These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are the perfect cookie. The brown butter gives these cookies a rich toffee flavor and a hint of salt. They have crisp, golden edges, a nice crust on the outside, but are still soft and gooey in the center with melty semisweet chocolate.
Why this Recipe Works
I spent years trying to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I tested dozens before deciding to just come up with my own. The brown butter and high baking temperature I think it what gives these brown butter chocolate chip cookies an edge.
The brown butter offers a subtle nutty flavor that blends perfectly with the molasses in the brown sugar to give the cookie that amazing rich slightly smoky and nutty toffee flavor.
Baking your cookies at a higher temperature will cook the outside of the cookie faster before the inside cooks too much. This trick is going to give you those crispy edges and exterior and keep the inside nice and soft.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter. The amount of butter listed in the ingredients is the amount needed before you brown it. Once browned you will probably lose about 25% of your butter as liquid evaporates during the browning process.
- Brown Sugar. We use a higher proportion of brown sugar to white sugar in this recipe. The molasses in the brown sugar compliments the brown butter well and amps up that amazing toffee-butterscotch flavor. If you want an amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe without brown sugar, we have a delicious and super easy one!
- Flour. A classic, no-frills, all-purpose flour is all we use here. The most important thing when it comes to flour is making sure you don’t use too much—spoon and level, weigh, and check out our guide on How to Measure Flour Correctly.
- Semisweet Chocolate Chips. I prefer semisweet chocolate chips over milk in this recipe. The slight bitterness from the semisweet chocolate chips adds the perfect contrast to this rich brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
How to Make this Recipe
- How to Brown Butter. Start by browning your butter. Place the butter in a heavy bottomed pan, make sure it is large as the butter tends to foam up quite a bit. Keep stirring it over medium-high heat until the butter has reached an amber color and there are brown bits at the bottom. Consult out How to Brown Butter tutorial for FAQs on browning butter, pictures, and a video!
- Chill the butter. Place the butter in a large bowl and chill or freeze until it has returned to a solid state. You want it to be room temperature, solid, but soft enough to be creamed. Chilling the butter is essential to these brown butter chocolate chip cookies, so do not try to skip this step. Picture A shows what the butter will look like after it is chilled and Picture B shows it after it has been moved to the mixing bowl. Notice the toasted milk solids (the dark bits) have sunk to the bottom of the dish. Don’t forget to get all those dark bits into your mixing bowl, they add lots of toasted butter flavor!
- Cream the butter and sugar. Cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar for 1 minute.
- Add the eggs. Then add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Please note: the image pictured is a double batch, which is why you see 4 eggs in the image instead of 2.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients in so they are just barely incorporated. Overworking the dough will result in tough cookies.
- Add the chocolate chips. Stir in the chocolate chips until they are evenly dispersed throughout the dough.
- Bake. Take 4 tablespoons of dough and shape into round balls. Place on a greased or lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread (I typically place 6 cookie dough balls on a baking sheet). Let the cookies cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When butter is browned the milk solids are toasted giving it a nutty and toffee flavor that complements the rest of the ingredients. If 1 ¼ cups of butter seems like a lot to you in this recipe it is because butter loses about 25% of its liquid when it is browned. So you end up with closer to 1 cup of butter by the time you add it into the mixing bowl.
If your cookies are too flat, this is usually a result of not chilling the butter after it has been browned. We need the butter chilled back to room temperature so that air can be whipped into it when it is creamed together with the sugars and eggs. Otherwise you will end up with puddles for cookies.
Typically, if your cookies are hard after they have cooled it means that you didn’t make the cookies large enough. Remember, we’re using about 4 tablespoons of dough per cookie. If you make them smaller they will end up slightly overbaked and won’t have that same soft center that you get with the larger cookies.
Expert Tips
- Make sure your flour is measured correctly. Too much flour is a cardinal sin in baking. You need to take care when measuring it, I prefer to weigh my flour, but otherwise take a second to review our guide on How to Measure Flour Properly. Too much flour in your brown butter chocolate chip cookies can make them dry, tough, crumbly, or too thick, none of which are good.
- Get all the brown bits in your brown butter. After you brown your butter you’ll see all sorts of little brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Those are toasted milk solids and they add a delicious toasted and salty flavor to the brown butter chocolate chip cookies. So scrape every last bit of them into your bowl for maximum flavor.
How to Make Pretty Cookies
- Make your cookies big. Bigger cookies look prettier. I use ¼ cup of dough for the perfect crispy and gooey ratio. This is my favorite cookie scoop to use.
- Top the off. Before you put your cookie dough balls in the oven top them with a few extra chocolate chips. This makes sure you've got some chocolate chips picture perfect on top of every cookie.
- Bang the Pan. Right when your cookies come out of the oven bang the pan on the counter. the pushes the cookies out and gives them those beautiful wrinkles.
