BEST Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (with VIDEO)

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My Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are the BEST ever for so many reasons: they have the most incredible chewy texture with crisp toffee-like edges and fudgy centers, and they have such rich depth of flavor that's balanced to ensure the brown butter shines. It's all about ingredient proportions! For chocolate chip cookies, I'm a purist. Really and truly, I prefer the classic chewy cookie with soft butter, brown sugar, really good vanilla and puddles of dark chocolate. My Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe continues to be one of the most popular recipes on my site (and it could be my favorite recipe ever), and with all of the browning and caramelization that happens when baking cookies as well as the over-powering (yet DELICIOUS) taste of pure vanilla and dark chocolate, browning butter can actually be a waste of time and effort. That's why this recipe works - the brown butter flavor is front and center!

brown butter chocolate chip cookies on baking sheet

WHAT MAKES THESE THE BEST BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?

Rich brown butter flavor - these cookies have a deep rich nutty brown butter flavor that isn't overpowered by the taste of egg, sugar or flour. Salted butter adds another element of dairy richness that you just can't get from unsalted butter.
Crisp edges and soft gooey middles - just like the cookies from a great bakery, these have crisp golden caramelized edges and they are soft in the middle.
Super chewy chocolate chip cookies - these brown butter cookies are so chewy right through.
Not too sweet - there's actually less sugar in this recipe compared to my Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies. That's not just for the brown butter flavor to stand out, but it's also functional. Since the butter is browned, it becomes pure butter oil and it is less stable during baking which means the cookies will spread more. So, less sugar is needed to yield the desired spread and texture.
Dark chocolate chunks - puddles of melted dark chocolate chunks instead of chips takes these to a whole other level. In this cookie I recommend using some semi-sweet chocolate in addition to my usual bittersweet so that the bitterness doesn't overpower the brown butter.
Easy method - the recipe is simple and I actually find the best results come from when you mix it by hand with a wide spatula.

WHAT IS BROWN BUTTER?

Butter is made up of several components, namely milk fat, milk proteins and water with trace amounts of milk sugars (lactose). When heated to a certain degree, the milk solids (including milk proteins and milk sugars) react in a process called "Maillard Browning" to create nutty and caramel-like flavor compounds as well as generate brown color compounds. This process occurs when there is no moisture present, which is why you need to cook butter until the water content is evaporated off in order to make brown butter. Butter is in fact a water-in-oil emulsion that is about 80-84% fat and up to 18% water. It's Science!

INGREDIENTS FOR BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Salted butter - we obviously can't make brown butter cookies without butter. In this recipe, I prefer salted butter so that the rich nutty taste after browning is directly enhanced. However, you can use unsalted butter. If you choose unsalted then I recommend doubling the added salt to ½ teaspoon.
Granulated sugar - this recipe uses a combination of simple white granulated sugar and brown sugar. White sugar helps create the crunchy caramelized edges. I wouldn't recommend reducing the sugar because it will compromise the chewy texture.
Brown sugar - I prefer light brown sugar for this recipe since it has less molasses and will let the taste of the brown butter stand out instead of over-powering it.
Egg - you'll need one whole egg for this recipe. It's the perfect amount of moisture to make these cookies chewy and not cakey.
Milk - this replaces the moisture lost during the butter browning process to ensure these cookies stay soft and chewy instead of crumbly.

brown butter chocolate chip cookies ingredients

brown butter chocolate chip cookies on parchment with milk

Pure vanilla extract - good vanilla is absolutely essential to making delicious chocolate chip cookies. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
Salt - don't leave out the salt! It really elevates the rich buttery, caramel flavors! It also enhances the chocolate taste and balances the sweetness.
All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour makes the best chewy chocolate chip cookies in my opinion. For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour.
Dark chocolate chunks - I highly recommend using a mix of chopped chocolate (from bar chocolate) and chocolate chips. Why? That's because chocolate that is made into bars, also known as "tablets", has a higher cocoa butter content so that it can be poured into molds at the factory and it typically melts smoother than chocolate chips to give you puddles of chocolate in the cookies. I love this effect!
Chocolate chips - using a fraction of chocolate chips will give a good mix of flavor an texture here. Chocolate chips will hold their shape and spread less to control spreading a bit more in this recipe since using brown butter typically results in greater spread overall. I recommend these semisweet chocolate chips. Semisweet works well for this recipe instead of bittersweet so that the cocoa bitterness doesn't overpower the brown butter flavor.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAKING POWDER AND BAKING SODA?

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, which is an alkaline (basic - high pH) compound that will react with acids when when dissolved in liquid to react rapidly and create carbon dioxide gas bubbles. In generally creates a more coarse, open texture.

Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and powdered acids so it does not need additional acid ingredients to react. Once it comes into contact with a liquid, the powdered acid and base dissolve and react with each other to create carbon dioxide bubbles. Most retail baking powder products are double acting, which means that they contain two different powdered acids that react at different speeds and with different stimulants. One reacts immediately upon mixing with water while another only reacts after exposure to heat during baking. Baking powder generally creates a finer, more crumbly texture.

brown butter chocolate chip cookies baking soda vs. baking soda + baking powder comparison

WHY BAKING SODA IS BEST FOR CHEWY COOKIES

My preferred chocolate chip cookies are golden, chewy and slightly gooey inside with crisp edges. The reactions that make all of this happen are accelerated in alkaline conditions which are created by the addition of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda). There is enough acidity from the molasses in brown sugar to react with it and the residual bicarbonate will help keep the dough slightly alkaline so that delicious Maillard Browning reactions are encouraged. Baking soda produces cookies that are more deeply brown with a denser texture. One of the most important ways to control your cookie shape and texture is by changing the quantity of baking soda (see the FAQ section below to learn how to make thicker cookies with less baking soda).

Chocolate chip cookie recipes with baking powder typically take longer to brown and don't spread which often leads to over-baking in order to achieve a darker color so that the resulting cookie is dry. Baking powder generally produces puffier, cakier cookies that rise higher during baking, producing a more crumbly texture from the fine air bubbles. They also have smoother, shinier tops and a muted flavor so the cookies tend to be more bland.

stack of brown butter chocolate chip cookies on parchment

HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER

If you've never made brown butter, you MUST try it. It is easy and adds amazing complexity and richness in the form of nutty, caramel-like flavors that enhances many recipes. For my full tutorial on how to make brown butter, read this post here.

First melt your butter over medium heat in a small sauce pan.
Once melted, let the butter come to a simmer. It will crackly as it boils. Stir the butter constantly as it melts to ensure it cooks evenly.
As the moisture evaporates, the butter will start to foam. This is the point when the browning starts to happen. Keep stirring the butter. Keep a close eye on the butter and DO NOT WALK AWAY.
Eventually the crackling will settle down and the foam on the surface will become very dense to the point that you cannot see the clear butterfat beneath it. The foam will turn golden and as you stir you should see little brown flecks coming up into the pan. This is the sign that you are done! The butter will turn a golden color and you'll know it's done by the smell... it will have a toasted and nutty aroma.
Immediately pour it out into a clean bowl and let it cool before using it in the recipe.

This isn't just any chocolate chip cookie recipe with brown butter in place of softened butter. As you've learned above, brown butter has all of its moisture removed. So, if we just go on making cookies without taking this into account, they may be a bit more hard and crunchy rather than soft and chewy. So... what can we do? We can replace the liquid! You could use water, but I use milk. Why? Milk will incorporate into the fat easier than water since it contains proteins to help with emulsification. These proteins, along with milk sugar (lactose) will react in the same way during baking to create similar flavors to brown butter.

I've tested this recipe using another egg to replace the moisture, but then the egg flavor overpowers the taste of the brown butter, and well… frankly you might as well just make my Best Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies instead.

brown butter chocolate chip cookies on parchment

brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough in bowl

brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough balls on baking sheet

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: HOW TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

STEP 1). First brown the butter. Follow the instructions in this post here to learn how to brown butter. It's easy! Brown specks and a dense golden foam will form at the surface when it is nearly ready. Pour it out into a clean bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes. This whole process takes around 8-10 minutes. Immediately pour it into a large mixing bowl, then place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes until cool and thick. It should be cool enough that it is opaque and firm, but not hard. If you freeze it for too long, it will be difficult to mix in the other ingredients. If you care to measure, the butter should read 34°C or 93°F on a thermometer.
STEP 2). Combine dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk well to blend evenly.
STEP 3). Blend butter and sugar. Combine cooled brown butter with both sugars in a large bowl and mix gently to combine. It should look thick like wet sand. You can also mix it in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 20 seconds.
STEP 4). Add wet ingredients. Add the egg, milk and vanilla and mix it in until well incorporated and creamy-looking. Do not beat vigorously at this stage because if it is cold in your house, the butterfat will firm up and become stiff.
STEP 5). Add dry ingredients. Add flour mixture and fold it in or mix on low just until mostly combined, then add the chocolate chunks before all of the flour is incorporated and continue mixing until they are evenly distributed.
STEP 6). Chill the dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1-2 hours.
STEP 7). Bake. Portion dough and roll into smooth balls. Place them onto prepared baking sheets, spacing them 3 inches apart. Do not flatten. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden on top, browned around the edges and soft in the middle. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

SHOULD I USE SALTED OR UNSALTED BUTTER TO MAKE BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?

