Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deeply toffee-ish, crisp at the edge, chewy in the middle.
Before you start
Browning the butter is the one extra step that makes these cookies taste amazing: deep, nutty and a bit like toffee. It only takes a few minutes. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the flour. Too much flour is the usual reason cookies come out dry or cakey.
Everything you need
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp fine salt
Weigh, don't scoop. Measuring flour by cups can overpack it and dry out your bake. Tap any ingredient to open its converter.
Method
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Melt the butter in a light-coloured pan over medium heat. It'll foam, then go quiet. Keep swirling until the bits at the bottom turn golden and it smells nutty, about 5 to 7 minutes. Tip it all into a big bowl, brown bits and all, and let it cool for 10 minutes.
For this step
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter
-
Whisk in both sugars until glossy. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Keep whisking for a minute. That's what gives you the shiny, crackly top.
For this step
- 1 cup (220 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
-
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Add it to the wet bowl and fold with a spatula until you can't see any dry flour. Fold in the chocolate.
For this step
- 2¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp fine salt
-
Cover and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. Overnight is even better. Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and line two trays with baking paper.
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Roll the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons each, and leave lots of space between them, since they spread. Bake one tray at a time for 10 to 12 minutes. The edges should look set but the middle still soft.
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Leave them on the hot tray for 5 minutes to firm up, then move to a rack. Want neat round edges? Swirl a cup or cutter around each cookie while it's still warm.
Baker's tips
- Browning drives off water from the butter, so the dough can look greasy, but the chill fixes that and stops the cookies spreading thin.
- A flaky-salt finish right out of the oven makes the chocolate taste more like chocolate.
Make it your own
- Swap 55 g of the flour for the same weight of cocoa powder for a double-chocolate version.
- Use half chocolate chips, half chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (about 75 g nuts).
Storing & freezing
Airtight at room temperature for 4 days. Freeze the scooped raw dough balls and bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes.
Frequently asked
How many grams is a cup of chocolate chips?
About 170 g per US cup, so the 1½ cups here is roughly 255 g. Use the chocolate chips converter if you're weighing.
Why chill the dough?
Chilling firms the browned butter so the cookies hold their shape and spread less, and it hydrates the flour for a chewier, more caramelised result.
Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.
More to bake
A note on cooking safely. Recipes are provided for informational purposes only and are not medical or nutritional advice. Cooking times, temperatures and quantities are suggestions: use your own judgement, and check that meat, poultry, fish and eggs are properly cooked before serving.
Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making dietary changes, particularly if you have allergies, a medical condition or specific nutritional requirements.