Browned butter chocolate chip cookies take a classic recipe and give it a decadent twist. With detailed direction on how to brown butter, this recipe is easy!
I heart chocolate chip cookies. All kinds, I would daresay every kind. But these browned butter chocolate chip cookies are my ultimate favorite! I REALLY love them. And you will too!! They have perfectly crispy edges with soft chewy centers and the chopped chocolate chips disperse the chocolatey-ness in a magical way.
These cookies are life-changing. Actually, browned butter is life changing. If you’ve never browned butter before, don’t stress! It’s easy, but you do have to watch it. Here is what you’ll see happening when you brown butter.
First, the butter will melt. We’ve all seen melted butter. After it has melted, you will notice the milk solids and butterfat start to separate out from the water {that’s pretty much all butter is}. At this stage, if you removed the milk solids, you would have clarified butter. Sometimes recipes call for clarified butter because it doesn’t burn as easily.
The longest stage of the process is evaporating the water out. Once the water is evaporated out, you are left with the butterfat and milk solids. This is butter burns easily, and this is where you’ll need to keep a close eye on it. The butterfat and milk solids will start to cook and as they do, you will be able to see them getting darker and they will start to smell nutty. {You can read more about how to store and use browned butter here!}
Browned butter is done when the butter is a medium golden color. It will start to foam on top so stirring frequently and clearing away the foam with a wide rubber spatula will help you determine when it’s done. It is also much easier to check on a light bottomed pan than a dark one. I prefer stainless or enameled cast iron when browning butter.
After the butter is browned, remove it immediately from the hot pan to cool. Browned butter can turn into burnt butter very quickly!
You can use browned butter in SO many recipes. Add a tablespoon of cream to it, toss it with your favorite pasta, and you have an instant delicious meal in minutes. Obviously, it’s a great addition to desserts, but it’s also delectable in breakfast dishes like pancakes.
Here is my recipe for browned butter chocolate chip cookies! Let me know if you like it and how browning butter went for you!
Here is my classic chocolate chip cookies recipe if you’d rather make those instead!
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Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks, cubed
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup chocolate chips roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium skillet (see note), melt cubed butter on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Butter will melt, simmer and then start to foam. Once the butter starts to become foamy, it is beginning to brown. DO NOT LEAVE IT!
- Check how brown it is by running a wide rubber spatula through the mixture. Once it is medium golden and has a nutty aroma, immediately transfer it into a heat-proof bowl.
- Place the browned butter in the refrigerator to cool while you prep the other ingredients.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Once the butter has cooled to room temperature or a little warmer, combine it with the brown and white sugar.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
- Add vanilla.
- Fold in dry ingredients until just combine and no flour streaks remain.
- Fold in chopped chocolate chips, being sure to add all the small flakes of chocolate that are created during the chopping process.
- I like these cookies bigger, so I use a scoop that is about 2 tablespoons and bake 8 to a standard size sheet tray.
- After you have portioned out the dough, refrigerate the sheet trays for 30 minutes (see note).
- After refrigerating, place in preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are still soft.
Recipe Notes
I usually only use 2 sheet trays at a time so I portion out enough for each tray, and then portion the rest onto a plate and place both trays + the plate in the refrigerator so all the dough is ready to bake. You can refrigerate the dough all together in the mixing bowl, but it will take longer to cool (about 1 hour) and be more difficult to scoop.
For extra adornment, I chop an additional about 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and press some into the center of each dough portion before refrigerating.
Alli says
Great twist on an old classic 🙂