Favorite Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Do I say it all the time?
But for real, for REAL this time: THESE COOKIES ARE SO GOOD.
Browned butter and brown sugar caramely goodness, crispy edges, barely thick and soft centers, melty little puddles of chocolate chips and sprinkles of just enough salt to cut the sweetness and make you feel like you could probably eat 5 of them.
My first favorite thing about these browned butter chocolate chip cookies is that they combine the best of both the thin-cookie and thick-cookie worlds with that satisfying little crunch around the edge AND underbaked centers that are thick enough to really sink your teeth into. Best. Of. Both. Worlds.
My second favorite thing about these cookies is that they also just shine, and I mean really shine, with rich, deep, caramely flavor thanks to a whole lot of browned butter.
At this point in our internet’s recipe-rich history, I try to not add things just for the sake of adding them. Which is why, for a long time, I’ve just let our best soft chocolate chip cookies be our best, our only, our shining star of a chocolate chip cookie recipe.
You know I love those cookies. And I know you love those cookies.
So we have to both know it’s a big day when I’m willing to present a cookie recipe that is, I think, as good or even better for certain moments than our original favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Let’s Do a Cookie Breakdown
We have a lot of cookies on Pinch of Yum, but two of them (these brand new browned butter ones, and the original best soft chocolate chip cookies) are easily tied for being the best.
I feel it is my civic duty to give you a full breakdown cookie breakdown on each of these recipes and what makes each of them awesome in their own ways.
- Browned butter chocolate chip cookies (these ones you’re looking at now): These cookies are a work of art. They have complex, rich flavor. They have more of that crispy-meets-soft-and-yummy texture. They are grown-up and almost-fancy. There is more effort required. And the reward is that there is more nuance to both the flavor and the texture. Making them is not overly complicated but it’s also not mindless. These are the cookies for when you need to impress, even if the only person you’re impressing is yourself on a Wednesday night. I feel this is a good time to let you know that this particular cookie dough tastes amazing. AMAZING. Next level. It’s where the browned butter flavor comes through the most. I’m not recommending eating raw cookie dough, I’m just saying, alright?
- Best soft chocolate chip cookies (the original POY fave): These cookies are unfussy and uncomplicated. No fancy steps, no unusual ingredients, no chill time – just a small batch of chocolate chip cookies underbaked to soft, thick perfection. If I need a quick batch of cookies for friends coming over in an hour, these are the ones I’m making. They have less nuanced flavor than the browned butter cookies, and they’d be less likely to win a high-level baking contest, but depending on the moment, maybe that doesn’t matter. I made these recently and gave a few to our nanny and she texted me later that night to say they were the best cookies she’s ever had. Sometimes basic is best.
If I had to pick between the two… I wouldn’t!
I like them both at full 100% liking capacity, for different reasons. I like to have a cookie for each mood, know what I mean?
But since today is the day we’re sharing these browned butter beauties out into the world, today will be the day I say… make these ones.
The originals will still be there for you when you need them. Today is a day to go brown some butter and then experience the rush of sinking your teeth into that crispity edge with the underbaked, slightly thick, gooey, rich center. Treat. Your. Self.
Buttery, caramely, salty, and chocolatey all in one.
You’re in for a real moment here.
Watch How to Make This Recipe:
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”lQEYLJP4″ upload-date=”2020-11-01T16:14:02.000Z” name=”Favorite Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies” description=”Favorite Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies! Browned butter and brown sugar caramely goodness, crispy edges, barely thick and soft centers, and melty little puddles of chocolate chips.” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]I was first inspired to make this type of fancier chocolate chip cookie by the browned butter cookie recipe in Sarah Kieffer’s book 100 Cookies, which, by the way, is a super fun cookbook for people who love to bake! This was the tutorial I used for learning how to properly brown butter from America’s Test Kitchen, and I also read up quite extensively through the comments section of this Bon Appetit recipe for tips from people who love making cookies with brown butter!
Common Questions About These Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is because of the flour. It’s really important to get the right amount of flour here, which is why I’m going to recommend that you take the time to spoon your flour into your measuring cups and level them with a knife. That is not something I typically recommend because I don’t have the patience for it – but here, it really does matter! An over-floured cookie will be too thick and won’t get the crispy edge. Watch the video to see the consistency of the dough that we’re going for – I find that it’s easier to go by the feel than by exact measurements since there are so many variables that can affect how much flour you’ll need.
