Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Ridiculously flavorful! I love it when desserts have a beautiful depth of flavor instead of just being sweet.
Texture: Incredibly chewy and gooey in the middle, crunchy at the edges. Absolute perfection.
Ease: Browning the butter is an extra step but I find the process fun and adds so much flavor. Other than that, this recipe is simple!
Pros: Amazing cookie recipe.
Cons: You really do have to chill the cookie dough. Waiting is hard, but it’s totally worth it, promise.
Would I make this again? Absolutely yes.
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are pure heaven in a cookie.
Somehow, I never tire of cookies. No matter how many hundreds, maybe even thousands, of batches I’ve made in my life, I still crave them regularly.
That’s why I’m always experimenting and tweaking cookie recipes in the kitchen, especially chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes all I want is an ultra-rich, gooey, and chewy chocolate chip cookie.
Free Cookie Customization Guide!
The science-based guide so you can bake perfect cookies every time!
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are absolute perfection because they are loaded with rich and nutty brown butter, butterscotch flavors, and pure chocolate.
Chocolate chunk cookies can easily become too ooey and gooey (too much of a good thing exists!) so I made sure these were the perfect balance of gooey, chewy, and crunchy.
I’ve included tons of tips below so your cookies turn out perfectly! Best of all? These cookies require no electric mixer.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Perfect Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Browning the Butter
Follow the directions closely for browning the butter. It’s super simple, just be sure not to walk away from it. It quickly goes from browned to burnt. Be sure to scrape all the brown bits into the mixing bowl – that’s where the flavor lives! Learn all my tips and tricks for browning butter in my How to Brown Butter article here.
Do You Have to Use Bread Flour?
You don’t absolutely have to use bread flour, but it adds a ton of chewy texture to these Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I always have some on hand. If you don’t have bread flour, then just use all-purpose flour in place of the bread flour in the recipe, but note that you will lose some chewiness. Make sure to weigh your flour accurately. If you add too much flour, your cookies may end up dry, dense, or crumbly and barely spread.
The Sugar in Brown Butter Cookies
A high ratio of dark brown sugar makes these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies moist, chewy, and rich in flavor. I love the depth of flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can use light brown sugar – but your cookies will lose a little bit of awesomeness. Whatever you do, don’t reduce the sugar in these cookies. Sugar does so much more beyond sweetening baking – learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
What Chocolate is Best for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies?
- This Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe calls for both regular semi-sweet chocolate chips as well as chocolate baking wafers.
- I used the Guittard brand of semisweet chocolate wafers. You can also find these specifically at Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma, or Sur la Table, and even some larger supermarkets.
- You could alternatively use the Valrhona brand of wafers (they call theirs “chocolate feves”). They don’t hold their shape like chocolate chips do. Instead, they turn into little chocolate puddles that are a delight to bite into.
- If you can’t find baking wafers/feves, feel free to use 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.
- You can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate instead, if preferred – just note that this will alter the final cookie’s sweetness levels.
Sea Salt
This is optional, but you can add a sprinkling of flaky finishing sea salt to the cookies right after pulling them out of the oven. I love the salty-sweet combination, and I think it really adds something special to these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Tips for Perfect Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- I always 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.
- I also swear by using an oven thermometer to ensure baking accuracy. Most ovens run a little hot or cold, so checking the temperature with an oven thermometer ensures the best cookies possible.
- Use a quality unlined light-colored baking tray, like these ones. Line with parchment paper for best results. The pan you bake on has a huge impact on your cookies. Learn more about the best and worst baking pans here.
- Don’t skip the chill period!! More on that just below.
Chilling the Cookie Dough
I know it’s annoying to have to wait to enjoy cookies, but I promise you it’s SO worth it. Both the taste and texture of these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies improve as the dough chills. Freezing does not work the same as chilling, so there are no shortcuts here. Learn more about how and why to chill cookie doughs in this article here.
What Size to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies?
I’ve found these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are best made as big cookies, using a 3-Tablespoon large cookie scoop. This provides the perfect texture: crisp at the edges, slightly gooey in the center, and chewy throughout. If you want to make smaller cookies, use a 1.5-Tablespoon cookie scoop and reduce the baking time to about 10 minutes.
Portioning the Cookie Dough Before vs. After Chilling
- I recommend following the directions in the recipe for chilling the dough in one big mass, and then portioning the dough because it prevents the dough from drying out while chilling.
- However, if you’re finding it too challenging to scoop the Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough at this point, feel free to scoop before chilling.
- There’s a bit more risk that your dough will dry out in the fridge this way, so just be sure to store the cookie dough balls in an airtight container or good quality ziptop bag, to prevent them from drying out.
- Then simply bake the pre-portioned Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies straight from the fridge after the 24-72 hour chill time!
Can I Freeze Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?
Yes – but make sure you chill the dough first, before freezing. Learn why chilling the cookie dough first is important here. 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 ziptop bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. This way, you can bake off small batches of fresh cookies whenever you feel like it! Check out my full post on how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen here.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (one of my most popular recipes!)
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Black & White Chipper Cookies
- Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter Dulce de Leche Cookie Cups
See ALL of my chocolate chip cookie recipes + tips & insights into the SCIENCE of cookie baking here!
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 (100 grams) cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (127 grams) bread flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups (255 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (140 grams) semisweet chocolate baking wafers (from Guittard or Valrhona)
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. Once 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 bowl combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- To the browned butter mixture, add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla 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 dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours but no more than 72 hours. Let dough sit at room temperature just until it is soft enough to scoop.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 3-tablespoon sized balls 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. Let cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
This post was originally published in 2015 and recently updated with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Previous Baking Challenge
This recipe was one of our recent picks for the Handle the Heat Baking Challenge. Every month, we select a recipe, you make it, snap a photo, and enter to win PRIZES!
