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These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are some of my favorite cookies ever! Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies are full of delicious chocolate chips with a warm brown butter flavor. These huge cookies are a hit!
Browned Butter Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies never get old: they’re the gift that keeps on giving. I have a ton of recipes on this site and don’t plan to stop creating them anytime soon! This cookie is definitely one of the best chocolate chip cookie recipes I have made.
They are made with brown butter which gives the cookie a nutty aroma and toffee-like flavor. Why brown butter for chocolate chip cookies? It toasts the milk solids in the butter and adds so much flavor. If you’ve never tried it in cookies you must and these are a great cookie recipe to start with.
Ingredients & Variations
- Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter is a must because we are going to brown it. You don’t want to brown salted butter as it will concentrate the salty flavor.
- Sugar: I use both brown and granulated sugar in the recipe. Brown sugar helps keep them soft. I normally use light brown sugar but dark brown sugar may be substituted.
- Eggs: Eggs are important for the structure and texture of cookies and the fat from the egg yolk makes them rich and chewy.
- Chocolate Chips: You can use regular size or mini semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. Milk chocolate can also be used but I love the chocolate flavor of semi-sweet chocolate chips best. Even dark chocolate would work!
- Extras: Feel free to add some chopped walnuts or pecans (reduce the chocolate chips to 1 1/2 cups and add 1 cup chopped nuts). You can also sprinkle the warm cookies with some flaky sea salt – salted chocolate chip cookies are SO GOOD.
How to make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Browning butter is really easy. It melts easiest if you start with sliced butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the butter foams. Continue stirring and the butter will turn a dark caramel color.
- You can use a stand mixer or hand mixer or stir by hand – just mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. You can do 2-tablespoon size, 1-tablespoon size, or ¼ cup size for giant cookies. Chill in the fridge at least 30 minutes, longer if making giant cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone liners.
- Bake 8-10 minutes for 1 tablespoon size cookies, 10-15 minutes for 2-tablespoon size, and approximately 15 minutes for giant cookies.
Expert Tips
- Brown the Butter: It’s easy, but you have to be careful. It’ll burn quick! You just melt your butter over medium-low heat and cook, stirring, until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. The butter will foam, and that’s okay. The foam will go away once it’s removed from the heat. Read my post to learn how to brown butter easily.
- For an extra flavor boost add 1 teaspoon almond extract in addition to the vanilla.
Storing
Store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can freeze these cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure they are sealed in an airtight container.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup (134g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ cups (310g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (340g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, about 6 minutes, until it becomes brown in color. It will foam, reduce, then foam again. Once it’s done cooking the foam is a light brown and it will dissipate after you remove it from the heat. Once it starts to brown, keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Let sit for about 5 minutes to cool.
- Pour into an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer or stirring by hand). While still hot, add both sugars and mix on low until combined. Let sit to cool for a few minutes.
- While butter mixture is cooling, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.
- Turn mixer (with butter mixture bowl attached) on low. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing completely. Mix in vanilla extract and almond extract (optional, but it adds great flavor). Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. You can do 2-tablespoon size, 1-tablespoon size, or ¼ cup size for giant cookies. Chill at least 30 minutes, longer if making giant cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line cookie sheets with parchment or silpat liners.
- Bake 8-10 minutes for 1 tablespoon size cookies, 10-15 minutes for 2-tablespoon size, and approximately 15 minutes for giant cookies.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- I love adding a sprinkle of sea salt on top the freshly baked cookies.
- It’s important to use unsalted butter for browning – browning concentrates the flavor and the butter will be too salty if using salted butter.
These look amazing! I still haven’t gotten round to making anything with browned butter – I think I’ll start with these! Pinning ๐
Enjoy Nicky!! Thanks for the pin!
I made these, as I promised Dorothy…2 days in the frig…Swapped-out 1/4 cup almond flour for some of the regular flour/no almond extract. Used regular size semi sweet chips…#24 scoop (1/3 smaller than yours). I had some doubts they would be cooked at 12 minutes. Same time, same temp. I like the idea of making the batter ahead of time. When I get home from a day at the office, I rarely have time to prepare and bake something.
Perfect!
P.S. And, I do think mini chips would be better as you suggested. This dough isn’t really “scoopable,” so having smaller chips would make it much easier to gather the dough up. So worth the extra time. I made something very similar years ago based on America’s Test Kitchen taste test. Yours were much more substantial and consistent. ๐
Thanks Ellen! I love that you subbed almond flour. I need to try that! ๐
Oh my gosh, ice cream. I’m always so proud of myself when I make a carton last longer than 2 days – but I think I have serving size issues. Anyways these cookies look Ah-Mazing! There is nothing better than bakery cookies, I’m so excited to try these!!!
So, I made these. AHH-MAZZIING! I switched out the all-purpose flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour, and put Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips and some pecans in it. Wow. That brown butter really makes a difference. Great recipe!!
Thank you Julie!
I love a big cookie! I will definitely try this recipe, Dorothy!
Enjoy! Thanks Shiloh!
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