These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are crispy on the edges, gooey and soft in the middle, and have lots of flavour from the brown butter. I use both milk and semisweet chocolate for more depth in flavour without making it too sweet. I mean how can you resist those pools of chocolate? This recipe also goes through how to get picture perfect cookies that will impress all of your friends and family. Finish the cookies off with a bit of flaky salt and dig in!
Everyone claims to have the chocolate chip cookie of all time. I did my fair share of searching through endless food blogs, trying to find the perfect cookie. Eventually I realized that although there are a ton of very delicious cookie recipes online, I needed to create my own recipe to find my perfect chocolate chip cookie. It needed to be simple, have the perfect texture, and not require softened butter because let's face it - who remembers to leave out butter a few hours before they bake? It takes less time to brown butter than it does to soften it. And so here they are! My perfect brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
Why this is the best recipe
This cookie is crispy on the outside with a beautiful crackly top. As you bite into the cookie, you reach the soft, gooey interior. Flaky salt sprinkled on top gives it a delicious crunch and pop of flavour. And you get all of this in a one bowl recipe!
No wonder this brown butter caught on so quickly in the baking world! The brown butter's toasty notes of caramel swirl through your mouth with each bite. The pools of semisweet and milk chocolate coat your tongue. And you cannot forget the most overlooked ingredient - salt. As a rule, I always add salt to any baked good because it really helps to deepen the flavour profile. The extra pinch of salt in these cookies do just that.
🍪 How to get picture perfect cookies
- Press chopped chocolate on top of the cookie dough before baking. The chocolate shards will melt as the cookies spreads, creating decadent pools of melted chocolate.
- "Scoot" the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. Do this by using a cookie cutter or upside down bowl that is slightly larger than the cookie. Place over the cookie and shake the cookie around on the inside edge in a circular motion. This will push in the irregular sides and make the cookie thicker. The longer you scoot, the thicker and smaller the cookie will become.
- Sprinkle with flaky salt. You can also use a coarse sea salt if you can't get a hold of flaky salt. It gives the cookies pops of crunch and flavour. And it makes them look so beautiful!
✔️ Tips for success
Brown butter is very easy to make. For an extra 5 minutes you get an unrivalled depth of flavour to your brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
Melt 1 cup of butter, stirring constantly, in a saucepan on medium low heat. Keep stirring as the butter froths up. The foam will subside as the butter browns. Continue stirring for a few minutes, watching the butter whole time. The milk solids (little white bits at the bottom) will slowly caramelize and turn a lovely brown colour. It will smell like toasted nuts and caramel. Be careful to not keep it on the heat for too long because it is very easy to take it from browned to burnt butter.
As soon as the butter hits that toasty stage (it will start to foam on top again), take it off the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter. Keep stirring carefully because it will foam up again and is very hot. Transfer the butter into a large heatproof bowl. Let the butter cool for 10 minutes.
Chilling the cookies before baking allows the butter to resolidify, forming a thicker cookie that will remain chewy and gooey in the middle. Without chilling, the cookie will spread out in the oven too much.
It also allows the flavours to meld together and deepen, giving the cookie a more caramel like flavour after baking.
It is really important to weigh your flour for the most accurate results. The amount of flour can influence how chewy or crispy your cookies will be. All you need is a cheap kitchen scale and you are good to go!
If you don't have a scale, then you can use a measuring cup. To properly measure flour using a measuring cup, first mix your bag of flour with a spoon to fluff it up. Carefully spoon the flour into your measuring cup without packing it in. Scrape off the excess with the flat edge of a knife, being careful not to pack the flour in.
You can make the cookie dough in advance and freeze the balls of dough on a tray. Once frozen, transfer into an airtight freezer bag or container. Freeze for up to three months.
Bake the cookies from frozen, giving them an extra few minutes of baking time.
I don't recommend using salted butter for browning. I tried it a few times with a couple of different brands and they always turned out with a bitter almost metallic taste. Unsalted butter works way better!
Check out my similar recipes:
🧈 Ingredients
Full list of ingredients and steps are in the recipe card below.
- Butter: use a good quality, real unsalted butter for best browning results and unmatched flavour. Do not use salted butter, it becomes bitter when it gets browned.
- Brown sugar: packed brown sugar will give your cookies that caramel molasses flavour and moisture for that perfect chew in the middle.
- Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar is important for moisture and those crispy edges.
- Large egg: This will give the cookies body, moisture, and help hold it together.