- Make them circular. If your cookies are a little misshapen it's okay, you can fix them. While the cookies are still hot take your spatula and gently push in the edges anywhere the cookies aren't perfectly round. You can also use a large round cookie cutter or even a large mason jar to shape your brown butter chocolate chip cookies. Just move the cookie cutter in a circular motion around the cookie to make it a perfect circle.
How to Store this Recipe
How to Freeze Cookie Dough
I love to have a stock of these in my freezer for when I'm craving a cookie or in case I need to bring a little treat to someone fast! So here's what you'll want to do:
- Scoop the cookie dough into ¼ cup balls and line them up on a lined cookie sheet and place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer for 30-60 minutes. This is going to make sure they maintain their shape and don't get squished and misshapen in the freezer
- Then you can place them in a freezer safe gallon back or stack them on top of each other in a tupperware container, I like to place a piece of parchment paper, wax paper, or even plastic wrap in between the layers of cookie dough so that they don't get stuck to each other. You can freeze these for up to 3 months.
- Before baking, pull out however many cookie dough balls you want and let them sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then bake according to normal instructions, you may need to add a minute to the baking time
How to Store at Room Temperature
- To maintain the crispy edges and soft centers, my preferred method of storing these is to leave them on a plate or tray and loosely cover them with a towel overnight.
- If you decide to store them in a sealed container (like a Ziploc bag or Tupperware) The cookies will likely lose their crisp exterior and take on a chewy texture overall (still delicious though!).
You May Also Like These Other Cookie Recipes:
P.S. If you tried this recipe or any other In Fine Taste recipe take a second and rate it below! We love hearing what you think. Let’s stay in touch! Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube or Pinterest for more recipe ideas.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup butter (280 grams) see notes
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¾ cups of flour (357 grams) measured correctly
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2-2 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (360-480 grams)
Instructions
- Brown 1 ¼ cups of butter in a medium-large saucepan, stirring constantly over medium-high heat, until you reach a deep honey color. Remove from heat and pour into your mixing bowl. Cool butter in fridge or freezer until room temperature consistency, you want your butter to be solid. If you use it when its still liquid your cookies will be flat.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease baking sheets with cooking spray or line with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Once butter has set up, cream together butter and both sugars for 1 minute. Add in eggs and vanilla for and additional 2-3 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy. (Make sure you get all those toasty brown bits at the bottom of your brown butter!)
- Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Only mix the dry ingredients in until just barely combined—over mixing will make the cookies tough. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Take ¼ cup of dough (about 68 grams) and shape into round balls bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the top and edges are just golden. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
See our web story for this post.
originally published August 19, 2018
Jordan
Just made these, taste was pretty good. Personally I think there was a bit too much chocolate chips for my liking so I think next time I will reduce the amount. The taste and texture of the cookie was good though, my family approved. Thanks for the recipe!
Yvette P
I just tried these and they are absolutely scrumptious! I believe they are the best chocolate chip cookies that I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing.
Kristen
Is it okay to rest the dough in the fridge for a day or two before baking? If so, can you just rest the dough in the mixing bowl, or sheet them up before hand?
In Fine Taste
Hi Kristen! You can do either, just make sure to wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap so I t doesn’t dry out at all. Then let the cookie dough come to room temperature before baking. If you bake them cold the cookies won’t spread like they’re supposed to.
- Alyssa
Alyson
These cookies are fantastic! Thanks for opening the door to brown butter deliciousness!!
Montse
The BEST chocolate chip cookies!! I will forever use this recipe when making cookies.
Lydia
AMAZING. The best ever. My life feels complete with this recipe. I’m the star at every family event with my “special” cookies. THANK YOU!!
Heather
Seriously the best cookie ever! I’d I could post a photo I would. They are gorgeous
Joni
Made these tonight. AhhhhhhMaaaaaZing!!
I added pecans, the cookies were a big hit! My husband was actually moaning while eating them. LOL.
Candice
This is it. This is THE chocolate chip cookie recipe of my lifetime. The browned butter adds so much flavor and color. I've made this a few times now after discovering it earlier in quarantine, and have been using a mix of chocolate chips (always ghiradelli, usually half milk chocolate, half 60% cocoa chips) and have recently started adding Maldon flaked sea salt on the top as well to cut some of the sweetness. It is perfection.
It's been interesting to me to see how it bakes differently depending on the season and external air temp/humidity. The summers are incredibly humid where I live and it's definitely changed how the cookies spread sometimes (but they always taste perfect)
In Fine Taste
So glad you liked them! That's so interesting about how the change of season affects your cookies! I mean, it makes sense, I just never thought about it!
- Alyssa
Sandrabee
Since the butter decreased in size should I add more butter or water or should I leave it alone?