If you brown the butter for longer than 5 minutes, it’ll start to lose moisture which will affect your butter / flour ratios. I like to transfer my butter to a glass measuring cup after I brown it to make sure I still have very close to 1 cup of butter. If you have less, it’s fine, they’ll still turn out, you just want to scale back on the flour by 1-2 tablespoons if you lost a little of that moisture.
Yes! The browned butter will have flecks of brown in it – those are the browned milk solids and they hold all the yummy flavor, so be sure to really scrape your pan down so you get to use all of them!
This makes a very large batch of cookies! If you don’t need all of the cookies at once, here’s what I recommend: split the dough into thirds. One third of it should fit onto one large cookie sheet, so you can bake that immediately. Then store the other two thirds in their own containers and either refrigerate (up to 5 days) or freeze (up to three months) and you’ve got two more fresh batches sometime in the future! You can also freeze the rolled balls or the baked cookies, both with great results.
From a reader: Due to altitude, I typically add extra flour to get the correct thickness, so for this recipe, I anticipated needing to add about 3-4T extra flour. My browned butter measured about 2 tablespoons shy of 1 cup in liquid form, and I ended up needing to add almost 1/2 cup extra flour and refrigerated as instructed.
We tested these cookies many times to figure out what worked and didn’t work to get them turning out just right! (Oh, the sacrifice! Ha!) Leave us a comment and let us know if there’s a question we can answer!
These look incredible; given the news this weekend we may need to make a big batch and store some in the freezer for later in the month 🙂
Always a good idea to have a batch of these in the freezer! We hope you love them!
I want to try this recipe. If I want a thicker cookie, should I add more flour?
Yes, adding more flour will result in a thicker cookie. Enjoy!
Given that I already love your best soft chocolate chip cookie recipe I’m excited to try this one out! They sound so fancy and delicious 🙂
We hope you love them!
In the pictures that are early in the blog the cookies look like they have some flaked sea salt sprinkled on them, but I don’t see that in the recipe or instructions. Did some of the cookies have the flaked salt?
Yes, we sometimes like to add flaked sea salt on our cookies as a nice finishing touch!
What kind of chocolate chips do you use?
We typically use semisweet or dark chocolate chips, but milk chocolate chips would work well too!
I am teeing these up for election night tomorrow!
Great idea, Michele! We hope you love them!
I think this is like your tenth recipe for chocolate chip cookies !!
We just love them so much!
I have been a huge fan of your cookie recipe and made them so many times in this lockdown – know it by heart now!! Totally giving these a try 😀 Cant wait!
We hope you like these cookies!
I know not to mess with a classic but my husband is vegan and want to know if this would work with vegan butter and flax eggs /egg substitutes?
We haven’t tested these cookies with vegan substitutes, so we can’t say for sure. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear back!
Thanks for this!They sound delicious! But I love oatmeal choc chip, how can we add oatmeal to this?
We haven’t tested this recipe using oatmeal, so it’s hard to say. You could try reducing the flour and adding some oats to the batter, but we’re unsure on amounts. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear back!
I love a good chocolate chip cookie and anything with brown butter gets my attention. As a family of three and a little baby we NEVER get through treats fast enough, not do I want to and with this season of life I’m not good sharing so I’m liking the freezer idea!
Do you fridge thaw? Counter thaw? Some other nifty trick?
Will probably be baking these with my three year old as soon as the baby falls asleep!!
Auto correct got me!
*I’m not food sharing.
If you freeze the dough as little balls, you can bake the cookies directly from frozen! You may need to add a minute or two to the bake time.
Could these be made with a gluten-free flour such as Cup4Cup?
We haven’t tested this recipe using gluten free flour, but another commenter did and had great results. If you give a try, we’d love to hear back!
This looks so good! It looks in the photos like you sprinkle coarse sea salt on the cookies, but I don’t see in the recipe. Maybe I am totally missing it! Do you sprinkle with salt? And if so, when? Thanks!!
