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.
In Canada, we don’t have bread flour. Is using only all purpose flour still okay?
Yeah it’s just less chewy
Hi Laney! We haven’t baked with Canadian flour, but I do believe your AP flour has a protein content somewhere between 10-12%. We use Gold Medal Bleached AP Flour, which has a protein content of 10.5% and King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour, which has a protein content of 12.7%. Your texture won’t be quite as chewy, but AP flour should work just fine 🙂 Let us know what you think!
The header on your website being half the screen on desktop is extremely off-putting.
hopefully I am just missing the option to collapse it.
Thanks for your feedback, Erin! I’m sorry you’re experiencing an issue with our website. Can you please email [email protected] with a screenshot of what the header looks like for you, as well as what device & browser you’re using? We’ll have our tech team look into it. Thanks!
These are DELICIOUS! We added marshmallows into ours too and they were probably the best cookies we’ve made for a long time!
Your addition sounds amazing!
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!
Hello I made these twice this month this is probably the best recipe for brown butter chocolate chip cookies I love that it’s crispy on the edges and chewier on the inside and the brown butter really shines through and it’s not too sweet. Trust me I tried a lot of brown butter recipes but they didn’t have so much flavor as this one.
I had leftover brown butter to use so I was pleased to come across this receipt when I had all the ingredients. I LOVE this recipe and I hate baking cookies!
A few minor changes I made/will make next time. I used 1/4 teaspoon of table salt (what I had on hand and knew how to ratio) in the dough, and sprinkled the cookies with Kosher salt before baking. I would cut down on the chocolate but that’s just personal preference. If you’re going through the work of browning butter you want that flavour shining through!
I’m an avid baker who hasn’t had much success with baking cookies, so I was pleased these turned out so well. The addition of bread flour is a game changer for a fluffy cookie.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Hello. Do you have a measurement for how much brown butter to add in? Because depending on how long you brown it wont the amount change with water evaporation?
Based on a quick google search, brown butter reduces 20-25% so here’s a rough calculation.
Brown butter on hand x 1.36 = pre brown butter amount (roughly)
Then take:
227 grams butter that the recipe calls for – pre brown butter amount = amount of butter to brown for this recipe
Example:
100 grams x 1.36 = 136 grams
227 grams – 136 grams = 91 grams
Therefore, the amount of butter to brown is 91 grams.
Hi there! This recipe was written with that loss of the water in mind, so there’s no need to remeasure the butter after it’s browned 🙂
To clarify, the calculation is for those who had some brown butter on hand but needed to make more for this recipe.
I have never been able to bake chocolate chip cookies. Ever. (Even though I can bake other goods) I tried your recipe for Giant Chocolate Chip cookies and they were the best I’ve ever made and delicious at that.
However, the others in my household prefer a fudgier cookie. I tried this recipe (only chilled about 6-7 hours though) and I also misread that it calls for dark brown sugar, I used light. Then I only had salted butter. I lessened the amount of salt for the rest of the recipe but the butter I used apparently had a higher salt content as it was extremely foamy when browning. The flavor was amazing, and they are fudgey but not quite fudgey enough when broken in half (or bitten). (Cooking times also greatly affected this for the 3 batches I had – less time equaled softer – any less though and it would not have been done)
I intend to remake them, this time chilling a full 24 hours. And following the recipe exactly. Will that give them that melt-away texture these cookie snobs (ha!) are looking for if I follow directions?
Also. I would love to make these cookies using espresso flavoring. But that will be a different batch once I perfect these by themselves. Can I just add 1-2tablespoons to the existing recipe and it work fine or should something else be altered?
Hi Tessa,
I love these cookies! The Brown butter is the key to their deliciousness.
I’m planning to make half the recipe. Would it be ok to omit the egg yolk as it would only be half and may not make much of a difference?
Thanks!
Hi Bridget! The extra egg yolk adds additional chew to the cookies, but you’re welcome to leave it out when making half a batch. Or, better yet, make a full batch and just freeze half of the dough balls for later! 🙂
Do I have to refrigerate the cookie dough? Can I just bake them right away or is it really necessary to refrigerate it?
Hi Noa! Due to the brown butter, chilling your cookie dough is required for this recipe. Chilling enhances both the taste and texture of these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. You can learn more about the benefits and process of chilling cookie dough in this article here. If you prefer a cookie recipe that doesn’t need chilling, check out Tessa’s Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe here. While chilling the dough is recommended with that recipe, it’s not required. I hope that helps! Happy baking!
How long can you store these?
Hi Leah! We recommend storing these in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature. More details on making these ahead and storage can be found here, in the Tip Box, just above the recipe 🙂
Could I just use all purpose flour? What does bread flour do?
Hi Tiffany! You don’t absolutely have to use bread flour, but it adds a ton of chewy texture to these Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. 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. Check out Tessa’s cookie experiment article here for more information on using bread flour in your cookies! Hope this helps and happy baking!