The holidays are here and these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are always very my first go-to for the season (or almost anytime I think of baking cookies). Everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie, but add a little brown butter and sea salt to the mix and you get next level deliciousness.
These cookies are incredibly tasty and hit the spot every time. They’re crisp on the outside, nice and soft on the inside, with the perfect amount of chewiness. The dough also freezes VERY well, so I usually have at least one batch of these cookies sitting in the freezer, ready to hit the oven when needed.
How to Make Our Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Process
- Melt 1 stick butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and continue to cook until butter begins to smell nutty and lightly brown. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Place remaining stick of butter and cooled browned butter in a bowl and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
- Add both sugars and continue to beat together until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl, add molasses and vanilla and continue to mix together.
- Stir in egg and egg yolk.
- In another bowl whisk dry ingredients together.
- Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
- Beat together until a dough comes together.
- Mix in chopped chocolate chips until fully combined.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Scoop 3 ½ tablespoon sized balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 1 ½ inches apart and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or serve warm.
Tools You Will Need
- knife
- cutting board
- dry measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- electric mixer or stand mixer
- cookie scoop
- silicone spatula
- baking sheet
- cooling rack
What Makes this the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?
- brown butter – The concentrated nutty, buttery flavor is incredible in these cookies and once you try it, you will never want to make chocolate chip cookies without it again!
- sea salt flakes – The sea salt flakes sprinkled on top of each cookie adds such a nice savory balance to the sweet cookies.
- molasses – It adds color, flavor, moisture, and the chewy texture to the cookies and should really be required in every single chocolate chip cookie recipe!
- chopped chocolate – chopping your own chocolate for cookies is really the way to go. Instead of uniform chips of chocolate dotted through each cookie (which are a little boring!), you get a mixture of small and big puddles of chocolate weaved through each cookie.
Nuts or No Nuts in Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies?
We’re definitely team “no nuts” over here when it comes to any chocolate chip cookies, but especially these born butter chocolate chip cookies. The brown butter gives the cookies its own nutty flavor without the added chunks of nuts.
We totally get that this is subjective and based on personal preference, so if you’re a “yes nuts” in chocolate chip cookies type of person by all means go for it! We recommend adding 3/4 cup chopped nuts of choice (walnuts and pecans are some of the most popular options) if you are going to add them.
Tips and Tricks for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Success
- Keep a close eye on the stove when browning your butter. You really want the butter fill the room with a nutty aroma and for the milk solids to become a deep brown color, but you definitely don’t want to burn the brown butter. overly browned butter works in some cases, but it will leave a slight bitter flavor in these cookies.
- Do NOT over-bake the cookies! If the cookies are over-baked they will lose there wonderfully chewy texture, which is a huge part of these cookies. They will get very crispy, especially once completely cooled.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Make Ahead
The cookies can be made 5 to 7 days ahead of time, stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place until ready to enjoy.
Freezing
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
The cookie dough can be made and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. To freeze cookie dough, scoop chocolate chip cookie dough balls and place onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spaced about 1/4 inch apart. Top each cookie with sea salt and gently press to adhere. Place cookie sheet in freezer until cookie dough balls are frozen. Once frozen, transfer cookie dough balls to a resealable freezer bag and tightly seal until ready to use.
When ready to bake, transfer cookie dough balls to a parchment lined cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart and bake for 15 to 16 minutes.
Baked Cookies
To freeze baked cookies, cool completely then transfer to a resealable freezer bag and tightly seal. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Cookies can be enjoyed straight from the freezer or thawed at room temperature for about 10 minutes. To warm cookies preheat oven to 300˚F, place cookies onto a cookie sheet and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, just until warmed. Alternatively cookies can be warmed in the microwave, for 30 seconds to 1 minutes until just warmed through.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes You Will Love
- Chai Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cookies
- Poppy Seed and Lemon Cookies
- Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Pain D’Amande (Almond Thin Cookies)
- Meyer Lemon Meltaways
Check out of Best Christmas Cookies recipe roundup!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate can use milk chocolate, if you prefer
- 2 tablespoons sea salt flakes, divided
INSTRUCTIONS
- Melt 1 stick butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and continue to cook until butter begins to smell nutty and lightly brown. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Place remaining stick of butter and cooled browned butter in a bowl and using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
- Add both sugars and continue to beat together until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl, add molasses and vanilla and continue to mix together.