We like to sprinkle a little flaked sea salt on the cookies when they come out of the oven. Totally optional though!
Delicious! My usual go to cookies are your chocolate chip cookies so I figured I needed to try these and they are AMAZING! There is definitely something a little different about them that makes them stand out from other cookies. The perfect ratio for inner gooeyness and outer crunch!
YUM! I think what I’ve always done wrong is take the cookies out when they looked cooked. The key here is taking out at exactly 9 minutes and underdone and let them sit. The browned butter is a delicious touch too.
So glad you liked them! We are definitely advocates of slightly underbaked cookies!
Hello!
Can you please share the measurements in grams? It’s much more accurate and easy to get right than cups.
Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback. We don’t have the ingredient amounts converted to grams, but this link may help! https://www.kitchenproject.com/Metric.htm
I’m definitely a passionate brown butter advocate! How can you not like these?
I concluded through rigorous cookie testing (I ate a lot of cookies and definitely not complaining haha) that I preferred normal butter for the ultimate cookie. The brown butter makes flatter cookies. Not saying it’s worse, just more my preference.
Still, I’ll eat a brown butter cookie any day of the week and I’d definitely love to try these!
Stay safe out there!
Sincerely,
A Canuck Chef in the Netherlands,
Devan
We’ve done plenty of cookie testing as well, and aren’t mad about it! Hope you enjoy these cookies!
can you make these into cookie bars/ blondies? if so, how would you adjust the cookie time or recipe?
We haven’t tested a bar/blondie version, so we can’t say for sure. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear back!
These are abserlutly AMAZING!!!!!
I’ve just made them with gluten free flour…….and they are still gorgeous!!
Pls keep them coming especially as we’re going into another lockdown!
So glad it worked with gluten free flour! Thanks for letting us know!
How much gram of butter is it?
Correction: 2 sticks of butter equals 226 grams.
Sorry to butt in but the recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter which is 226 grams.
Thank you so much for catching that!
Loved baking these as my election day escape! Would be super useful if you had flour and sugar weights included – I think mine were still a little flour heavy. Otherwise, great as always!
Glad these cookies provided a little escape! Thanks for the feedback, Laura!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Just made them and these were one of the best cookies I have ever made!!
So happy to hear that, Fareha!
The recipe looks really great and tasty.
Thank you so much for sharing all the recipe details…
Hi Lindsay, As a faithful follower, sometimes I might miss a post from you. So curious about the birth of your child which I thought was due in Oct. Any update?
Hi! She postedon her personal Instagram right after maternity leave started. She had a little girl, Lena a few weeks back! 🙂
You are so right about having a specific cookie for a specific mood. I will be trying this recipe this weekend and I am sure it will be outstanding per usual. I made Date Night Rigatoni last night and it was *chefs kiss* exactly what we needed. Thank you!!
We hope you love them!
I made these last night and they are by far the best cookies I’ve ever made!!! I froze a bunch of cookie dough balls to bake later- how do you recommend adjusting the bake time from frozen? Thank you!!
So glad you liked the cookies! We’d suggest adding a minute or two to the original bake time for the frozen dough.
I’m a huge fan of every recipe on this site! Quick question: if I don’t have an electric mixer, is it ok to mix everything by hand? Will it still result in a delicious cookie?
Yes, you can mix by hand! Enjoy!
What brand of chocolate chips did you use here? They look different than the Nestle chips I usually buy.
Just made these lay night and they are great. Next time I would like a little more salt (either in the dough or as a finisher). I put several pre-rolled cookies in the freezer. How do you recommend cooking them? Can I cook from frozen at the same temp and duration, or do I need to adjust?
We’d suggest adding a minute or two to the bake time if baking from frozen!
OMG these are sooooo good! Definitely a go to chocolate chip recipe. the texture and flavor are so good.
So glad you like the cookies, Briana!
Excited to try these! Did you use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar? Thanks!
We use light brown sugar. We hope you like them!
