The BEST Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

When we gush about these browned butter chocolate chip cookies being the ultimate, we mean it! They’re our absolute favorite, and for good reason. With their perfect blend of chewiness, crisp edges, and generous chocolatey goodness, they’re a cookie lover’s dream come true. Trust us, once you’ve had a taste, you’ll understand why we’re so obsessed!

The history of the chocolate chip cookie

The chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1938. We don’t know about you, but it’s hard to believe that this delicious dessert has been around for less than a century! Bakers Ruth Graves Wakefield and Sue Brides joined forces to develop this signature American dessert, and the rest – quite literally – is history.

Ruth owned an inn with her husband based in a small town in southeastern Massachusetts. Their inn was notorious for Ruth’s delectable desserts. She baked all sorts of sugar and butterscotch cookies but felt uninspired after years of baking the same things. That was when she decided to cut up a Nestle chocolate bar and combine it with her butter drop cookie recipe!

How to make browned butter

Browned butter is the magic ingredient that makes these cookies oh-so-good. It’s a fairly simple process to make brown butter, but it helps to develop a sweet and nutty flavor. You are essentially cooking the butter just past its melting point and browning some of the milk fats.

Browning butter takes about 3-5 minutes and all you need is butter, a pan or sauce pot, and a whisk or spatula. If you are using a non-stick pan, we recommend using a silicone whisk or silicone spatula so that you don’t scrape the bottom of the pan.

You will start by cutting up the butter into cubes. Next, place the butter in the pan or sauce pot and heat the pan up over medium heat. Make sure to keep a close eye on the butter while it melts, as it can go from browned to burnt quickly. Once all of the cubes have melted, start mixing with the whisk or spatula.

Once the butter is fully melted, it will begin to foam – this is a good sign! Keep whisking to make sure the melted butter is evenly heated. Eventually, you’ll start to notice a nutty smell coming off of the butter which indicates it has browned. There will also be some brown specs at the bottom.

At this point, turn off the heat, and keep mixing. As we mentioned earlier, it is very easy to cross the line from browned to burnt, so do not leave the butter unattended. You can use the browned butter right away, or store it until you are ready to bake!

For this recipe, we recommend making the browned butter right before making the cookie batter so that it is warm and melted.

How to make the batter for the best browned butter chocolate chip cookie

1. Make the browned butter, or re-melt the browned butter if it is already made. Once melted, add instant espresso and mix in. Set aside for about 20 minutes to allow the butter espresso mixture to infuse and cool.
2. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt to combine.
3. Add the brown butter mixture, brown sugar, light brown sugar, and white sugar to a large bowl and mix until well blended.
   • Note: If you’re using a stand mixer, use that bowl. If you are mixing by hand or using a hand mixer, any large bowl will suffice!
4. Next, add 1 egg and beat the ingredients together for 1-2 minutes. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
   • Note: it is important to separate mixing these ingredients into two steps to achieve the perfect cookie batter texture. You are aiming for a light and fluffy looking mixture
5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture, and mix just until the ingredients are combined. You want to be careful not to over-mix as it will impact the texture of the cookies.
6. Gently stir in the chocolate chunks and chocolate chips. It is not necessary to use both chunks and chips, but we personally like to incorporate both to add some variety to the texture.
7. Scoop out about 1/3 cup of the dough and roll into balls.
8. Place on a baking sheet. At this point, you can bake or refrigerate the dough overnight. If you are in a time crunch, you can refrigerate for just 30 minutes, but the longer you wait the better they will turn out!

Baking the best browned butter chocolate chip cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Remove the chocolate chip cookie batter from the fridge.
3. Scoop the cookie dough and roll it into balls. We like to make each cookie from 1/3 cup of dough!
4. Place on a non-stick baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other so they have room to expand in the oven.
5. When your oven is heated, bake the cookies on the center rack for 14-16 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Make sure not to overbake the cookies as they will continue to cook from the residual heat after they come out of the oven.
6. After a couple of minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool. Sprinkle with Maldon salt or your favorite flaky sea salt!

The Best Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

4.42 from 12 votes

Author: Food Dolls

Servings: 6 servings

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 35 minutes mins

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These Browned Butter Chocolate Chip cookies will rock your world! They are thick, gooey, and nutty! The brown butter gives this a rich caramel flavor, and the sea salt flakes gives it a great the saltiness to balance everything out!

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3/4 cup browned butter melted (need approximately 14 tbsp unsalted butter)
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons, make sure flour is leveled and not heaping *see note.
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
• ▢ 2 teaspons vanilla extract
• ▢ 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate bar chopped into chunks
• ▢ 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• ▢ maldon salt flakes for garnish

Instructions 

• Make the browned butter (see note below), or re-melt browned butter if it is already made. Once melted, add instant espresso and mix in. Set aside for about 20 minutes to allow the butter espresso mixture to infuse and cool.
  3/4 cup browned butter, 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt to combine.
  2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Add the brown butter mixture, brown sugar, light brown sugar and white sugar to a large bowl and mix until well blended.
  1/2 cup loosely packed dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Next, add 1 egg and beat the ingredients together for 1-2 minutes. Then add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
  1 egg + 1 egg yolk, 2 teaspons vanilla extract
• Add the dry ingredients to butter, sugar and egg mixture, and mix just until the ingredients are combined. You want to be careful not to over mix as it will impact the texture of the cookies.
• Gently stir in the chocolate chunks and chocolate chips. It is not necessary to use both chunks and chips, but we personally like to incorporate both to add some variety to the texture.
  8 ounces bittersweet chocolate bar, 2/3 cup milk chocolate chips
• Scoop out about 1/3 cup of the dough and roll into balls.
• Place on a baking sheet. At this point you can bake or refrigerate the dough overnight. If you are in a time crunch, you can refrigerate for just 30 minutes, but the longer you wait the better they will turn out!
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove the chocolate chip cookie batter from the fridge.
• Place on a non-stick baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other so they have room to expand in the oven.
• When your oven is heated, bake the cookies on the center rack for 14-16 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Make sure not to overbake the cookies as they will continue to cook from the residual heat after they come out of the oven.
• After a couple minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow them to cool. Sprinkle with maldon salt, or your favorite flaky sea salt!
  maldon salt flakes for garnish

Notes

How to make browned butter-

• Cut the butter into cubes.
• Place the butter in the pan or sauce pot and heat the pan up over medium heat.
• Make sure to keep a close eye on the butter while it melts, as it can go from browned to burnt quickly. Once all of the cubes have melted, start mixing with the whisk or spatula.
• Once the butter is fully melted, it will begin to foam – this is a good sign! Keep whisking to make sure the melted butter is evenly heated. The butter will start to smell nutty, which indicates it has browned. There will also be some brown specs at the bottom.
• At this point, turn off the heat, and keep mixing. As we mentioned earlier, it is very easy to cross over the line from browned to burnt, so do not leave the butter unattended. You can use the browned butter right away, or store it until you are ready to bake!

Flour

After you measure the 2 leveled cups, remove 2 tablespoons of the flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 889kcal | Carbohydrates: 117g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 493mg | Potassium: 386mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 78g | Vitamin A: 768IU | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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