Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are huge, gooey in the center, crispy on the edges, and loaded with melty pools of chocolate. Browning the butter adds a deep nutty toffee-like flavor that instantly elevates a classic chocolate chip cookie without any extra effort.
- 170 g unsalted butter (browned)
- 22 g heavy cream
- 70 g granulated sugar
- 140 g dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 180 g all purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 180 g chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips)
- flaky sea salt
- Prepare dry ingredients: In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- Brown the butter: Add unsalted butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt, then bubble and foam — stir occasionally. When the foam subsides and golden brown specks form on the bottom and it smells nutty and caramel-like, remove from heat immediately to prevent burning. Allow the butter to cool to room temperature before using.
- Combine wet ingredients: Pour the cooled brown butter into a mixing bowl. Add heavy cream, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar. Whisk until smooth. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and whisk until fully combined.
- Add dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold until you still see a few streaks of flour remaining — don't overmix.
- Add chocolate: Fold in the chopped chocolate until evenly distributed and no dry flour remains.
- Portion the dough: Use a large cookie scoop to portion the dough into 8 large balls.
- Chill the dough: Refrigerate the portioned dough balls overnight for the best flavor, texture, and structure. If baking same day, chill for at least 1 hour to stabilize the dough and prevent spreading.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are set and the centers look slightly underdone — they will continue to set as they cool.
- Cool and serve: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before eating. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Brown butter = instant gourmet. Browning butter transforms it into a rich, nutty, toffee-like base that makes these cookies taste next-level.
Higher brown sugar ratio = chewy + flavorful. With double the brown sugar compared to white, these cookies stay thick, chewy, and extra caramel-y.
Heavy cream adds tenderness. Since browning the butter cooks off moisture, a splash of heavy cream gives the dough back lost liquid and keeps the center soft and plush.
You can bake today or tomorrow. I always refrigerate cookie dough overnight because it improves structure, flavor, and spread — but if you need cookies ASAP, even one hour of chilling will stabilize the dough enough to bake beautifully.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: The Upgrade You Didn’t Know You Needed
This is the cookie recipe I keep coming back to. The brown butter adds this incredible nutty, caramel-like depth that makes a classic chocolate chip cookie taste completely different — in the best way. Paired with a higher ratio of dark brown sugar and chopped chocolate that melts into pools, these are the kind of cookies that disappear off the tray before they even cool down.
Cookie Dough
170 g unsalted butter
Optional
Flaky sea salt, for topping
How to Brown Butter
Browning butter sounds fancy but it’s really just melting butter until the milk solids toast. Add your unsalted butter to a saucepan over medium heat and let it melt, then bubble and foam. After a few minutes the foam will clear and you’ll see golden specks forming on the bottom — that’s where all the flavor is. Once it smells like warm caramel and the specks turn amber, pull it off the heat immediately to prevent burning. Let it cool to room temperature before using. Because browning evaporates some moisture, we add heavy cream back in to restore the hydration needed for a soft, chewy cookie.
The Brown Sugar Ratio
This recipe uses twice as much dark brown sugar as granulated sugar and it makes a huge difference. More brown sugar means more chewiness thanks to the molasses content, more moisture so the cookie stays soft for days, and a deeper caramel and toffee flavor that pairs perfectly with the brown butter. Don’t swap it for regular brown sugar if you can help it — dark brown sugar is what gives these cookies their signature depth.
Why You Should Chill the Dough Overnight
Chilling cookie dough is the secret to bakery-style cookies. Overnight refrigeration allows the flour to fully hydrate, lets the brown butter flavor deepen, slightly dries the dough so cookies stay thick and don’t overspread, and gives you that perfect chewy center and crispy edge. If you need cookies same day, refrigerate the portioned dough for at least 1 hour — just enough time for the butter to firm up and prevent spreading.
How To Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prepare dry ingredients: In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
Brown the butter: Add butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt, bubble, and foam. Stir occasionally. Once golden brown specks form on the bottom and it smells nutty and caramel-like, remove from heat immediately. Cool to room temperature.
Combine wet ingredients: Pour cooled brown butter into a mixing bowl. Add heavy cream, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar. Whisk until smooth. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and whisk until fully combined.
Add dry ingredients: Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold until a few streaks of flour remain.
Add chocolate: Fold in chopped chocolate until evenly distributed and no dry flour remains.
Portion and chill: Use a large cookie scoop to portion dough into 8 large balls. Refrigerate overnight for best results or at least 1 hour for same-day baking.
Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes until edges are set and centers look slightly underdone.
Cool and serve: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired.
Customization Ideas
Different chocolate — swap chopped chocolate for chocolate chips, a mix of dark and milk chocolate, or even white chocolate chunks.
Add-ins — fold in a handful of toasted walnuts or pecans for crunch.
Extra indulgent — press a few extra pieces of chopped chocolate on top of each dough ball before baking for those dramatic melty pools.
Salted caramel — drizzle with salted caramel right after baking for a truly over the top cookie.
Storage & Reheating
Storage Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They stay chewy and soft thanks to the high brown sugar ratio.
Unbaked dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months — bake straight from frozen adding 2-3 extra minutes.
Portion the dough into balls and freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag — you can bake just a few cookies at a time whenever you want fresh cookies.
The dough actually gets better the longer it chills — up to 72 hours in the fridge.
