These delicious brown butter chocolate chip cookies are soft and chewy, loaded with melty chocolate chips and chocolate chunks, and chopped walnuts, then baked to perfection.
Chocolate chip cookies are part and parcel of childhood, aren’t they? I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t remember enjoying rich, warm chocolate chip cookies after school, at parties, or just as an afternoon snack. If your mom didn’t make them, your grandma did, and most of the time they both made them. I know I have fond memories of chocolate chip cookies, and my absolute favorites were the brown butter variety that my grandmother used to make. When I began making my own cookies, I often chose this chocolate chip cookie variation, and I still do to this day!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These delicious cookies start with butter that I brown in a pan until it’s a deep amber color. Then, I use it in my chocolate chip cookie dough in the same way that I would softened butter. I combine the dough with chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts for a super chunky texture and bake them until they’re a lovely golden brown. The result? Soft, chewy, and chunky cookies that melt in your mouth and have a distinctive, nutty flavor that you just can’t get unless you’ve used brown butter.
Why You’ll Love This Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- The brown butter gives the cookies a rich and nutty flavor. When butter is browned, the milk solids caramelize which adds a depth of flavor to the cookies that is simply irresistible.
- The cookies are soft and chewy. The brown butter helps to create a chewy texture, while the use of dark brown sugar keeps the cookies soft.
- They’re loaded with two types of chocolate, dark chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks, along with chopped walnuts and topped with a bit of sea salt.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
You’ll only need some simple baking ingredients to make this recipe, and you probably have most if not all of them in your kitchen right now. Anything you don’t have is just a quick trip to the grocery store away!
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Sugar
- Large egg + 1 egg yolk
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- Dark chocolate chunks
- Dark chocolate chips
- Chopped walnuts
- Sea salt, for topping
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Aside from browning the butter to get that distinctive flavor, this cookie recipe is no different than any other. It only takes a few minutes and a few simple steps, and even browning the butter is a super simple process.
Step 1: Brown the Butter
Add the butter to a frying pan and cook it over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it turns an amber color. Remove it from the heat as soon as it’s browned.
Step 2: Cool
Pour the butter into a medium bowl and set it aside for about 15 minutes to cool.
Step 3: Beat Until Smooth
Add the brown sugar, sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and sour cream to the brown butter and beat until combined.
Step 4: Combine with Wet Ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Step 5: Make the Cookie Dough
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined. Then, stir in the dark chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, and chopped walnuts.
Step 6: Bake
Use a 1-inch cookie scoop out a cookie portions and roll them into balls. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 11 minutes at 350 until the edges start to brown.
Step 7: Cool
Remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt, and let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool until just warm. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Be sure you remove the butter from the heat as soon as it turns amber. It’s very easy to burn the butter.
- Roll your scooped dough into a ball before placing it on the cookie sheet. This helps the cookies spread exactly right.
- A hand mixer is the easiest way to make this dough.
- It’s important to let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet to allow carry-over cooking to let the bake to soft, chewy perfection.
Variations
- You can use milk, semi-sweet, or white chocolate chips in this recipe. You can use a combination of them.
- Chopped pecans work well in this recipe.
- Try adding some shredded coconut to the cookies.
- Try making these cookies with toffee baking pieces to compliment the flavor of the brown butter.
What to Serve with Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are wonderful with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. You can also serve them with a small bowl of fresh fruit for a fancier feel.
Recipe FAQ
Chocolate chip cookies can actually use cold, softened, or melted butter. It depends on the desired cookie consistency. Cold butter creates cookies that have a crispy exterior and soft middle. Softened butter creates a classic, cake-like chocolate chip cookie. Melted butter make soft, chewy, and thinner cookies.
Cookies can be made crispier by using more white sugar than brown sugar. Soft cookies can be made by increasing the brown sugar and reducing the white sugar or by using melted butter instead of room temperature butter.
Brown butter has a nutty flavor that’s a bit sweet and savory. It almost tastes like toffee. Regular butter on the other hand is much more bland. You don’t always want to use browned butter in a recipe, but when you do, you’ll be guaranteed a dish that’s full of wonderful, complex flavor.
Browned butter gives cookies a subtle nutty flavor that’s more complex than just using softened butter. In addition, because the butter is liquid instead of partially solid, it makes for flatter, softer, and chewier cookies.
How to Store Leftover Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies can be stored for up to 2 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container. For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
Try These Delicious Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Today
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies take traditional chocolate chip cookies to an entirely new place. The brown butter adds a distinctive nuttiness to the cookies that don’t overpower the other flavors, and the chunky chocolate chips and chopped nuts add a nice texture variation to the soft, chew cookies. These are cookies that taste fancy but are anything but. You’ll be in and out of the kitchen in no time, which makes them the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Give them a try!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Here are some delicious Apple Walnut Oatmeal Cookies that are soft, chewy and delicious, and perfect for the fall season.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1½ cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup dark chocolate chunks
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a frying pan, brown butter over medium heat, stirring constantly until butter turns an amber color. Remove from heat as soon as the butter starts to brown.
- Pour browned butter and brown bits into a medium bowl and set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Add brown sugar, sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla and sour cream to the brown butter. Beat until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt together. Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat on low speed until until combined.
- Stir dark chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks and chopped walnuts into cookie dough.
- Using a 1 inch cookie scoop, roll cookie dough and place on ungreased baking sheet(s).
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until edges start to brown.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle a bit of sea salt on each cookie, let sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
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