These epic Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are crispy around the edges, perfectly chewy in the middle, and packed with rich chocolate chips and chunks! These easy homemade chocolate chip cookies have a nutty, caramel flavor from the brown butter and are bound to become a new family favorite recipe.
I know, I know. You’ve made chocolate chip cookies a hundred times and they’re always good. Why should you change up your regular recipe? Two words. Brown Butter.
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are absolute game-changers, and they hold a place on my all-time favorite cookie list. Brown butter adds rich caramel notes to these sweet, chewy cookies, as well as a slightly nutty flavor.
The cookies themselves are giant with slightly crisp edges and perfectly soft and chewy centers. Add some flaked sea salt to top them all off, and you’ve got yourself a chocolate chip cookie masterpiece. Ready to give them a try?
Why Use Browned Butter?
Brown butter, as stated above, will infuse these cookies with a slightly caramel, slightly hazelnut flavor, accentuated by the small amount of salt. Chocolate chip cookies are still tasty without it, but I think the best ones use it because of all the extra flavoring it adds!
Brown the butter to the point of being amber with small brown bits in it, but make sure you stop before you see black bits. If you’re wondering more about How to Brown Butter, simply check out this post with step by step photos sharing how to perfectly brown your butter!
The ingredients for these chocolate chip cookies are relatively standard, with the addition of browned butter – you’ll love the rich flavor it adds!
- Butter: I used two sticks of unsalted butter, but if you want to use salted butter, just reduce the amount of physical salt used in the recipe.
- Flour: Provides thickness and structure to the cookies.
- Cornstarch: Helps to make the cookies tender in texture.
- Baking Soda
- Salt: Will ensure that the cookies are not overly sweet.
- Sugar: I used both white and light brown sugar.
- Vanilla: Enhances the sweetness of the cookies.
- Eggs
- Chocolate: Use chocolate chips AND chocolate chunks.
- Optional Garnish: Flaked sea salt. Give the perfectly salty finish to your cookies to balance out the sweet. In my opinion, the flaked sea salt is what makes these cookies seem like they came from the bakery!
There are a couple of extra steps to these brown butter chocolate chip cookies, but they’re totally worth taking the time to complete!
After Browning the Butter: Transfer butter to a large bowl and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
Whisk Dry Ingredients: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, set aside.
Cream Butter & Sugar: Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with the both sugars. Add the vanilla and the eggs; beat on low speed until just incorporated.
Mix in Chocolate: Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips and chunks by hand.
Form Cookie Balls: Scoop the dough into 16 very large dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. I use an extra large cookie scoop that holds about 4 tablespoons of dough!
Tip For Pretty Cookies: Before baking, I like to add a few chocolate chips and chunks pressed into the top of the dough ball. This will make sure you can see all the gorgeous chocolate right on top!
Bake the Cookies: Bake cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until the cookies look puffy and just very barely golden. If you’d like to sprinkle them with flaked sea salt, do so immediately after removing them from the oven. This will ensure the salt sticks to the top of the cookies.
Let Cookies Cool: Let them cool on the pan for a good 10 minutes before moving them. If you move them too soon, they will fall apart.
Is there anything better than a big, chewy chocolate chip cookie? They’re pretty much comfort food at its finest.
Here are some tips on how to get the best results with your cookies:
- DO NOT OVER-BAKE THESE COOKIES: Take the cookies out even if they look like they’re not 100% done yet, they will finish setting up as they cool! This ensures your cookies have nice and soft centers.
- Use Chocolate Chunks: Chocolate chunks will result in large pools of chocolate in your cookies, which is definitely something you want to experience.
- Extra Thick Cookie Trick: I never chill the dough for these cookies, but you definitely can if you want extra thick cookies! Chilling the dough will give the dough a chance to absorb some of the flour making them a thicker cookie than they already are. So if you want an extra, extra thick cookie, chill the dough for a day or so before baking.
- Let Ingredients Come to Room Temp: This will allow for easy mixing and ensure that the butter doesn’t harden too quickly when mixed with colder ingredients.
Sure! Place them in an airtight container or a tightly-sealed freezer bag, and store in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Freeze the cookie dough:
You can also freeze the dough for freshly baked cookies anytime! Freeze the formed dough balls on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper for a couple of hours. Then move the cookie dough to a freezer friendly ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To bake frozen cookie dough:
You can thaw the cookie dough in the fridge for 24 hours before baking and then bake exactly as the recipe directs below.
Or if you would like to bake the frozen cookie dough immediately from the freezer, just set the cookie dough out on the baking sheet while your oven heats.
Then bake the cookie dough as directed, but add 1-2 minutes additional time than the recipe directs. You will need to watch closely during those last few minutes so that they don’t over bake.
If they last that long, you can keep these cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days, either in the fridge or just on the counter.
I like to microwave any leftover cookies for 7-10 seconds before serving them to get them to taste just like they did warm and fresh out of the oven!
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are one of my favorite cookie recipes that I have been making for years and years. It is always a crowd favorite and they disappear very quickly.
Our favorite way to eat them is still warm from the oven with a glass of milk. As a family of 5, we very rarely, if ever, have any leftover to save for another day!
What's the secret ingredient to the best chocolate chip cookies? Brown butter, of course! So give these homemade Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies a try!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup chocolate chunks
- Flaked sea salt, optional garnish
Instructions
1. Follow these steps to brown the butter: How to Brown Butter. Transfer butter to a large bowl and allow butter to cool for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with the both sugars. Add the vanilla and the eggs; beat on low speed until just incorporated.
4. Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips and chunks by hand.
5. Scoop the dough into 16 very large dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. I use an extra large cookie scoop that holds about 4 tablespoons of dough!
7. Bake cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until the cookies look puffy and just very barely golden. DO NOT OVERBAKE THESE COOKIES! Take the cookies out even if they look like they’re not 100% done yet, they will finish setting up as they cool.
8 .If you’d like to sprinkle them with flaked sea salt, do so immediately after removing them from the oven. This will ensure the salt sticks to the cookies.
9. Let them cool on the pan for a good 10 minutes before moving them! Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 272mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 1gSugar: 29gProtein: 4g
More cookie Recipes to try
Looking for more homemade cookie recipe to try out?
- Lemon Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Cherry Almond Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Vanilla Meltaway Cookies
- Best Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Key Lime Cookies
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