Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Not your average chocolate chip cookies, these show-stoppers are flavored with brown butter and a sprinkling of sea salt.
These are my most favorite cookies OF ALL TIME. I mean, who can resist a really good chocolate chip cookie?
And these are really, really good. I’ve been baking these cookies since the early days on my blog 10 years ago and the recipe is the first one I ever learned by heart. These brown butter chocolate chip cookies have everything you could want in a cookie— crisp outer edges, gooey middles, puddles of chocolate, and great butterscotch-y flavor.
The cookies are both ordinary and extraordinary all at the same time. It’s just a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe, but made with brown butter. It makes all the difference. I also love to make them larger than most of the cookies I bake (this is the scoop I use), ensuring you get the perfect ratio of crisp and soft.
A sprinkle of coarse or flaky sea salt is the final finishing touch, and the sweet and salty combo makes these cookies 100% irresistible.
I have to be careful when I bake these cookies. I’m only allowed to make them when I have others to share with, otherwise, I eat them all. No joke. Bake a batch today (like, ASAP) and get ready for them to disappear quick!
baking tip:How to brown butter
1. Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Add cubed butter to the pan and let it melt (cubing the butter first allows it to melt more evenly).
3. Once the butter is melted, it will start to foam. Stir frequently with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan.
4. Continue to cook butter until you see brown specs in the butter and it has a nutty aroma.
5. Remove from heat immediately. Do not let it burn.
6. Use the browned butter right away or put in the fridge for later use.
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (236 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar (215 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 lb, 450 grams)
- Coarse salt , for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, continue to cook until it turns golden brown. Swirl the pan occasionally if needed so that it browns evenly. Watch it fairly closely, as it can go from brown to burned quickly. When the color has turned golden, small flecks speckle the butter, and it has a nutty aroma, remove from heat and poor into a shallow dish. Chill in the fridge until it becomes solid. You want it to be soft, but not melted. If it cool too hard, let it come back to room temperature before using.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Beat the brown butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium high speed with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.
- Spoon by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches in between each cookie. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
This recipe was originally published January 2013.
I have made ccc with brown butter and they are fabulous! Yours look perfect!
Yum! I want to try this with one of my favorite cookie recipes 🙂
I have been craving chocolate chip cookies like crazy lately, but I've never made them with brown butter… Mmmm! No time like the present to try, though. These look absolutely delicious!
can't wait to try these Annalise! I'm craving chocolate chip cookies now.
I want to try one of these with a hot cup of coffee!!! YUM:)
Annalise, I love to read about the cookies you bake. These sound really wonderful. I love to visit here. The food and recipes you feature are just wonderful. I hope 2011 brings you a full measure of happiness. Have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Brown butter is basically god's gift to bakers, it's like heaven! I've used it in both cake and blondies and it truly makes such a difference, your cookies look fantasticly delicious 🙂
Brown butter? Wow. I've got to try that! But this time make brown butter without burning it…
Jax x
I have some pudding that needs this as it's topping…lovely idea.
I'm totally trying these! I've been craving a good chocolate chip cookie for a few weeks now.
Beautiful Annalise!
Oh yum! Browned butter is like bacon fat… it makes everything so much better. I think I may have to start making all my favourite baked goods with browned butter instead, now that I know it's a really straightforward substitution. 🙂
Butter is better brown.
I agree! Browned butter makes a waaaay better chocolate chip cookie!! Glad we agree 🙂
Yum and genius!!
Browning butter smells wonderful, so the addition of this taste into chocolate cookies is wonderful ! Great secret!
Wow these look wonderful! Brown butter rules!
I'm on the browned butter band wagon! Everything is better with browned butter 🙂 I made spritz cookies with browned butter, so much better than regular!
Dear Annalise,
I'm really happy to come across your blog… I love the photography, your writing, your recipes… gosh, you are good!
I have tried numerous chocolate chip cookies recipe… I've found some good one, but have not found my perfect one..
I can't wait to try out this recipe shared by you.. I was just wondering, between this chocolate chip recipe (which at that time, you said it was the best), may I know, which you prefer at this point? the one posted in 2008, or this new one that you have just shared? ^^
Your earlier recipe :
http://www.completelydelicious.com/2008/05/best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
Hi, I used this recipe on my blog. Thanks so much, I used it as a topping on pudding. Everyone just loved it.
http://indigosugarspectrum.blogspot.com/2011/01/italian-roast-pudding-with-cookie.html
Oh these look just perfect! Craving a brown butter fix now 🙂
Oh Goodness Gracious – I made these tonight (the oven is still cooling down as I type); I substituted walnuts and craisins for the chocolate chips, but otherwise followed your recipe to a T. THE BEST COOKIES TO EVER COME OUT OF MY KITCHEN without a doubt. 🙂
I made these tonight, except that I used half semisweet/half milk chocolate chips… they were SO GOOD. Oh my gosh. My boyfriend and I were amazed when we bit into them. Definitely, definitely saving this recipe. In fact, he just said that we were going to have them at our wedding reception one day xD they're that good!
