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.
Amazing cookie recipe! My kids love it. I just have one question! When I refrigerate the cookie dough overnight and before baking them the next day I leave it out at room temperature. It takes a whole day to thaw the dough. It really becomes hard in the fridge. Any thoughts or suggestions as to what I am doing wrong?
So when you say the mixture of butter and sugar needs to “cool completely” does that mean waiting on it to get to room temperature?
Yep! If it’s helpful, feel free to place it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to speed up the cooling process!
I found this on Reddit when I was searching for people’s favourite choc chip cookie recipes. When I tell you I’ve tried 3 dozen recipes and this one is heads and shoulders above the rest… The bread flour is crucial. The brown butter is crucial. The 24+ hour chilling period is crucial. The final sprinkle of flaky sea salt is crucial. All the extra effort is worth it for the end result. People have asked to order big batches of these cookies from me when I bring them to parties, potlucks, etc. I play around with the chocolate additions, like adding white chocolate chips and walnuts, and sometimes I add a pinch of nutmeg. I also make mine huge and keep them in the freezer so I can pop 1-2 into the oven as an after-dinner dessert with vanilla ice cream. This recipe is proof that you don’t need fancy tools, just patience. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Wow, what a wonderful comment, Jannel. I love all your mix-in ideas and the pinch of nutmeg! Plus, I don’t think there’s anything better than a fresh, warm cookie after dinner, yum! Thanks so much for sharing your experience, we’re so thrilled to hear how much you love this recipe! 🙂
Am I the only one that got caught because the recipe steps neglect the sugar…..huge miss. Ruined my dough because I didn’t realize until everything was incorporated already.
Hi Kacee! Please see Step #1 – after you’ve browned the butter, removed it from the heat, and poured it into a mixing bowl, the sugars are added to the butter before the mixture is set aside to cool completely. Hope you give this recipe another try!
That happened to me too! But that’s why I always go over the ingredient list like 10 times while mixing to make sure I put everything in instead of relying on instructions where I always misread or forget something. I swear I had to read the first two steps five times to figure out where it said sugar. I put everything in in the wrong order this time but the cookies still turned out great for me.
Great recipe! Just wondering what would happen if I didn’t refrigerate for 24hrs and instead froze it or something like that?
Hi Yasmin! Skipping the chill process and freezing instead won’t reap the same benefits. Learn more about the importance of chilling dough in our article here! 🙂
Made these for grandchildren to share with friends. Not wanting to wait much longer, I put two in the oven before baking the entire batch. They are simply delicious…just as the recipe was described….tender, crispy, and so yummy.
Followed the easy and well written instructions to the letter and cannot wait to share them.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us!
This is an absolutely delicious recipe. I did a little tweaking, using Guittard chocolate chips and bars, both bitter-sweet and semi sweet. I make my own brown sugar so real molasses adds another flavor layer. Finally, as if there wasn’t enough nutty, sweet, crunchiness I threw in some roasted pecan pieces for a touch of savory earthiness. Recipe was easy to read and follow as well as most of the ingredients are items that those who bake, have on hand. Everyone oooo’d and aaaaaah’d at the pics on my social media page, and those that ate a cookie or two, raved at the texture and flavor. Just enough crunch, chew, sweet and savory. At first I thought to be a recipe gatekeeper but then…most will never make their own brown sugar so they won’t taste just like mine… so I shared your recipe page. Thanks a million!
These cookies are freaking amazing. I used Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped Guittard bittersweet bars, along with chopped pecans. The brown sugar was homemade using organic cane sugar and molasses. I add the salt in the butter and sugar. I got nothing but crazy compliments! These are my go to chocolate chip cookies…forever
I have made this recipe as written many times but recently I attempted to make it gluten and dairy free for a friend who recently found out she has some intolerances. I was able to substitute the butter for Miyoko’s Dairy Free European Style unsalted butter (the cashews in it allow for it to be browned) and I used King Arthur 1:1 gluten free flour and I used guittard’s semi-sweet chocolate chips since they are dairy free. While it definitely does not live up to the hype of the normal recipe, I wanted to note that my friend said it was the best thing she’s had since having to switch her diet. I just wanted to share that the measurements in grams do work with these substitutions if someone has an intolerance. 🙂
This is indeed a good recipe. However, having made the meaningful eats brown butter GF choc chip cookies, I think they work better for GF. Not all of my family is GF, but they all agree that that recipe is better than any “real” flour recipes. I really think the almond flour does it. Plus, it just takes a half hour rest rather than 24 – 72 hours in the refrigerator to get an awesome result
This was a great recipe. The cookies turned out so tender and flavorful. I took time when browning the butter so really make sure the color was a deep amber and smelled nutty. I beat the eggs before adding them and was careful to measure the flours precisely. Meaning I used a smaller scoop to pour into the measuring cups to fill and used a knife to scape it level. My only deviation to the recipe was I used only Dark chocolate chips and chunks. Next time Ill add semi sweet and milk chocolate to very the chocolate flavor.
My cookies didn’t flatten at all, and the taste was not very good, to be honest. I am not sure what I did wrong, but they did not come out at all like what I’ve read and heard about these cookies. I reread the recipe, and I followed it exactly to a T, but unfortunately, it didn’t turn out as I expected.
I live in Dubai so I’m wondering if it has to do with the ingredients here.
I am not sharing this to be negative, but just to see if others have had a similar experience and to understand why.
My cookies did not shrink at all. they were puffy and tasted like eggs. Not trying to be rude, but will not choose again. I don’t know if I did something or what but they were not good.
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that these cookies didn’t turn out as expected! That would be so disappointing, especially after following the recipe so closely. Since you’re in Dubai, the difference in ingredients (like the protein content of the flour you used, for example) could definitely have impacted the outcome. Did you make any substitutions? When cookies don’t spread, it’s often due to too much flour (which is why we love using a digital scale—even a little extra flour can result in a cakier cookie that doesn’t spread!). Climate and humidity can also impact how ingredients behave. I’m curious: have you noticed similar challenges with other U.S.-based cookie recipes? I’d love to help troubleshoot further so you can get that perfect chewy, flavorful cookie. Let me know how it goes if you give them another try!
Bad Witten recipe. Be more specific about adding the SUGARS. Missed the “s” and had to add my brown sugar (I made) last. Because I added last it did not combine, so added about 2 tablespoons milk and combined well. Cookies came ou GREAT.
You would think you would be understanding of a missing letter with all your typos. Also just as a rule of thumb you should read a recipe all the way through before you attempt it.