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Chocolate Chip Cookies · Brown Butter

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Browning the butter first gives these a toasty, toffee-like flavor that pairs beautifully with chopped dark chocolate and a pinch of flaky salt. A short chill keeps them thick.

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Prep
25 min
Cook
12 min
Total
1 hr 25 min
Serves
20 · about 20 cookies
Level
Medium

Ingredients

Brown butter

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks

Dough

  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 8 oz dark or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • flaky sea salt, for the tops (optional)

Steps

  1. Cut the butter into pieces and melt it in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Keep swirling the pan as it foams and crackles.
  2. When the crackling quiets down and the specks on the bottom turn toasty brown and smell nutty, pour it right away into a large heatproof bowl, scraping in all the brown bits.
  3. Let the butter cool until it is warm but not hot, so it won't cook the eggs.
  4. Whisk both sugars into the butter for about 30 seconds, then whisk in the egg, yolk and vanilla until the mixture looks glossy and smooth.
  5. Add the flour, baking soda and kosher salt and stir with a spatula until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
  6. Cover and chill the dough so it firms up and the cookies don't spread too thin. You can chill it up to 2 days.
  7. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two sheet pans with parchment. Scoop 3-tablespoon balls, leaving 3 inches between them.
  8. Bake one pan at a time in the center of the oven until the edges are golden and set and the middles look puffy and slightly underdone.
  9. Sprinkle with a little flaky salt while hot, cool on the pan 5 minutes, then move to a rack.

Tip: Brown butter can go from perfect to burnt in under a minute. As soon as it smells like toasted nuts, get it out of the pan.

Tip: If the dough was chilled overnight, let the scooped balls sit 10 minutes before baking so they spread a little.

Storage: Airtight at room temperature up to 3 days.

Make ahead: The dough keeps 2 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen as scooped balls (bake from frozen, adding 2 minutes).

Estimated nutrition per serving: 250 calories · protein 2 g · carbohydrates 30 g · fiber 1 g · sugars 19 g · fat 13 g (saturated 8 g) · sodium 160 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 10 of 10 ingredients.