Me again! Two things — I STILL make these, 8 years later (!) They have been my go-to CCC recipe since the day I made them. Also, I’m not with that boyfriend anymore, haha – so they won’t be served at our wedding reception.
wow these look soo good! I just made browned butter brownies and they were delicious too!
If heaven had a flavor, it would taste like these cookies!
Annalise, these are incredible. I used Guittard milk chocolate chips, and the cookies that resulted were probably some of the best I've ever had. I loved the brown butter flavor so much, I browned the butter I put in my pancakes this morning. 😉
Another good recipe! I’ve been reading your blog for quite awhile and have never posted in the past… so, thank you!! I love your blog!
I am making these today! cannot wait 🙂 awesome recipe annalise!
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Anybody got the measurements for this in grams or ounces?
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Do you have pinterest, I cannot find it. Would love to save your recipes with pinterest. thanks.
Sorry, I just noticed that you do have pinterest, I didn’t see it with the icons.
These look and sound so delicious!
These honestly look perfect!
Thank you so much for including the metric measurements!! This weekend will be cookie time!! 😉
These are gorgeous! They look perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. What I wouldn’t give for one right now!
I have started adding sea salt to the top of my chocolate chip cookies too. It’s such a delicious twist. Beautiful pictures!
Sea salt on cookies is totally addicting, and brown butter makes everything better! These cookies sound so good, I may have to veer from my usual CCC recipe to try these out!
Yuuuuuuuuuum! I can’t wait to try this!
These cookies look just beautiful!
I am so tempted to make these today. They look like the perfect chocolate chip cookies.
wow this look fab.
I adore this recipe. I stumbled upon it last year and since then it has become my favorite cookie recipe! We freeze the dough and eat cookies every night some weeks. They are wonderful! I’m going to have to try the salt!
You made these cookies sound so good that I immediately started making them! They look so amazing! One thing though, I am using the metric measurements since I live in Europe and I didn’t check the amounts twice and used exactly the 115 grams for 1 cup. It looked suspicious to me that it’s too less then I realized that 1 cup butter is 226 grams. I thought, I’d let you know 🙂 Also, I love your pictures!
Ack! Math gone horribly wrong. Thanks for letting me know, I will fix that right away!
these look amazing! Posting this on my facebook page!
Made these today and they came out perfectly–chewey centers, crispy edges, with a nice salty kick on top. I froze the dough balls to have warm cookies whenever we need a chocolate chip fix. Thank you for another great recipe.
So glad you liked them! And freezing some for later is a great idea, I do the same thing!
I just made these and they came out great! I have had a hard time finding a chocolate chip recipe that didn’t leave the cookies coming out flat and these had the perfect shape and were delicious!
Hi Stephanie, so glad you enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for the comment!
I baked these cookies tonight and they were amazing! I added a pinch of cinnamon into the dry ingredients. Also, I realize that I want to use medium or dark brown sugar since that affects the color of the cookie. I baked the first batch a little too long so they came out crunchier than the other lighter but chewier batches. Live and learn. Thanks for this great post! Love the pics too.
I have tried making brown butter chocolate chip cookies, but I live at high altitude, in Colorado and they never seem to turn out quite right. Do I need to make any adjustments to the recipe, or will this work at high altitude? I love brown butter everything!
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I LOVE caramelly salty things and chocolate chip cookies. I am so happy I found this recipe. The cookie dough is the best thing ever. Serious self control needed to actually get some cookie dough into the oven! Thanks completely delicious lady.
my cookies came out flat 🙁
why?
Unfortunately, there are so many reasons and without being with you in your kitchen watching you make the cookies, I have no way of knowing for sure. If I had to guess though, I’d say it had to do with the temperature of the butter. Maybe it was too soft? Make sure the brown butter solidifies completely before moving on with the recipe. I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out!
yesterday i made them and they were PERFECT!! the whole family loves them, these are better than any other chocolate chip cookies that i’ve tried so far!! 🙂
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how did you get the crackle tops?? I bake these all the time, but I think the 1tbsp makes for very small cookies–are the ones in the pictures the same size? what’s the size of the cookies after baking?
I made these cookies today, followed instructions to the letter, put the brown butter in the freezer on ice while I took out the other ingredients, and refrigerated the dough because I had to go shopping with Mom for groceries.
Came back, and baked them at 375 for 12 mins, and rolled the dough between my hands into a lumpy circle, just in case, before baking.
Oh my Lord, these are the mother of all cookies. Soft, chewy, MELTED chocolate, and they just smile at you when you eat them, and then your tummy smiles at you afterwards. *my brother’s exact words*
Thank you SO much for this recipe, I will definitely be keeping this one! Awesome! =)
Thanks for the great recipe. I love chocolate with salt. I have never browned butter, but will be trying it soon.
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Hello, I made these and warm they were absolutely amazing but after the cooled they got really hard. I’m wondering what I may have done wrong? I want to keep making them!