- Pure vanilla extract: a good quality vanilla extract is crucial for a flavourful cookie.
- Sea salt: Salt adds depth and helps offset the sweetness. It won't make the cookies salty.
- All purpose white flour: Weigh out the flour or measure properly with a measuring cup (see above) for accurate results.
- Baking soda: Helps to give the cookies a little bit of lift and help them brown.
- Chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips: Use good quality chopped chocolate for the most gooey results. Chocolate chips work well too. You can use a bitter dark chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate.
- Chopped milk chocolate or chocolate chips: Add milk chocolate for some flavour variation. If you don't want to use milk chocolate, substitute it for dark or more semisweet chocolate.
🥄 Steps
- Make the brown butter.
- Add the sugar to the browned butter and whisk until smooth.
- Add the egg, salt, and vanilla extract, beat until light in colour.
- Sift and fold in the flour and baking soda.
- Add the chocolate (set aside ¼ cup).
- Scoop or roll the dough into 12 balls and press the remaining chocolate on top. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes.
- Scoot the cookies to make them perfectly round and thick.
- Let the cookies cool and enjoy!
Happy baking! xx
Did you make this recipe? I would love for you to rate this recipe and hear what you think in the comments!
Share your creation on Instagram and tag @flouringkitchen
📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Heavy bottomed sauce pan
- whisk
Ingredients
Brown Butter
- 1 cup butter cold
- 2 tablespoon butter cold
Brown Butter Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose white flour (150g)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ⅓ cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
- ¼ cup chopped milk chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
Brown Butter
- Melt 1 cup of butter, stirring constantly, in a saucepan on medium low heat. The foam will subside as the butter browns. Keep stirring for a few minutes, watching the whole time. The milk solids (little white bits at the bottom) will slowly caramelize and turn a golden brown colour. It will smell like toasted nuts and caramel. Be careful because it is very easy to take it from browned to burnt butter.1 cup butter
- Remove the butter from the heat as soon as it hits that toasty stage. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter. Stir carefully. Transfer the butter into a large heatproof bowl. Let the butter cool for 10 minutes.2 tablespoon butter
Brown Butter Cookie Dough
- Add the sugars (brown and granulated) to the browned butter and whisk until smooth.¾ cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add the egg, salt, and vanilla extract, beating with a whisk until the mixture lightens in colour.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Sift the flour and baking soda into the egg and butter mixture. Fold it in with a wooden spoon until most of the flour is incorporated.1 ¼ cup all purpose white flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Add the chocolate (set aside ⅓ cup of semisweet chocolate) and fold just until everything is incorporated. If you want more or less chocolatey cookies you can adjust as you see fit. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes before scooping.1 ⅓ cup chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips, ¼ cup chopped milk chocolate or chocolate chips
- Scoop or roll the dough into 1.5 inch diameter balls (12 cookies total) and press the rest of the chopped chocolate into the tops. Place onto a parchment lined pan. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Prepare a parchment lined baking sheet and arrange the cookies on the sheet, 2-3 inches in between each ball.
- Bake at 180°C for 12-15 minutes, or until edges just start to brown. Do not overbake - the middles should still be soft. If baking from frozen, allow some extra time, keeping an eye on the cookies after 13 minutes.
- Scoot the cookies: Use a large cookie cutter or an upside down bowl larger than the cookie, and place it over a cookie. Shake the cookie cutter in a circular motion so that the cookie bounces off the inside edges. Do this for as long as you like until the cookie becomes as thick and round as you like.
- Let the cookies cool for at least a few minutes before removing from the tray and enjoy! Once cool, store them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Video
Notes
- Use good quality real butter.
- Weigh out your flour or use a measuring cup properly (see above recipe for more details).
- Do not over mix the dough.
- Use a good quality chocolate and chop with a serrated blade for easier chopping.
- CHILL THE DOUGH for at least 30 minutes: This is important to get that perfect crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle texture. You can chill for longer (overnight) to help the flavours deepen.
- Bake the cookies just until the edges get a golden brown colour. The middles should still be very soft.
Lama
Hi is there a way to change the recipe to grams
Mary
Hi, recipe is in metric now if you toggle the conversions at the top of the recipe card! Enjoy!
Yulia
I haven't had much success with cookies until I found this recipe! They were so buttery and rich, like a shortbread, but softer. This is now my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Mary
I'm so happy you loved it, thank you so much! 😀