I like using salted butter for this recipe because it really adds richness in a way that just adding salt can't since it is blended and dissolved through the butter. However you can absolutely use unsalted butter - just increase the added salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon. Ok, now stop everything and go make some Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!

EXPERT TIPS FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Measure the ingredients precisely. To get the right texture, it is important to measure your flour, butter and sugar accurately. Too much flour will lead to dry cookies that don't spread while not enough will make greasy cookies that spread too much.
Be patient making brown butter. It can very quickly go from this light brown to burnt, so make sure you take it off the heat as soon as it turns golden.
Let the brown butter cool. Brown butter is very hot just after you've made it since it is pure oil that has been heated to a boil. It needs to cool sufficiently otherwise the cookie dough and the cookies will be very greasy.
Don't skip the salt. The right amount of salt is so important. I use salted butter because there's something about salted butter that provides an underlying richness that can't be quite copied by adding salt separately. You can use unsalted butter if that is all you have on hand, and in that case increase the total salt in the recipe to ½ teaspoon. BUT, if you have salted butter then you will not regret it!
Use regular large size eggs. Large eggs weigh 57g. Using an extra large egg will add up to 2 teaspoons more liquid to the cookie dough which can throw off the moisture balance and make the cookies spread too much.
Use couverture chocolate. Couverture chocolate is chocolate that is designed for enrobing, coating and dipping. It is the chocolate used by professional chocolatiers because it has a high cocoa butter content to make it more fluid. This extra cocoa butter gives chocolate excellent meltability so it will melt into the cookie dough during baking which helps it to spread and creates these glistening puddles of chocolate at the surface. It also creates a laminated effect of layers of chocolate between cookie dough as opposed to chocolate chips which have less cocoa butter and remain unchanged, holding their "drop" shape in the cookie dough. These couverture chocolate discs are incredible, or you can also chop chocolate from a couverture block.

gooey brown butter chocolate chip cookies broken in half

Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. Refrigerating cookie dough serves several purposes: 1) Flour hydration - time in the fridge allows the flour to fully hydrate from the moisture of the egg and the water in the butter. If the flour is evenly hydrated, the cookies will be thicker and they will bake more evenly; 2) Flavor development -as the baking soda becomes more evenly incorporated with the flour hydration, the cookies will brown more evenly which will help them develop flavor more quickly; 3) Firms the butter - butter in the cookie dough will also firm up in the fridge so that the cookies wont be so greasy after they've baked. Chilled fat will also spread less readily during the initial stages of baking so the cookies won't spread uncontrollably; and 4) Increases shelf life - chilled cookie dough makes cookies that stay chewy longer and slows staling.
Don't chill the dough for too long though. This recipe with brown butter doesn't actually benefit from a lengthy chill time. That's because the properties of butter change after browning and the fat will crystallize over time and make the dough crumbly and more difficult to work with. I recommend up to 4 hours which will create great results.
Roll the dough into smooth balls after scooping. This is my best trick to get smooth, uniformly-shaped round cookies that spread evenly. Rolling the dough balls also smooths out the dough around the chocolate so that there are no gaps and the chocolate chunks are all hugged by some cookie dough. This helps with the crackly surface appearance too.
Bake at a higher temperature. I like to bake brown butter cookies at 375 degrees F instead of the usual 350 degrees. This is because brown butter is pure butter oil that has been broken out of its stable emulsion with water and this makes it melt more quickly and sharply. Baking at a higher temperature will help set the edges quickly to control spread and also helps ensure we don't over-bake them to still get those soft centers.
Use a kitchen scale. For best results, weigh your ingredients according to the measurements in the recipe card below using a kitchen scale. It is especially important to weigh the flour since too little will cause these cookies to spread too much.

WHAT TYPE OF CHOCOLATE IS BEST FOR BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?

The best thing is to actually NOT use chocolate chips at all - for these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, use chunks chopped from a block of chocolate. Chocolate chips are designed to hold there shape and don't melt as easily as bar chocolate (also called tablets). That is unless they are couverture chocolate chips that melt nicely. Sometimes I find chips are so uniform in size that they can give a rather boring look to cookies.

I always prefer to use my favorite eating chocolate which is Lindt 70% 100g bars and chop them up. This creates shards of chocolate of all different sizes to give the cookies more interest. It will also melt nicely so that you get some layers of chocolate in the cookie and it creates little puddles. In this recipe you can use a mix of milk and dark chocolate since the creamy sweetness of milk chocolate pairs well with the brown butter, but you can use whatever you like!

RECIPE FAQ

What does brown butter do for cookies?

Brown butter adds a more complex flavor in the form of nutty, caramel, toasted bread undertones. These are similar flavors that happen during caramelization and Maillard browning reactions during baking so it can often get lost. I developed this recipe to ensure the brown butter flavor stands out as much as possible.

