Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Written by Samantha Falla

Chocolate chip cookies are already hard to beat, but browning the butter gives the classic recipe an entirely different flavor. As butter cooks, its milk solids toast and develop a rich, nutty, almost caramel-like taste. The result is a chocolate chip cookie with crispy golden edges, a soft center, pools of melted chocolate, and much more flavor than you would expect from one extra step.

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Full Recipe:

Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus chilling

Bake Time: 9–12 minutes

Serves: ~18 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1 cup packed brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

• Flaky sea salt, optional

Instructions:

Brown the Butter

1. Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.

2. Let it melt completely, then continue cooking while stirring frequently. The butter will begin to bubble and foam.

3. After several minutes, you'll notice small brown specks forming at the bottom of the pan, and the butter will start to smell nutty.

4. As soon as the butter becomes golden brown, remove it from the heat. Brown butter can go from perfect to burnt quickly, so don't walk away from the stove during this step.

5. Pour the butter, including all of the browned bits at the bottom, into a large mixing bowl.

6. Let it cool for about 15 minutes.

Make the Dough

1. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the cooled brown butter and whisk until combined.

2. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk again until the mixture becomes smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4. Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.

Chill

1. Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.

2. Chilling prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven and gives the flavors more time to develop.

Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Scoop approximately 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie and place them a few inches apart on the baking sheet.

3. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes. The edges should look golden and set while the centers still look slightly soft.

4. Don't wait for the entire cookie to look completely baked. The centers will continue cooking on the hot baking sheet after they leave the oven.

The Finishing Touch

1. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

2. For a bakery-style finish, sprinkle a tiny amount of flaky sea salt over the cookies while they're still warm. The salt balances the sweetness of the chocolate and brings out the caramel-like flavor of the brown butter.

3. Serve one while it's still warm, and the chocolate is melted, or store the cooled cookies in an airtight container.

In the end, they may look like regular chocolate chip cookies, but that extra step of browning the butter makes a noticeable difference. Enjoy!

Thumbnail Credit:

https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-cookies-on-white-plastic-pack-YDvfndOs4IQ