Description
Deeply nutty brown butter chocolate chip cookies made with a combination of dark chocolate chunks and semisweet chips, packed brown sugar for chewiness, and finished with optional flaky sea salt. Crispy golden edges, gooey chocolate-studded centers, and a rich caramelized butter flavor that makes these the most craveable cookies you will ever bake.
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (140g) salted butter
- 1½ cups (215g) all-purpose flour, measured accurately
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (145g) packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 3 oz (85g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped into chunks
- ½ cup (85g) semisweet chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt, optional for topping
Instructions
- Brown the butter. Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter melts, foams, and then the foam subsides revealing golden-brown milk solids on the bottom of the pan — about 4–5 minutes. The butter should smell deeply nutty and toasted. Pour immediately into a large mixing bowl, including all the browned bits, and allow to cool for 10–15 minutes until it is warm but no longer hot.
- Whisk the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the cooled brown butter until smooth and combined. Add the room temperature egg, milk, and vanilla extract and whisk vigorously for 60 seconds until the mixture is slightly lighter in color and well blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Fold in the dark chocolate chunks and semisweet chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes — up to 48 hours for the best flavor and texture.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the chilled dough into balls of approximately 2 tablespoons each and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press a few extra chocolate chunks onto the tops of each ball.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes until the edges are set and golden and the centers still look slightly underdone and glossy.
- Immediately after removing from the oven, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if using. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
- Use a light-colored saucepan to brown the butter — it is the only way to clearly see the color of the milk solids changing from golden to brown without burning them.
- Do not skip the chilling step — rested dough produces cookies with better flavor, thicker centers, and crispier edges than dough baked immediately after mixing.
- Pull the cookies from the oven when the centers still look slightly underdone — they continue cooking on the hot pan during the 5-minute rest and will be perfectly chewy once fully cooled.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chilling Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 mins