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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
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!
–
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:
Struggling with Flat or Dry Cookies?
My free guide shows you how to fix texture problems and bake cookies you’ll love.
- 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
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
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.
Should the dough be room temperature when I bake it? I had preportioned into small balls and refrigerated then took 2 directly from the fridge and baked for 11 minutes. They were beautifully golden brown but then absolutely raw in the middle
I think it is incredibly misleading to say that prep time is 15 minutes and cook time is only 11 minutes (for a total of 26), and completely fail to include that you recommend cooling the dough for 24-72 hours.
Thanks so much for pointing that out! Somehow the chill time was removed from the total time in this recipe. I’ve added it back in!
Hello, i am trying this recipe over the weekend. Once the brown butter is done do we add in the sugars right into the hot butter, stir, and then let it completely cool. Or should be let it cool completely before adding in the sugars? Thanks
Hi there! You’ll want to add the sugars into the hot browned butter, stir, and then set the mixture aside until it’s cooled to room temp. I do want to note there is a chilling period listed in step #4 to help the flour better absorb the liquid in the dough, which will create thicker cookies that are more flavorful! Feel free to bake some up right away though, then chill the rest to compare as a fun experiment 🙂 Let us know how it goes!
Hello, I was wondering if you knew how much a large scoop of the cookie dough weighs? They look really good!
She …she …she was a fairy ! 🧚♂️ let me say , I myself have never been crazy about chocolate chip cookies . I mean, sure I’d eat one if there was nothing else sweet around, but I’ve never really craved a chocolate chip cookie. UNTIL NOW! I’m telling you this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever !! And I love that it’s so simple !! I’ve made it twice now and of course I always make my own little tweaks here and there but even so the cookies have came out so delicious !! I’m gonna continue using this recipe and have fun playing around with it ! Thank you so much for sharing ! I finally found a chocolate chip cookie to rave about !
Hi I’m excited to try this! What are your thoughts about swapping the dark brown sugar for dark muscovado sugar in this recipe?
We haven’t tried that, but let us know how it goes if you do!
Mine are so delish but they keep coming out a little flatter than yours- what do you think that could be? Could it be that my eggs were too cold?
Hi Lydia! Glad to hear that you’re enjoying these cookies! It’s unlikely that egg temperature would cause excess spread. Are you using large eggs (about 56 grams in shell)? Eggs that are too large can add too much liquid and throw off the chemistry of a recipe, causing excess spread. There are a few extra tips that could help you here – check out Tessa’s tips for this in the Sprinkle of Science box above the recipe here. Finally, if your cookies taste great but are just slightly thinner than you’d prefer, Tessa has a great tip for that! 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! Here’s a link to the reel on our Instagram, where we shared this fun cookie hack awhile back 🙂 I hope something here helps! Happy baking 🙂
I make these all the time, usually as a double batch. They are delicious raw, frozen, and of course baked. I’ve probably commented before, but I’m making them again now so I wanted to make sure to leave my five star review. These are so easy, except for the waiting time! But it’s worth it. One of my favorite recipes. I love that I don’t have to use softened butter!
I’ve made countless chocolate chip cookie recipes, and this is by far the best. And these were just my initial sample cookies (I always bake a few after I make the dough and refrigerate the rest) – the rest are chilling in the fridge to be baked tomorrow! 10000/10, followed your recipe to a T and so glad I did. I cannot overstate how ridiculously good these are. Crispy edges, soft chewy inside, caramelly brown butter flavor…..this is what dreams are made of.
Wow, thank you so much! This totally made our day 🙂 We’re so happy you loved the cookies!
Absolute slayage!
I’ve been baking my way through online recipes searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and I think my search officially ends here! I LOVE the balance of a crunchy exterior + chewy cookie + little bit of gooeyness in the middle and it’s also the first brown butter choc chip cookie I’ve made that holds its shape and doesn’t spread too much!! These are absolutely f-ing delicious and I need to find one of those timer-activated locked boxes for the dough or else I will bake/eat all of it in one sitting. THANK YOU!!! (however I will probably resent this blog slightly when my jeans don’t fit anymore which is absolutely going to happen very soon now that I have this recipe)
I have no idea what I did wrong. Help! They spread out so much that they are just mush.
The only thing I deviated from is I didn’t have bread flour so used all purpose.
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that, Melissa! Using all-purpose flour instead of bread flour only affects the chewiness, so that wouldn’t cause excessive spreading. The most common culprit is the butter being too warm. Since this recipe uses browned butter, it’s super important to let it cool completely to room temperature after mixing in the sugars (end of step 1). If it’s too warm when the other ingredients are added, the cookies will spread in the oven. In this case, chilling the dough overnight can help, but it won’t completely fix the issue. Did you happen to skip any of the cooling steps—both at the end of step 1 and the minimum 24-hour dough chill in step 4?