Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Browning the butter is the one step in this recipe that changes everything. It takes about four minutes, and it is the difference between a chocolate chip cookie that tastes like sugar and butter, and one that tastes like something you would pay good money for at a bakery.

Crispy edges, chewy centre, pools of melted dark chocolate in every bite, and a nutty, caramelised depth running underneath all of it from the browned butter. This is the chocolate chip cookie recipe I turn to every time.

Why browning the butter matters

Browning butter means cooking it past melted, until the milk solids toast and turn golden brown and the whole thing smells nutty rather than just buttery. It takes about four minutes on the stove, no special equipment needed.

• It adds flavour compounds plain butter does not have. The toasting process creates dozens of new flavour notes, caramel, toffee, nutty, that melted butter simply cannot produce.
• It removes water from the butter. Less water in the dough means a chewier, denser cookie rather than a cakey one.
• It works with the rest of the recipe, not against it. More brown sugar than white keeps the centre chewy, chilling the dough controls the spread, and sea salt on top cuts the sweetness. But the browned butter is the step that makes people ask what you did differently.

Ingredients you will need

• 185g unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped
• Sea salt flakes to finish

This recipe makes about 20 cookies depending on how large you scoop them. Roughly chop a block of good dark chocolate rather than using pre-made chips, it melts into irregular pools rather than staying in tidy little circles.

How to make these cookies step by step

1. Brown the butter first. Melt the butter in a light-coloured saucepan over medium heat, stirring regularly. It will foam, then the foam will subside, and small golden brown bits will appear on the base of the pan. The moment it smells nutty and looks golden, pour it immediately into a large mixing bowl. Do not let it go further or it will burn.
2. Add both sugars to the warm brown butter and whisk vigorously for about 2 minutes until the mixture looks thick, smooth and slightly lighter in colour.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and whisk again. The mixture should look glossy and smooth.
4. Sift the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt over the wet ingredients. Fold together with a spatula until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
5. Fold the chopped dark chocolate through the dough until evenly distributed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Overnight is even better.
6. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan-forced. Line two large baking trays with baking paper.
7. Scoop heaped tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared trays, spacing them about 5cm apart. Press a few extra chocolate pieces onto the top of each ball if you want them to look particularly good. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are set and golden but the centres still look slightly underdone and soft. They will firm up as they cool. Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Recipe by Ella McKenzieCourse: Sweets, BakingCuisine: AustralianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

The best chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe with brown butter, dark chocolate chunks and sea salt. Crispy edges, soft chewy centre and a depth of flavour that makes these genuinely hard to stop eating.

Ingredients

• 185 g unsalted butter

• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups plain flour

• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 200 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), roughly chopped

• Sea salt flakes to finish

Directions

• Brown the butter in a light-coloured saucepan over medium heat until golden and nutty. Pour immediately into a large mixing bowl.
• Add both sugars to the warm brown butter and whisk for 2 minutes until thick and slightly lighter.
• Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Add vanilla and whisk until glossy.
• Sift flour, bicarb and salt over the wet ingredients. Fold until just combined.
• Fold through chopped chocolate. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius fan-forced. Line two trays with baking paper.
• Scoop heaped tablespoon balls onto trays 5cm apart. Press extra chocolate on top. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes until edges are golden and centres still look slightly soft. Cool on tray 5 minutes before transferring.

Notes

• Brown the butter: This single step adds more flavour to your chocolate chip cookie recipe than any other change you can make. Do not skip it.
• Chop your own chocolate: A roughly chopped block of dark chocolate creates better pools of melted chocolate than uniform chips. Worth the extra two minutes.
• Chill the dough: Minimum 1 hour, overnight if possible. Chilled dough spreads less and produces a thicker, chewier chocolate chip cookie.
• Sea salt on top: A small pinch of flaky sea salt on each cookie before baking is not optional. It makes everything taste better.

If you skip the browned butter

The recipe still works with plain melted butter if you are short on time, and plenty of good cookies are made that way. What you lose is that toasted, caramel-adjacent depth, the cookies will taste sweeter and simpler rather than complex. If you are only going to change one thing about a standard cookie recipe, this is the one worth the extra four minutes.

Chocolate chip cookie troubleshooting

Cookies spread too flat

• Dough not chilled. Warm dough spreads before it sets. Always refrigerate for at least an hour before baking. If the dough was already chilled and they are still spreading, the oven may need to be hotter.
• Too much butter relative to flour. Make sure you measure both accurately. A tablespoon too much butter makes a significant difference to spread in this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Cookies are cakey not chewy

• Too much flour or an extra egg. Measure flour by spooning into the cup and levelling off rather than scooping directly from the bag, which packs more flour in and throws off the ratio.
• Overbaked. Pull them out when the centre still looks soft. A completely set, firm chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven will be dry and hard once fully cooled.

Variations to try

The base recipe is strong on its own but these variations are worth trying once you have it dialled in.

Double chocolate

Add three tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa powder to the flour before sifting. The result is a deeply chocolatey cookie with chunks of dark chocolate throughout.

Peanut butter chocolate chip

Reduce the butter to 125g and add half a cup of natural peanut butter to the dough along with the sugars. The peanut butter adds richness and a subtle nuttiness that pairs beautifully with dark chocolate.

White chocolate and macadamia

Swap the dark chocolate for roughly chopped white chocolate and add half a cup of roughly chopped roasted macadamia nuts. A classic Australian combination.

Make ahead and storage

Dough in the fridge

The dough keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking. Make the dough on Thursday and bake fresh cookies over the weekend as needed. The longer it chills, the more the flavour develops.

Frozen dough balls

Scoop the dough into balls, freeze on a tray until solid, then transfer to a zip-lock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 180 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes.

Baked cookies

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Add a slice of white bread to the container to keep them soft, the bread goes stale as the cookies stay chewy.

Frequently asked questions

Once you make these cookies you will understand why people get so particular about the browned butter step. The difference between a good chocolate chip cookie and a great one is real, and it comes down to one small decision that is completely within reach.

Happy cooking from my Newcastle kitchen.

Ella x