Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Printable)
Nutty brown butter yields chewy-centered chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges and optional flaky sea salt.
# What You'll Need:
→ Dairy & Eggs
01 - 1 cup unsalted butter
02 - 2 large eggs
→ Sugars
03 - 1 cup packed brown sugar
04 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
→ Dry Ingredients
05 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
06 - 1 tsp baking soda
07 - 1/2 tsp salt
→ Flavorings
08 - 2 tsp vanilla extract
→ Add-ins
09 - 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
10 - Flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
# How-To Steps:
01 - Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the butter foams and turns golden brown with a nutty aroma, about 4–5 minutes. Immediately pour into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
02 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
03 - Whisk the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the cooled brown butter. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.
04 - In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
05 - Gently fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
06 - Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.
07 - Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown but the centers are still soft.
08 - Remove from oven; optionally sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The brown butter adds a deep, toasty complexity that regular butter simply cannot touch.
- You get that magical contrast of crisp golden edges and a chewy, barely set center.
- No mixer required and the dough comes together in one bowl after browning the butter.
02 -
- Walk away from the butter for even 30 seconds and you can go from perfectly nutty to irreversibly burnt, so stay at the stove and keep stirring.
- Chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking deepens the flavor dramatically and helps the cookies hold their shape.
03 -
- Use a light-colored saucepan so you can actually see the butter change color and catch it at the perfect moment.
- Underbake slightly rather than overbake because the cookies will continue to set on the hot baking sheet after you pull them from the oven.