Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Flaky Salt

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These large cookies have lightly golden edges, soft centers, and generous pools of melted semisweet chocolate alongside lighter milk-chocolate pieces. Brown the butter until its milk solids turn golden and smell nutty, then let it cool before mixing the dough. Scoop and chill the portions before baking to help control spread. A little flaky salt goes on while the cookies are warm.

Yield: About 18 large cookies. Total time: About 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours, including a 90-minute chill and baking in batches.

Ingredients for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (225g)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (200g)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (280g)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate bar, roughly chopped (170g)
• 4 ounces milk chocolate bar, roughly chopped (115g)
• About 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for finishing

Reserve a few larger pieces of each chocolate for the tops. Chopped chocolate creates broader melted pools than chips.

How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook for about 8 to 12 minutes, stirring or swirling frequently, especially once it foams. When the milk solids beneath the foam turn golden brown and smell nutty, immediately pour the butter and all its browned bits into a heat-safe mixing bowl.
2. Cool and mix: Let the butter cool for about 15 to 20 minutes, until warm rather than hot. Whisk in both sugars, then the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.
3. Make the dough: In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt. Fold into the butter mixture just until no dry flour remains. Fold in most of both chopped chocolates. The dough should be soft but scoopable.
4. Scoop and chill: Scoop about 18 portions, roughly 3 tablespoons or 60 to 65g each. Press the reserved semisweet and milk chocolate onto the tops. Cover and refrigerate for about 90 minutes, until the portions feel firm when gently pressed.
5. Bake: During the latter part of the chill, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Arrange the chilled portions about 3 inches apart on parchment-lined, cool baking sheets. Bake uncovered in batches, checking at 11 minutes; each sheet should take about 11 to 14 minutes. Rotate the sheet if your oven browns unevenly. The edges should be set and lightly golden, and the centers should look soft and slightly puffed, not wet or liquid.
6. Salt and cool: Scatter a little flaky sea salt over the warm cookies. Let them set on the baking sheets for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Once a cookie holds together but its chocolate is still soft, break it open to serve.

How to Brown Butter Without Burning It

Watch the milk solids beneath the foam rather than relying only on the clock. A light-colored pan makes their color easier to judge. Transfer the butter as soon as the solids are golden brown and smell nutty; they can burn if left in the hot pan. Keep the toasted bits in the dough for their flavor.

Why Chill the Scooped Dough?

Browned butter enters the dough melted, so baking the portions while they are still warm can make the cookies spread too thin. Scooping before chilling is easier than digging into firm refrigerated dough. Chill the covered portions until firm, and start each batch on a cool baking sheet.

How to Tell When the Cookies Are Done

Look for set, lightly golden edges and centers that still appear tender but not liquid. The cookies finish setting during their rest on the hot sheet. If they bake until the centers look fully firm, they may turn dry; weighing the flour, or spooning and leveling it, also helps prevent dry, puffy cookies.

Chocolate Variations

For a less-sweet chocolate profile, replace the milk chocolate with the same weight of semisweet chocolate. The cookies will lose their lighter chocolate contrast. Chocolate chips can replace the chopped bars by weight, but they will leave smaller, more defined pieces instead of broad melted pools.

For a version without browned butter, try these classic chocolate chip cookies.

Storing and Freezing the Cookies

Keep fully cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for about 3 days for the best texture. Covered, portioned dough can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours before baking.

To freeze unbaked cookies, freeze the portions until solid, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F, allowing a few additional minutes and using the golden-edge, soft-center cues to judge doneness. Baked cookies can also be frozen airtight for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Approximate nutrition per cookie, based on 18 large cookies: 300 calories, 3g protein, 16g fat, and 38g carbohydrates. Per 100g of baked cookies: approximately 510 calories, 5g protein, 27g fat, and 64g carbohydrates. Values are estimates and will vary with chocolate brands, portion size, and moisture lost during baking.