cup of wafers? If yes, what type of chocolate?
Thank you for sharing your recipes and ideas.
Hi Rosy! Yes, feel free to use Ghirardelli chocolate wafers instead of Guittard or Valrhona wafers as a 1:1 swap – no need to alter the chocolate chips. Just be careful to purchase baking chocolate wafers and NOT melting wafers, as these contain different ingredients and oils, designed to melt for coating and not for baking. Let us know what you think of these cookies once you have given them a try 🙂
Hi Kiersten,
The baking wafers are not easy available in local stores. What else can I substitute it with and how much? What percent of CACAO to substitute with?
Appreciate your response.
Thank you
Hi Rosy! The Guittard brand is commonly available where I live in NY, and they’re also available online here. Alternatively, feel free to buy some baking chocolate bars in about 65-75% cacao and chop it coarsely, for a similar flavor and texture. You can simply substitute 1:1 for the same weight as listed for the baking wafers (or even the baking wafers + the chocolate chips, if you prefer). Happy baking!