Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

A plate of a browned butter chocolate chip cookie

4.85 from 26 votes

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hands down the BEST Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. Soft, thick, and infused with the rich nutty flavor of brown butter, these bakery-style cookies are a family favorite and best served with a tall glass of milk.

Prep Time30

Cook Time12

refrigerate3

Total Time42

Servings: cookies

Calories: 153kcal

Chef: Jessica Randhawa

Ingredients

Instructions

Brown your butter. Heat a light-colored saucepan or skillet over medium heat. The light color will help you see when the butter begins browning (whereas a dark skillet will make this much more challenging). Add the butter, continuously whisking or swirling the butter in a circular motion to keep it moving. Once the butter is melted, you will see that it starts to foam. Continue swirling and whisking for an additional 4-7 minutes. At this point, the butter will start browning and you’ll see lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. It will also start to smell nutty. Once it reaches this point, immediately remove the pan from heat and transfer butter to a large heat-proof baking dish (9x9 or 9x13, for example). Cover and immediately transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely (at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day).
Prep your dry ingredients. As the butter cools, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
Make your cookie dough. Remove your chilled brown butter from the refrigerator and transfer to the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and continue to mix until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Finally, beat in the dry ingredients over medium speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and continue to mix on low speed for an additional 15 seconds, or just until the dough comes together.
Chill your dough. You must chill your dough before baking otherwise they will spread like crazy. Simply transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to overnight.
Prepare for baking. Allow dough to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes as you preheat the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Position the racks on upper and lower middle positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and use a 1-ounce cookie scoop or spoon (approximately 2-3 tablespoons of dough in total per cookie) to carefully scoop cookie dough on to prepared sheets.
Bake. Transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake for approximately 12-16 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden. Rotate pans halfway through cooking. Remove from the oven and immediately dot with additional chocolate chips if desired (this is just for looks).
Store. After 5 minutes, transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Notes

Your baked cookies will stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookie dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days- allow your cookie dough to come to room temperature before scooping and baking.
You can also freeze your baked cookies for up to 3 months. To freeze your cookie dough roll it into balls, transfer to a baking sheet, and freeze before transferring to a large ziplock bag. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. To bake allow an extra minute of bake time- no need to thaw.
Do not burn your butter. If you find yourself with burnt butter, start over.
Chill your butter for at least 30 minutes before using.
Chill your dough for at least 3 hours before baking.
Store the dough in the very back of the refrigerator (otherwise, you may just come back to a bowl of half-eaten cookie dough). True story.
Use chunks of chocolate instead of chips.
Sprinkle with just a teeny tiny pinch of course sea salt just after baking.

Published December 7, 2018 and updated on December 5, 2019

Nutrition

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