These chewy, soft Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are so delicious and simple to bake! These are perfect to have on hand for a sweet treat or to take to a cookie party. Everyone will love the deep, rich flavor of these cookies!
I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but chocolate chip cookies always hit the spot for me. This recipe was inspired by the whole foods brown butter chocolate chip cookies, though these are a bit different. These cookies are very thin, but they are somehow also chewy and have slightly crispy edges. This recipe uses chopped dark chocolate rather than true chocolate chips, browned butter, and a combo of brown and white sugars.
There are probably a million BBCCC (brown butter chocolate chip cookie) recipes out there, but I'm so glad you landed on mine! I think these are some of the best cookies and the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Table of Contents:
Watch the Video of this Recipe
@emily.eggers brown butter chocolate chip cookies (BBCCC)🍪✨🫶🏻
♬ Dreams (2004 Remaster) - Fleetwood Mac
Ingredients
The key to the best chocolate chip cookies recipe is using good ingredients. You don't need to spend a fortune, but opt for higher quality options for things like butter, eggs, and chocolate!
- All purpose flour
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Large egg
- Baking soda
- Diamond crystal kosher salt - If possible, use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If not using that, add a smaller amount of salt.
- Vanilla bean paste - If necessary, vanilla extract is fine, but the vanilla bean paste is a heavily preferred.
- Dark chocolate bar (around 65% dark) - I recommend using a chopped chocolate bar rather than chocolate chips.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Brown the butter: Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it starts to foam, keep stirring until the butter milk solids turn golden brown on the bottom of the pan and has a nutty aroma and nutty flavor. Remove from heat immediately and let it cool for a few minutes. This works best with a silver or light-colored pan, so you can see the milk solids' color while the butter melts in the browning process.
In a large bowl, add the light brown sugar and white sugar until well combined. Pour the browned butter in and whisk together until emulsified. Allow to cool for around 5 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla bean paste, mixing until well combined. (Be sure the sugars aren't too hot to prevent the egg from cooking while mixing)
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing with a rubber spatula just until just combined. I recommend adding in 3 batches.
Stir in the chocolate chunks. (Again, make sure the dough is cooled enough, or else the chocolate will start to melt.)
Scoop the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2 inches apart. The dough should weigh roughly 34-40 grams per cookie, unless opting for slightly smaller cookies.
Place extra chocolate chunks on top of each ball of dough.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (Don’t even think about skipping this step)
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
Bake cookies straight from the fridge for 9-12 minutes.
Remove the cookies and gently smack the sheet tray on your counter, this will help deflate the cookies a bit, creating crinkly edges and a chewier texture. Optionally, top finished cookies with flaky sea salt.
Cool & Enjoy 🙂
Substitutions
This recipe has not been tested for substitutions and it is not recommended to substitute. However, if you must, here are some options.
- Vanilla bean paste - Vanilla extract can work in place of this, but use a high quality one.
- Dark Chocolate Bar - You can substitute chocolate chips, a flavored chocolate bar, or a darker chocolate.
Variations
If you want to spice up this recipe, try these!
- Chai Flavor - Add the contents of 1 chai tea sachet to the dry ingredients to give this a unique flavor.
- Salted chocolate - Add a touch more salt in the batter, and sprinkle Maldon flaky salt on top at the end.
- Crunchy - To make these thin cookies crunchier, bake for an additional 3-5 minutes.
Try my Chai-Spiced Brown Sugar Cookies as well!
Equipment
- Kitchen scale - This is non-negotiable. You must use a kitchen scale for this recipe, and you really should use it for all baking recipes. Plus, its even easier than getting out all your cups and tablespoons!
- Two mixing bowls
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet tray/Cookie sheet
- Cookie scoop (optional)
- Cooling rack (optional)
- Small sauce pot or pan
- Sharp knife
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Alternatively, store in the freezer for 2-3 months. You can also freeze the dough before baking, store in an airtight container.
Top tip
To make these perfect follow 3 golden tips:
- Don’t burn the butter! Browning butter is easy to do, but its easy to burn it as well. Once the butter has a nutty aroma and slightly gold, remove it from the heat.
- Use a digital scale! I'm very serious about this. You need to use a scale for this recipe. I promise it will make your life easier.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. People often want to skip this step, but it is not optional. Chill the balls of dough for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1-2 hours.
FAQ
Making brown butter cookies turns the normal milk solids into deliciously nutty brown bits that add a nutty flavor that adds depth to the cookies.
The key to making a soft and chewy cookie is to use more light or dark brown sugar than white sugar, to make sure to include a long enough chill time, and some people opt to use an extra egg yolk. Also, try to take them out just before they look fully done in the oven.
This can vary from recipe to recipe, but for the simplest option, add hot browned butter straight to the sugars to emulsify them easily. Once that has happened, cool the contents to at least room temperature. That way, you won't accidentally scramble the egg when it is added.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with homemade chocolate chip cookies:
Love a recipe you've tried? Please leave a 5-star🌟 rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Don't forget to tag me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe
Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Kitchen scale This is non-negotiable. You must use a kitchen scale for this recipe, and you really should use it for all baking recipes. Plus, its even easier than getting out all your cups and tablespoons!
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- Parchment Paper
- 1 Baking sheet tray/Cookie sheet
- 1 Cookie Scoop (optional)
- Cooling rack (optional)
- 1 Small sauce pot or pan
- 1 Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 140 grams All-purpose flour
- 113 grams Unsalted butter 1 stick, 90 grams after browning.
- 110 grams Light brown sugar
- 50 grams Granulated sugar
- 1 Large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond crystal kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla bean paste
- 30-40 grams Dark chocolate bar chopped, around 65% dark
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once it starts to foam, keep stirring until the butter milk solids turn golden brown on the bottom of the pan and has a nutty aroma and nutty flavor. Remove from heat immediately and let it cool for a few minutes. This works best with a silver or light-colored pan, so you can see the milk solids' color while the butter melts in the browning process.
- In a large bowl, add the light brown sugar and white sugar until well combined. Pour the browned butter in and whisk together until emulsified. Allow to cool for around 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla bean paste, mixing until well combined. (Be sure the sugars aren't too hot to prevent the egg from cooking while mixing)
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing with a rubber spatula just until just combined. I recommend adding in 3 batches.
- Stir in the chocolate chunks. (Again, make sure the dough is cooled enough, or else the chocolate will start to melt.)
- Scoop the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2 inches apart. The dough should weigh roughly 34-40 grams per cookie, unless opting for slightly smaller cookies.
- Place extra chocolate chunks on top of each ball of dough.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (Don’t even think about skipping this step)
- Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
- Bake cookies straight from the fridge for 9-12 minutes.
- Remove the cookies and gently smack the sheet tray on your counter, this will help deflate the cookies a bit, creating crinkly edges and a chewier texture. Optionally, top finished cookies with flaky sea salt.
- Cool & Enjoy 🙂
Notes
- Don’t burn the butter! Browning butter is easy to do, but its easy to burn it as well. Once the butter has a nutty aroma and slightly gold, remove it from the heat.
- Use a digital scale! I'm very serious about this. You need to use a scale for this recipe. I promise it will make your life easier.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. People often want to skip this step, but it is not optional. Chill the balls of dough for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1-2 hours.
Nutrition
Food safety
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Devon says
Super easy to follow & I love when recipes call for a scale! Probs the best brown butter choc chip cookie recipe i've ever tried 🙂