In Fine Taste
Nope, just leave it alone! The decrease has already been accounted for in this recipe 🙂
- Alyssa
Sandrabee
Once the butter gets solid do I have to wait until it gets to room temperature when I remove it from the fridge? Also the sides are solid but in the middle it’s not solid should I continue to wait until it’s 100% solid?
In Fine Taste
You definitely don't want the center to be liquid. The ideal texture for your butter would be soft enough for you to push your finger into, but solid enough that it will hold the shape of your finger indentation. So I would definitely wait until the center is solid, feel free to stir it up every so often to help it set up evenly. And if the butter has set up completely and is hard I'd let it come to room temperature before using it.
Hopefully that answered your question!
- Alyssa
Lauren
5 stars is not enough! Incredibly simple recipe that was very well described. Such a crowd stunner (not even pleaser, but stunner). I like to add 2-3 chocolate chips on top of each cookie after I’ve placed it on the sheet prior to baking so that each cookie looks perfect. I love using milk chocolate but my fiancé has preferred when I bake these with dark or semi sweet. Can’t go wrong!
In Fine Taste
Thanks so much Lauren! I definitely prefer semisweet chocolate chips in mine, but my husband is like you and loves milk in these cookies!
- Alyssa
Carly
So yummy! Tastes like a butterscotch chocolate chip cookie to me. An easy go to recipe for sure.
In Fine Taste
Thanks Carly!
- Alyssa
Kim
This is the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe, hands down! These cookies come out beautiful every single time - great flavor and they’re thick, but chewy. They stay fresh for days too!! This recipe convinced me to always use brown butter for chocolate chip cookies. I have tried other brown butter recipes too, but I ALWAYS come back to this one!
In Fine Taste
Thanks so much Kim! So glad you liked them! Isn't brown butter amazing?
- Alyssa
Ann
how much chocolate chocolate chips in a cup? (in grams)
In Fine Taste
HI Ann, 1 cup of chocolate chips is about 240 grams!
- Alyssa
Mary
Hi I’m going to make them tomorrow for my guests
And I’m too scared to make but they looks the best one I’ve ever seen
I have one question that can I use Demerara style brown sugar ?
admin
Hi Mary, I've never used demerara sugar before, but I don't think I would recommend it. Demerara sugar I think would make the cookies gritty because of their large crystal size and demerera sugar does not dissolve/blend as well into the cookie dough like regular brown sugar would. Hope this helps!
- Alyssa
Kat M.
These were by far THE best cookie recipe I have made. I’ve been baking cookies for my now adult children for over 20 years and we were all wondering where this recipe had been!! BROWNED BUTTER!!!! Girl.. that is next level!! Next time I will make them smaller (2tbsp in stead of 4) just so I don’t have to make two batches and all can go home with enough for... 2days. Thank you for sharing! I’m a fan.
-k
admin
THANK YOU! So glad you and your family loved them! I've made them smaller a few times, but I always go back to making them with 1/4 cup of dough. I just love big cookies haha!
- Alyssa
Lisa
Hey, can you clarify....1.5 cups of butter is 3 sticks of butter right?
admin
Hi Lisa! Yes, 1 1/2 cups of butter should be 3 sticks of butter. Most sticks of butter are 8 tablespoons (or 1/2 cup).
- Alyssa
admin
But also, just to clarify, the recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of butter, which would be 2 1/2 sticks of butter 🙂
- Alyssa
Kim
This was my first time browning butter. Omg, game changer!! Thank you for changing my cookie game. 😊 I think I'll reduce the granulated sugar to half a cup on the next batch because they were pretty sweet and this way, they'll be healthier. Haha!
admin
Kim! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies, browning butter really does make such a difference in the flavor! Just be aware that if you reduce the sugar in these cookies it will change the texture of the cookie too. 🙂
- Alyssa
Heather
Came across your recipe on Pinterest and instantly was hooked on the browned butter part! 😉. Made a batch today and OMG, seriously one of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had!! I incorporated all the tips as well to make THE perfect cookie!! I used milk chocolate chips instead because that’s what I had on hand....seriously didn’t disappoint! Thank you for sharing your delish recipe with us!
admin
Thanks so much for your comment and review! So glad you enjoyed them!
- Alyssa
Kimberly
These are the best cookies I've ever had! Thank you so much for the recipe. The brown butter adds so much depth to these cookies. I love that the recipe makes plenty of cookies to share with friends and neighbors.
Cindy
By accident I started to put in baking powder instead of baking soda. I probably only put in a half a teaspoon of baking powder. Do I have to start over or can I just continue with the rest of the recipe?
admin
Hi Cindy, I would continue on with the recipe, just use half the amount of baking soda called for since you already added some baking powder.
- Alyssa