I’m curious and interested to learn! Tessa’s Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe calls for the same size portions per cookie (3 tbsp/1 large cookie scoop) but call for a slightly longer baking time (12 – 14 vs 11 – 13 minutes.) May I ask why that is? Thanks so much for these brilliant recipes and the enormously helpful descriptions of the process!
Hi John! This is due to slight differences in the recipes, like the variances in sugar content and mix-ins. If you’re interested, Tessa has a fantastic online course you can take to learn more about the deep-dive differences little tweaks like this make in baking. Check out The Magic of Baking Course here! Happy baking 🙂
What happens if you don’t refrigerate it?
Hi Morgan! If you skip the chill period, your cookies will spread in the oven because the browned butter hasn’t had a chance to set back up. That chill period helps the butter solidify, and also allows the liquid in the egg white to hydrate the flour, all creating thick, chewy cookies. It also allows the flavors to develop and intensify, creating the most deliciously deep flavors. You won’t be disappointed!
Hii, can I bake these cookies at the night and let them rest overnight to eat them the next day?
Hi Lucas! Sure – these cookies will stay fresh and delicious for at least a couple of days. Once completely cooled, store inside an airtight container to keep them fresh. Check out the tip box (above the recipe) for more of Tessa’s tips for this recipe 🙂 Happy baking!
Omg, made these twice in the last week, they are SO GOOD!
The first time, I couldn’t find the baking discs so I used semi-sweet chocolate chunks instead. I also thought I burned the browned butter, but once I poured off the melted butter leaving the solids at the bottom of the pot it was actually perfect! Lastly, I didn’t have dark brown sugar, so I added 1Tbsp. of molasses (1 Tbsp. molasses per Cup of lightly packed brown sugar turns light brown to dark brown sugar), which melted right in when I poured in the hot browned butter. The hardest thing was waiting, I couldn’t make it 24 hours of chill time, so I cheated with a few hours in the freezer, and they still came out great! Very forgiving of my impatience.
My only complaint was the chocolate tasted too milk-chocolatey to me (I confess I am a dark chocolate lover), but this could’ve been due to me using the chunks instead of the discs the recipe calls for. Either way, the 2nd time I made them I subbed one cup of the semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips. This time the recipe was perfect! (Although I still couldn’t make it 24 hours of chill time, freezer trick again FTW!) A sprinkle of Maldon sea salt atop the cookies straight out of the oven and… chef’s kiss! Thank you for this marvelous recipe, I am now ruined for all other chocolate chip cookie recipes!
i already have some browned butter on hand. how much should I use for your recipe taking into account the moisture loss during browning process. thanks in advance! 🙂
Hi Isha! Every brand of butter loses a different amount of water during the browning process, so it may require a little experimentation to determine exactly how much you need. Let us know how it goes 🙂
Was so great made this a few times now and it is always a hit with family and friends. Very delicious and simple to make! (I usually omit the baking powder though because they help my cookies spread better). My go to chocolate chip cookie recipe.
I have some red and green M&Ms that I’d like to use to make the cookies festive for Christmas. Will they work in this cookie? If so, how much should I put in?
Hi Jessica! Absolutely – just replace as many of the chocolate chips as you like with your festive M&Ms – I recommend about half M&Ms, half chocolate chips, but any mix will work just fine. Just keep the total mix-in weight about the same as the recipe as written. Happy baking 🙂
Hello! I’ve made these before, but this year I’m looking to make them gluten free AND I live at high altitude. I know they may not be quite as tasty, but any suggestions? Thinking 1:1 flour and maybe a little less butter?
Hi Jackie! I’m sorry, but we don’t bake with gluten free ingredients, and none of our team lives at high altitude! this King Arthur Baking resource has some great tips on adjusting for high altitude. I hope that helps! Let us know how it goes. Happy baking 🙂
Tessa, the first pan came out and I couldn’t wait….Yuuummm! Thank you for a great addition to our Christmas cookies!
Hi , would i be able to freeze the batter ? i made it 48houts ago and was going to bake for tommorow but now it seems i will not be able to bake for a few days , will the cookies be okay?
Hi Angelica! You can absolutely freeze this cookie dough! Tessa talks about this in the pink tip box, just above the recipe. Check out the answer to your question, along with lots of other great baking tips for this recipe, there! Let us know what you think of these cookies 🙂
I love the flavor of this recipe, but they came out so flat vs when I make your bakery style cookies they have a perfect rise that stays even after coming out of the oven. These brown butter ones rise in the oven, but when I take them out they totally deflate and I can’t figure out how to keep them from deflating. Any tips? Is it just what happens using brown butter? I let them rest for 1-2 days in the fridge.
Hi Michelle! Hmm, that’s super strange! As you can see from the photos on this page, these cookies should be relatively thick (perhaps not quite as thick as the Bakery Style cookies, but not far off!). I would normally check that you’re measuring your ingredients correctly and your leavening agent is still active, but if your Bakery Style cookies are turning out perfectly, it seems unlikely that these are the culprits. Feel free to experiment with adding a touch more flour (just a couple of tablespoons to start with) to help the cookies retain their thickness. I also love this little tip I learned from Tessa: 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 edges of each cookie 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 pulls the edges in slightly, for a thicker cookie! Here’s a link to the reel on our Instagram, where we shared this fun cookie hack a few months ago 🙂 I hope this helps! Happy baking 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! I want to make this for a cookie exchange and add pretzels for a salty sweet combo. Would this work for the recipe and if so, when do you recommend I add the pretzels in?