How much butter is lost after browning?

No actual fat is lost in the browning process. Only water is evaporated during browning, and since butter is up to 18% water (depending on the brand), you can expect to lose up to 18% of its weight.

How much does brown butter weigh after browning?

For this recipe, after you brown 140g of butter, you will end up with 113-115g of browned butter depending on the brand and quality of butter you are using.

How do I make thick chocolate chip cookies?

If you prefer even thicker cookies, instead of adding more flour, I suggest reducing the baking soda from ¾ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon.

Do I need to chill the cookie dough?

Chilling this cookie dough is so important for the best results. Of course you can bake them right away, but they will not be as golden, as thick or as chewy and flavorful as they could be if you chill the dough and they will spread more. Ideally you would chill the dough for a minimum of 1 hour for this dough if baking at the higher temperature. If you bake at the lower temperature, I recommend refrigerating for at least 2 hours. It will lend the richest flavor and chewiest texture. Chilled cookie dough also makes cookies with a longer shelf life so they will stay chewy for longer and be slower to stale.

What if I don't have time to chill the cookie dough?

If you only have time to chill the dough for less than an hour, then I would suggest reducing the baking soda to ½ teaspoon. This will control the spreading because a dough that hasn't had time to absorb the moisture will spread more than one that is chilled. You can also place the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes to speed it up, but it is important to note that this serves the purpose of chilling the fat and doesn't allow the time for flour hydration.

Why are my brown butter cookies so flat?

If your cookies spread a lot, then it could be that the brown butter was too hot, the dough wasn't chilled long enough, there was too much baking soda, or you did not add the right amount of flour. Too little flour will mean the cookies will not have enough structure to hold their shape and the dough will be too wet. The best way to measure the flour is using a scale to ensure you use the right amount. Too much will make the cookies thick and less fudgy and chewy, but too little will mean they will be crispy and thin.

Why didn't my cookies spread?

If your cookies didn't spread much then it could be that you've added too much flour or you've made the cookies too small. This recipe makes 14 cookies for the perfect texture and shape. If you want your cookies to spread more, bake them at the lower temperature (350 degrees F) and you can also flatten the dough balls slightly on the trays before baking.

How do I make even taller, thicker cookies?

If you prefer even thicker cookies, you can use ½ teaspoon baking soda instead of ¾ teaspoon in this recipe. This will reduce the spread so the cookies bake taller. The difference in flavor will be minimal, however you will notice more "brown" caramelized notes when you use the higher amount of baking soda.

Why are my brown butter cookies greasy?

All cookies feel greasy when hot and warm when the fat is hot, but brown butter cookies tend to feel more greasy because the water-in-oil emulsion breaks during the browning process. Brown butter is pure butter oil and it will feel greasy like liquid oil when hot since it is not emulsified.

What type of chocolate is best for bakery style chocolate chip cookies?

For the best results, use dark chocolate with over 60% cocoa solids, and use a high quality block of chocolate that you chop into chunks.

How do you get melty puddles of chocolate in chocolate chip cookies?

To get melted puddles with irregular shapes like in these photos, use chopped chocolate from a bar with over 70% cocoa solids. The darker the better when it comes to meltiness because the higher the total cocoa content, the more cocoa butter it will have and that high fat content is what makes chocolate melt and spread easier. Also, block chocolate is tempered as a block that you will break up and expose all sorts of jagged edges whereas chips are tempered in a specific shape that will stay in place.

Why is bar chocolate better than chocolate chips for chocolate chip cookies?

When you chop chocolate from a block you make a variety of different shapes and shards that will get in all the crevices of the cookie dough. So, use your favorite dark chocolate - the kind that you snack on. Using block chocolate instead of chips will also give you better texture in the cookies. Block chocolate has a higher cocoa butter content so it will melt more evenly and readily to create pools of chocolate that will melt into the crevices. It also helps the dough spread. You can also use dark chocolate feves, callets or discs which are often made from couverture chocolate (high cocoa butter chocolate).

STORAGE AND FREEZING

Can I freeze brown butter chocolate chip cookie dough?

Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough. I recommend wrapping the cookie dough in plastic wrap and then placing it in a ziptop freezer bag for storage. If you would like to freeze individual dough balls then let the dough chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours, portion and roll into balls, then place dough balls in a ziptop freezer bag for storage for up to 3 months.

How to bake frozen cookie dough?

If you are baking cookies from a block of frozen cookie dough, let the dough thaw completely and then portion, roll and bake as directed. If baking frozen balls of dough, you can bake them directly and add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.

How long do brown butter chocolate chip cookies last?

These cookies keep well for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

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