- Stir in egg and egg yolk.
- In another bowl whisk dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture.
- Beat together until a dough comes together.
- Fold in chopped chocolate chips until fully combined.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Scoop 3 ½ tablespoon sized balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, about 1 ½ inches apart and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or serve warm.
NOTES
Tips and Tricks for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Success
- Keep a close eye on the stove when browning your butter. You really want the butter fill the room with a nutty aroma and for the milk solids to become a deep brown color, but you definitely don’t want to burn the brown butter. overly browned butter works in some cases, but it will leave a slight bitter flavor in these cookies.
- Do NOT over-bake the cookies! If the cookies are over-baked they will lose there wonderfully chewy texture, which is a huge part of these cookies. They will get very crispy, especially once completely cooled.
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These are amazing! I will never make regular chocolate chip cookies again. Thank you for creating this magical recipe.
What if you browned both sticks of butter?
You can definitely do that! The nutty brown butter flavor will be pretty dominant though
Can you please tell me what kind of molasses I should use? My local supermarket only carries unsulphured blackstrap molasses, is that the right kind? Thank you!
The unsulphured blackstrap molasses is perfect!
Oh goodness. I have 3 “go to” CCC recipes for every occasion and this has become my newest favorite. These are AMAZING. My daughters have devoured them so fast I was only able to freeze a few. These are perfection.
Yay! This makes me SO happy!!
The texture and taste of the cookies were amazing but my cookies spread flat, even after 24 hours in the fridge. Not sure what went wrong.
Hi Fatma! Did you allow the browned butter to cool completely so it solidified (like our photo shows)? If the brown butter was still in liquid form when making the dough, it will cause the cookies to spread more
I haven’t made these yet, but I will.
This is an unusual cookie recipe. As far as the sea salt flakes how much do you sprinkle on each cookie? Had to order that on Amazon couldn’t find it at the grocery.
Hi! You really just want to add a small pinch to the top top of each cookie…maybe about 1/16 tsp.
I discovered your site and read through the Christmas cookie recipes and decided to try these for a cookie exchange with my daughters this year. This is a special chocolate chip cookie! The extra time and effort is worth it! It got about 24 cookies which was just right for the three of us to split. Definitely will make a again and keep dough on hand in freezer. Thank you for sharing!
These are PERFECT. Will definitely be making them again.
Excellent cookies!
Made these today for the family and doubled the recipe to give away for Christmas. Thanks for the PERFECT recipe.
So happy to hear you love this recipe!!
Question.. it says to scoop 3 1/2 tablespoons for 1 cookie. That’s very large. Is that right or a typo
Hi Debra! This is not a typo. The cookies spread, but just about double in diameter.The scoop is a #24 scoop, which is about 3 to 3 1/2 tablespoons
These are THE COOKIE. They turn out perfect each time and I get so many compliments! I bring these cookies to welcome all my new neighbors. Do you roll the balls up before you fridge them because I have a hard time scooping out dough but im also using a spoon lol!
So happy to hear you love these! I usually scoop them after they are out of the fridge, but i use a small ice cream scooper. You can totally roll them into balls before you put them in the fridge too!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made, and probably top 3 I’ve ever eaten – the extra steps to brown the butter and chill the dough are so worth it. Thanks for the phenomenal recipe!!
Thanks Chelsea!!!!! So glad you love them!
Just made this last night. The cookies were a big hit with the family. Thank you for sharing!
Tanya from Los Altos Hills, CA
oh so great to hear that!
Chocolate and brown butter? Two of my favourite things. Need to try these!