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After testing and tweaking this recipe more times than I can count, I can honestly say this is the best brown butter cookie recipe and I don’t throw that around lightly! THESE cookies are crispy on the outside, gooey and buttery inside, and packed with the most incredible nutty flavor from the brown butter. I’d honestly put them up against Levain Bakery (and yes, I’ve had them MANY times — I even baked in their Hamptons kitchen!) Trust me you HAVE to try these!
AND If you’re a cookie lover, you’ll also want to try my butterless chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip cookie pie, or my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies! And when fall rolls around, my pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are a must-bake.
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- The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!
- What is Brown Butter?
- Ingredients for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Eden’s Expert Tips
- Storage & Make Ahead
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQ’s
- More Cookie Recipes
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!
- Made with brown butter for that nutty, caramel flavor.
- Crispy edges you can actually hear crunch when you bite in, with gooey, soft, buttery middles.
- Chilled overnight for perfect chewy texture and deeper flavor.
- Bakery-sized cookies, just like my peanut butter cookies, made with a kitchen scale for consistency.
- Pools of melty chocolate chips like my chocolate cherry chunk cookies and a sprinkle of sea salt.
- Easy to freeze and bake later, so you always have fresh cookies ready.
What is Brown Butter?
Brown butter is just regular butter that’s been melted and cooked until the milk solids turn golden brown and nutty. It smells like toasted caramel and gives baked goods the dreamiest flavor. Honestly, once you try it, you’ll want to use it in everything — from my brown butter Rice Krispies treats to homemade caramel sauce!
Ingredients for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Unsalted Butter – Browning butter gives cookies a nutty, caramelized flavor. Use a good butter for the best results.
- Dark Brown Sugar – After testing this recipe with both light brown sugar and natural dark brown sugar, I’ve found that C&H Dark Brown Sugar gives the best results. I wouldn’t substitute it with anything else. Avoid grainy, organic brown sugars—they don’t melt properly and will change the texture of the recipe.
- Granulated White Sugar – Balances sweetness and helps crisp the edges.
- Egg + Egg Yolk – The whole egg gives structure, while the extra yolk adds richness and chewiness.
- Milk – Keeps the dough soft and adds a little moisture.
- Vanilla Extract – Rounds out all the flavors. Almond extract is a fun twist (I use it in my butterless chocolate chip cookies).
- All-Purpose Flour – Creates structure. I use King Arthur Flour for consistent results.
- Baking Soda – Keeps the cookies chewy (not cakey).
- Salt – Balances the sweetness. Finish the cookies with flaky sea salt on top.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – I swear by Guittard cookie chips for the meltiest pools of chocolate. You can also chop up chocolate bars for variety.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown the butter – Cook butter over medium heat until golden brown and nutty. You will see specks of brown in the butter and that is good! Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before using.
- Mix dry ingredients – Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Make the dough – Beat cooled brown butter with sugars until light in color with a fluffier texture. Add egg, yolk, milk, and vanilla and continue to beat for another 5 minutes on high.
- Slowly mix in the flour mixture, then fold in chocolate chips.
- Chill overnight – This is non-negotiable. It deepens the flavor and keeps cookies from spreading too much.
- Weigh the dough – Use a kitchen scale to scoop 57g cookie dough balls (about ¼ cup).
- Bake – Line trays with parchment, place 6 cookies per tray, and bake at 375°F for 10–11 minutes.
- Biscuit cutter swirl – Right out of the oven, use a biscuit cutter to swirl the cookies into perfect circles. It makes them uniform and even chewier.
- Sea salt finish – Sprinkle with flaky salt while warm.
Eden’s Expert Tips
Don’t skip the sea salt sprinkle — it’s magic with chocolate.
If you refrigerate the dough overnight, make sure the bowl is sealed tightly. This keeps the cookie dough from drying out and ensures you’ll get soft, chewy cookies.
Use Guittard cookie chips for the best chocolate pools.
Weigh your dough on a kitchen scale for bakery-style cookies. 57 grams per cookie ball is perfect!
Use only dark brown sugar for this recipe, and my preference is C&H Dark Brown Sugar.
Bake 6 at a time in the middle rack for even baking.
Use a biscuit cutter trick for that perfect chewy swirl. Right when the cookies come out, place the biscuit cutter (a little bigger than the cookie size) over the top of the cookie and then swirl to get them just right! If you don’t have one use a mug or something round that will fit over the top.
Storage & Make Ahead
- Room Temperature: Airtight container for 3 days.
- Refrigerator: Up to 2 days if it’s covered really well; otherwise, it will dry out.
- Freeze Dough Balls: Up to 3 months, bake straight from frozen.
- Freeze Baked Cookies: Up to 1 month.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies FAQ’s
Yes! Brown butter adds a nutty, caramel-like depth of flavor that makes chocolate chip cookies taste rich and complex. Once you try it, you’ll never want to go back to regular butter.
It enhances flavor by caramelizing the milk solids in the butter, giving the cookies a nutty, toffee-like taste. It also makes the texture chewier and complements melty chocolate perfectly.
The key is patience — cook the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it foams and the milk solids turn golden brown. It should smell nutty and fragrant, with a few dark specks. Not too burnt.
Yes, always let it cool for at least 15 minutes. Adding hot butter directly to the dough can scramble the eggs and ruin the texture.
Browned butter gives cookies a rich, nutty, caramel flavor that regular butter just can’t match. It also creates a buttery crisp outer texture while keeping the centers chewy and gooey — basically cookie perfection.
Chilling allows the flour to hydrate and the flavors to deepen, which creates a chewier texture. It also firms up the butter, so the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
Absolutely! Just like with all of my cookie recipes, scoop dough balls onto a tray, freeze, then store in a freezer-safe bag. Bake them straight from frozen for fresh, bakery-style cookies anytime.
I love using Guittard cookie chips because they melt into pools of chocolate. You can also chop up a chocolate bar for variety — try it in my chocolate chip cookie pie
Flat cookies usually happen when the dough wasn’t chilled long enough or if you used the wrong sugar. For these, you really need that overnight chill and C&H dark brown sugar — grainy organic sugars won’t melt the same way. Also, make sure your oven is fully preheated and you’re baking on the middle rack for the best rise.
More Cookie Recipes
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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks, browned and cooled
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar , C&H dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, I like Guittard Baking Chips
Instructions
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir often as it melts, foams, and turns golden brown with a nutty aroma (about 5 minutes). Turn off the heat and let the browned butter cool for 5-10 minutes in the saucepan before using so it doesn’t scramble the eggs.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cooled brown butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5–7 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing.
- Mix in the egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla extract until fully combined. Scrape the bowl as needed. Beat for another 5-10 on medium/high minutes until it's light in color.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture. Mix just until no dry streaks remain — don’t overmix.
- Using a spatula, fold in chocolate chips (I like the Guittard Super Cookie Chips Semisweet) or chopped chocolate until evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. This step deepens the flavor and improves the texture.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a kitchen scale to scoop 57 g (about ¼ cup) of dough per cookie. Roll into balls and place 6 cookies per sheet to give them room to spread.
- Bake one tray at a time in the middle rack for 10–11 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers are just set. Every oven is different, I take mine out after 11 minutes and they're still gooey inside.
- Right after removing from the oven, place a round biscuit cutter around each cookie and gently swirl it in a circle to create perfectly even, bakery-style cookies. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt while still warm.
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
