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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

posted by Liz Berg on March 20, 2018 (updated 8/16/24)

The underlying caramel tones make these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies really special. There’s deliciousness in every bite!

These are the top-ranked chocolate chip cookies in a couple of my friends’ homes, and their size alone makes my gang happy.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in a white ceramic dish.

Table of Contents hide

5 Frequently Asked Questions

6 You May Also Like:

7 Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why You Must Make

If you’ve never made desserts using brown butter, here’s your chance!
Brown Butter provides a caramelly, slightly nutty undertone that makes almost every recipe better!
I used chocolate discs instead of chocolate chips, which chocoholics will love!

These brown butter chocolate chip cookies became our weekend dessert after drilling Bill on what sweets to bake. I could have predicted his answer, “chocolate chip cookies, flourless chocolate cake or lava cakes.” Well, I have a plethora of chocolate chip cookies on this blog and this particular one debuted in 2010, only months after I started blogging.

Needless to say, there were a few awful photos and not much else besides the recipe. A redo was definitely in order.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients with labels on a sheet pan.

Ingredient Notes

Kitchen Staples – Sugar, Brown Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda, Fine Salt (I used table salt)
Butter – Divided; Part will be cooked and browned, part will be added later.
Dark Brown Sugar – Has a deeper, more caramelized flavor. To make dark brown sugar out of regular brown sugar, add 1 tablespoon of molasses to a cup of regular brown sugar. Mix well, then measure. Note that when measuring brown sugar, it should be packed into the measuring cup.
Eggs – One whole, one egg yolk. Note that eggs are less likely to break when separating if you do it when they’re cold.
Vanilla Extract – Make sure it’s real vanilla extract (like Nielsen-Massey brand), not artificially flavored.
Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, Chunks or Discs – I used Guittard baking wafers, but have also made these with chocolate chips.

Expert Tips

Have your eggs at room temperature for easy incorporation.
PRO-Tip: As with most cookie recipes, do not beat the dough with a mixer. That will incorporate air into the dough making them more cakey than dense and chewy.
Use a cookie disher to scoop out the dough. That way the cookies will all be the same size and take the same amount of time to bake.
To make the roundest cookies, you can roll the dough balls between your palms before placing them on the baking sheet.
PRO-Tip: If the cookies don’t come out of the oven perfectly round, you can use a hot pad to steady the pan and tap the perimeter of the cookies back into shape with a spatula. This only works when they’re hot and pliable. If they cool down too much, reshaping isn’t possible…….

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on a white dessert plate.

How to Make

Brown butter in mixing bowl. — Brown butter in saucepan until golden brown. Add to mixing bowl.

Brown butter with more butter added. — Brown butter in saucepan until golden brown. Add to mixing bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Make Brown Butter?

Brown butter is super easy to make, although it can be a disaster if you don’t babysit it. You want a nutty flavor, not a burnt one! The goal is to heat the butter until the butter solids brown.

1. Cut unsalted butter into small, evenly-sized pieces and place them in a pot or pan.
2. Cook on low until butter is melted.
3. Turn the heat up to medium swirl the pan or stir almost constantly with a heatproof spatula to prevent milk solids from burning.
4. The water is evaporating at this point. Observe at all times.
5. The butter becomes a light tan color as the milk solids toast or “brown” in the hot fat. Voila, brown butter!

Is There a Substitution for Dark Brown Sugar?

So you don’t have a box or bag of dark brown sugar in your pantry and are wondering what to do. You can always substitute light brown sugar, which is much more commonly found in kitchens. But you can also make your own dark brown sugar!

PRO-Tip: For each cup of dark brown sugar you need, combine 1 cup of light brown sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses. Mix and use as directed. It’s as easy as that!