Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are the result of testing five brands of easy to find store brand chocolate and dozen of batches to find the chewiest, most flavorful version possible. Browning half the butter adds deep, nutty caramel notes, a touch of coffee intensifies the chocolate, and real vanilla bean paste rounds out the flavor. This is a 5-star reader favorite for a reason.
Why this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip cookie recipe works:
- I blind tested five kinds of chocolate chips- see the recipe for the winning chip.
- Two trusted men tasted cookie after cookie to crown a winner
- Browning the butter brings out incredible nuttiness and flavor
- Brewed coffee is my secret ingredient- it makes the chocolate more intense
- Vanilla bean paste gives complex deep flavor
- I tested and tested this recipe over a dozen times to perfect it
The Best Chocolate Chips for This Recipe
What is the deal with cookies lately? How many times have you read a recipe or seen a cooking show where the chef talks about “smoky toffee notes” or ” butterscotch caramel undertones.” Why did we complicate the simple chocolate chip cookie? Where did we go wrong? I tested only chocolate you can buy at the grocer store. Let’s keep it simple.
I looked at my trusty Toll House cookie recipe and decided I need to get with the times. I enlisted Hunky Hubbie and my nephew, Charlie, to be my chocolate chip cookie testers. Who knows more about how a proper chocolate chip cookie should taste that a teenage boy and a devout chocolate loving dad? No one!
First we tested which type of chocolate would be best for the cookie. We blind tasted Hersey’s Special Dark, 365 Dark Chocolate baking chunks, Guittard Extra Dark chocolate, Ghirardelli semi sweet chips and the noble go to standard Nestle Toll House semi sweet morsels.
The Winning Chocolate Chip:
Our winner was Hersey’s Special dark chips. They were not too sweet and melted perfectly in the cookie. Chunks just did not melt well. I have been testing recipes trying to find a cookie that is not only chewy, not too sweet but with a depth of nuttiness. An oven temperature gauge is very important for this recipe. Make sure your oven is exactly 350 degrees prior to baking.
Try using insulated cookie sheets to prevent scorching. Nordic ware makes my favorite. There are few unusual ingredients- molasses & coffee – trust me. It works. Molasses adds moisture to the cookie keeping them chewy and coffee always deepens chocolate flavor. I only add a tiny amount of coffee- use what is leftover in your coffee pot- nothing special, but that little bit really makes a difference.
Ingredients for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- All purpose flour
- light brown sugar
- white, granulated sugar
- butter
- eggs
- chocolate chips- see our testing notes on our preferred brand
- pecans
- vanilla bean paste- Buy our favorite brand HERE
- molasses
- coffee
- salt
- baking soda
How to Brown Butter for Cookies
The first thing you need is a very heavy skillet. In a large, heavy pan, melt one stick of butter over medium heat until it browns and smells nutty. Slowly swirl the pan- no spoon, no anything- just gently swirl over low heat until the butter deepens in color. The butter will foam, sizzle and look angry. Swirl the pan constantly until butter is brown. This takes about 5 minutes. Small bits of brown butter granules will appear on the bottom of your skillet. This is fine. Do not burn the butter. After the butter has turned brown, pour into a heat proof bowl to cool. Set aside and cool for up to 30 minutes. See photos for color references.
These few extra steps will have you baking like a cookie sommelier – now you can brag about those caramel and toffee notes. A tall frosted glass of grass fed ultra filter organic milk will pair perfectly with these next generation cookies. 😉
Tips for the Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, measure the same amount of extract as mentioned in the recipe card. The paste will add a deeper flavor.
Growing all the butter removes too much moisture from the dough. Keeping one stick soft preserves the right texture while still adding brown butter flavor.
Because the butter is in liquid form, it really needs time to develop into the cookie dough. Chill at a very minimum of 2 hours. But for best results, five hours to overnight is preferred.
Store in an air tight container with a slice of bread. Store at room temperature for five days. This will keep the cookies very soft. Remove the bread and the cookies will crisp up, ever slightly, in a day or two.
Can’t get enough brown butter and chocolate? Here are five more reader favorites to bake next:
- Brown Butter Pecan Cookies
- Shortbread dipped in Chocolate
- Bourbon Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies
- Met Market Copy Cat Cookie
- Oatmeal Pecan Pumpkin Scotchies
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract We prefer Wild Montana Foods
- 1 tsp molasses
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 unit large eggs
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 TBSP brewed coffee
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips- we tested five brands and prefer Hersey’s Special Dark
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a large, heavy pan, melt one stick of butter over medium heat until it browns and smells nutty. The butter will foam, sizzle and look angry. Swirl the pan constantly until butter is brown. This takes about 5 minutes. Small bits of brown butter granules will appear on the bottom of your skillet. Do not burn. After the butter has turned brown, pour into a heat proof bowl to cool. Set aside and cool for up to 30 minutes.
- Add second stick of softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar to a large bowl or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until sugar has dissolved into the butter and is no longer grainy- about 5 minutes. The sugar mixture will be smooth. Reduce speed of your mixer and add in vanilla, molasses, coffee and beat until well blended. Add cooled browned butter and remaining white sugar. Scrape down the bowl of the mixer.
- Reduce speed to low and add eggs. Beat until combined. Add in flour, salt and baking powder slowly. Fold in chips and pecans.
- Cover cookie dough and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line an insulated cookie sheet parchment paper.
- Scoop dough with a small ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons per cookie) and set on baking sheets. Leave about 2-3 inches between cookies. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove and let cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes then set cookies onto a wire rack to cook completely. Recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Where’s the actual recipe with measurements, etc? Seriously, this isn’t cool.
Hi Kris- that is bizarre. The internet ate my recipe! I am trying to restore the post. Please look for it in a day or two. So sorry! Thanks for letting me know.
Kris- the recipe is now reposted. Thank you SO much for bringing it to my attention. Tt’s one of my most tested and most popular recipes. A website update kicked out the recipe blocks.
these cookies fuck severely. i think my husband fell in love with me again after making them.
I think this is a compliment?
Holy Smokes, these were incredible. I thought the brown butter would be scary to try, but it makes a huge difference. It does take all day to make because of the chilling time, but worth it.
So glad you liked them. One of our favorites.