Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite with, well, just about everyone, and you might think that there's no improving on the original Toll House recipe. Maybe so, maybe no, but it's always fun to experiment now and then, and recipe developer Jennine Bryant insists that the use of brown butter in these cookies "adds so much more depth of flavor to the cookie dough." She goes on to describe the cookies as having a "caramelized, nutty flavor," something she says makes them "really stand out and gives them that real, fresh bakery-bought flavor."

Bryant also points out that this recipe calls for an ingredient she says isn't standard for most chocolate chip cookies. The cornstarch, she tells us, "thickens and softens the cookies," resulting in something that is "crunchy on the outside [and] chewy and soft on the inside."

Consider us sold! Read on to find out how to make these oh-so-tempting sweet treats.

Collect the ingredients for these chocolate chip cookies

To make the brown butter, you will, of course, need butter. While Bryant likes to bake with unsalted butter, you can use the salted kind if that's what you have; simply reduce the amount of additional salt in the recipe by ¼ teaspoon.

The other ingredients you'll need to make these cookies include brown sugar, white sugar, an egg, vanilla extract, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips or chunks. As you can see in the photo, Bryant made her cookies with the latter, but assures us that chocolate chips work just as well here.

Brown the butter

Melt the butter over a low heat, then keep cooking it for another 4 to 5 minutes after it melts. The trick with brown butter is turning off the heat pretty quickly once it's brown, but before it starts to burn. As Bryant notes, "when the butter starts to foam up, the browning happens quite quickly, so you need to continually monitor it." One way you can tell if your brown butter is done is when it stops making a sizzling noise. Browned butter should also smell a bit like roasted nuts.

Make the cookie batter

Before you can proceed with the batter, you need to allow the brown butter to cool down a bit. After 15 or so minutes, stir in both sugars, then add the egg and the vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, then fold them into the egg mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips, then put the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Bake the cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough, then arrange them on a baking sheet (or, more likely, several baking sheets) 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies (in batches if necessary) for 12 minutes, or until the edges turn golden. Once the cookies come out of the oven, keep them on the pan for 5 minutes before you move them to a wire rack. Once they've cooled down completely, they are ready to eat. If you prefer them warm from the oven, that's okay, too, but at least wait until the chocolate is cool enough so that it won't burn your mouth.

Bryant suggests that the cookies are at their freshest if consumed within 3 days, but you can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator if you don't think you can finish them quite so quickly. You can also freeze them to eat at a much later date. Future you will be very appreciative.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
5 from 42 ratings
The secret to crispy-chewy cookies with a rich, complex flavor? Browning your butter and adding cornstarch.
Prep Time
20
minutes
Cook Time
17
minutes
Servings
20
Cookies
stack of chocolate chip cookies
Total time: 37 minutes
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
Directions
  1. Melt the butter over a low heat, then continue heating it for 4 to 5 more minutes until it turns brown and foamy and starts to smell of nuts.
  2. Set browned butter aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.
  3. Once the brown butter is cool, add it to a mixing bowl with both types of sugar.
  4. Mix in the egg and vanilla.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.
  6. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined.
  7. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  8. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 2 hours.
  9. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  10. Scoop out tablespoon-sized portions of cookie dough and roll them into balls.
  11. Arrange the dough balls on the pan with at least 2 inches of space between them.
  12. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden.
  13. Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Calories per Serving 219
Total Fat 11.1 g
Saturated Fat 6.8 g
Trans Fat 0.3 g
Cholesterol 27.6 mg
Total Carbohydrates 29.9 g
Dietary Fiber 1.1 g
Total Sugars 20.2 g
Sodium 84.9 mg
Protein 2.0 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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