I just got this batter made and noticed my dough is a lot lighter in colour than in your pictures and videos. Too late, I read your note to keep the brown flecks in the browned butter. Unfortunately, I got rid of them as I thought it would taste burnt if I kept them. Also, at the bottom of my glass measuring cup containing the cooked butter was about 1/4 cup of brown stuff which I assumed was burnt butter. Should I have included that as well? I have no experience baking with browned butter, so any advice you can give would be appreciated. And finally, when you “cool” the batter before adding the chocolate chips, is that in the fridge or on the counter? Thanks very much!
Make sure to use all the brown flecks/liquid in the dough because they hold all the yummy browned butter flavor! We typically cool the dough on the counter so it doesn’t firm up too much before adding the chocolate chips.
has anyone halved this recipe?
I did! And they still turned out wonderful 🙂
I made these last night & they’re crack-tastic! My ig page is private so i don’t think it will show on ig if I tagged you but I like a tihicker cookie so I used the 2 3/4 of flour . I also used 1 cup of chocolate chips & 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks because I had that much left in the house. I like the combo so I’ll use that going forward but thanks for this recipe. I used to buy these at whole foods but for the price they charge, I decided making it would be a hell of a lot cheaper lol
So glad you like the cookies, Vanessa!
These look so good!
And they look super easy too.
Just made these and they turned out delicious. I like a bit thicker cookie and live at high altitude, so I followed the high altitude instructions and added a bit more flour to the dough. I smashed my balls with a fork a bit to level them out, needed to bake slightly longer than called for (again, high altitude) and sprinkled with flaked sea salt. They are absolutely delicious. I will be making these again!
We absolutely love your blog
Okay I rave about all pinchofyum recipes, but this one deserves all the hype and the wait times are worth it!!! The texture and flavors are perfect.
I did have to cook them for 10-11 minutes, they were still really floppy at the end of the 9 min.
I hate to say it, but I just made these and the recipe did not work at all. I carefully followed all of the instructions with the multiple resting and cooling of the dough. They spread all over the cookie sheet. I bake often and I have definitely made chocolate chip cookies successfully many times. I was excited about the brown butter aspect here, but maybe that was what did not work?
I mean, we will still eat them, but I’m glad I wasn’t planning on serving them to guests.
So sorry to hear this. Perhaps the dough needed a bit more flour? We really appreciate the feedback!
New fave chocolate chip cookie recipe ? made it according to the recipe and used dark chocolate chips. These aren’t too sweet and not overbearing, which is my issue with most chocolate chip cookies haha!
So happy to hear it, Lia! Thanks for the comment!
These look like my ideal chocolate chip cookie texture, and with the brown butter? ?
Can’t go wrong when browned butter is involved!
Great!!
Do we let these rest on the cookie sheet or on a cooling rack?? I just made the dough and can barely stand the wait!! The smell of the butter browning?? Droooool!
We typically let them rest on the cookie sheet!
OH. MY. GOODNESS. Now let me tell you, I don’t leave comments on recipes often, but these cookies are AMAZING. I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this one is definitely one of my favorites if not my favorite.
I LOVE the brown butter taste, but what I love most is that crispy on the outside, chewy in the center texture. I don’t like when cookies are too soft or too hard and this cookie is truly perfectly in the middle. The texture also seems like it will keep so I can’t wait to try them tomorrow. Also, make sure you let the batch rest the full 30 minutes after mixing in the chocolate chips! I did one batch for 20 minutes and another for 30 and the 30 minute batch clearly had a more distinctive brown butter taste! Can’t wait to make these again! 🙂
So glad you loved the cookies, Sharon!
These are amazing!!! I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe and this is it. I increased the bake time a bit because I like my cookies a little less on the chewy side and they turned out delicious. New go-to recipe!
So glad to hear that!
This recipe is the real big deal! It’s perfect and I promise you I will try it?!
If you’d like to make these a Christmas-y treat replace half the chocolate chips with 7-8 broken up Ghirardelli dark chocolate peppermint bark bars. Santa will be very happy this year if I don’t eat all of them first.
Amazing! Thanks for the tip, Laura!
Very nice cookies. I like that you don’t have to refrigerate the dough over night. Next time I will push the butter further though. I want a more pronounced browned butter flavor.
Thanks for the recipe.
These were excellent chocolate chip cookies but I sadly can’t detect the browned butter taste over the chocolate chips (and I’m familiar with how to make browned butter).