These are the BEST Thick Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're an elevated, bakery worthy chocolate chip cookie, that is still so simple and easy to make. With the nutty flavor of the brown butter, rich melted chocolate, and soft chewy texture, these are guaranteed to be your go-to cookie.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Loves These Thick Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ingredient Notes
- Ingredients Substitutions-
- Step By Step Instructions: How To Brown Butter
- Step By Step: Making The Cookie Dough
- Step By Step: Baking and Cooling
- Can I use regular butter instead?
- Expert Baking Tips and Tricks
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Special Tools and Equipment
- Storing and Freezing Instructions
- A quick note about baking in grams...
- More Cookies You'll Love
- Thick Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm 100% sure you'll love these scrumptious brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
They're rich, decadent, and such an upgrade to regular chocolate chip cookies. The brown butter adds a delicious twist and the gooey melted chocolate is out of this world. However, my favorite part is how THICK and chewy these cookies are, and I'm sure you'll love it too!
You may also want to try these brown butter snickerdoodles, pumpkin s'more cookies, or these 15 minute chocolate chip cookies if you're in a rush!
Why You'll Loves These Thick Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- They're so rich, thick, and chewy
- The brown butter adds an elevated, nutty flavor
- These cookies are loaded with melty chocolate
- Bakery style cookies that are easy enough for the home baker
- Brown butter chocolate chip cookies are perfect for birthdays, holidays, or just because!
Ingredient Notes
*for the full list of ingredients and measurements, see recipe card below*
- Butter: I prefer to use salted butter in my cookie recipes, but unsalted will work as well.
- Sugars: You will need both brown sugar and granulated sugar. They both serve different functions, so I don't recommend substituting them
- Eggs: You'll need both 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. The extra egg yolk adds moisture and richness and helps make the cookies chewy.
- Vanilla: A little bit of vanilla extract adds a nice floral sweetness that rounds out the flavor.
- Flour: I used regular all purpose flour for this recipe and got the best results. However, see ingredient substitutions below for other flour options.
- Cream of tartar: Cream of tartar prevent the sugar from crystalizing in the cookies and helps keep them super chewy. It is optional, but I don't suggest leaving it out.
- Salt: A little bit of salt balances the sweetness of these brown butter chocolate chip cookies
- Chocolate: I think that the best is a good quality chocolate chip. However, you can chop up your favorite chocolate bar and fold it in if you prefer.
Ingredients Substitutions-
Butter: If you don't want to make brown butter, use 9 tablespoons of room temperature butter instead.
Flour: Substitute the flour with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour with xanthan gum if needed.
Cream of tartar: Omit entirely, or use ½ teaspoon of cornstarch.
Chocolate: Feel free to fold in whatever chocolate you like best! Dark, milk, white, or a mix of both. Any will work!
Step By Step Instructions: How To Brown Butter
STEP ONE: In a medium saucepan, add your butter and set over medium heat.
STEP TWO: Allow the butter to melt completely, then bring to a low boil. Swirl occasionally to prevent burning.
STEP THREE: Continue to allow the butter to simmer until it becomes foamy on top and you see small brown bits in the foam.
STEP FOUR: Remove from heat and let the brown butter come to room temperature before using.
Step By Step: Making The Cookie Dough
STEP ONE: In a large mixing bowl, stir together cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
STEP TWO: Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well.
STEP THREE: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and gently fold to combine.
STEP FOUR: Fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Step By Step: Baking and Cooling
STEP ONE: While the cookie dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP TWO: Once the cookie dough has chilled, use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough. Use your hands to shape the balls into a tall tower-like shape. (see photo)
STEP THREE: Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges look lightly golden brown. Carefully remove the tray from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Can I use regular butter instead?
If you want to use regular butter instead of brown butter, use 9 tablespoons of room temperature, SALTED butter.
I highly recommend using brown butter because of the unique, nutty flavor, but regular butter still tastes great!
Expert Baking Tips and Tricks
- Use room temperature ingredients: For best results, make the dough with all room temp ingredients. This helps them come together easier and forms a smoother dough.
- Measure ingredients properly: I know it can be annoying, but I list the ingredients in weight measurements for a reason. Measuring with a scale is the most accurate way to bake and also consistently gives you high quality baked goods.
- Chill the brown butter: Once the butter is browned, place it into the fridge to harden completely. If it's still melted, the cookies will spread too much.
- Chill the cookie dough: The cookies turn out with the best flavor and texture after the dough has been chilled. I recommend 20 minutes, but you can also make it a day ahead of time and chill overnight. Just let the dough sit out for 20 minutes before scooping.
- Don't over bake: You do not want to overbake these thick brown butter chocolate chip cookies or else they'll be dry. My favorite is to take them out when the top is still a bit shiny and let the residual heat from the pan finish the baking process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brown butter adds a rich, nutty, unique flavor to the cookies. It elevates regular cookies and makes them taste like gourmet bakery style cookies!
The brown butter needs to be fully cooled and solid before baking with it. If the butter is still melted or even just not fully solid, these chocolate chip cookies will spread too much.
If your cookies didn't spread enough, chances are you measured the flour wrong. I prefer to use grams for this exact reason, cup measurements can vary greatly.
Next time, I suggest using a scale instead or if you're using cups, scoop and shake the flour to level it off. Do NOT pack the flour into the cup.
This recipe calls for a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, because I like these brown butter chocolate chip cookies thick!
If you want to, you can use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and bake them for 7-8 minutes.
I like to use a mixture of chopped semi-sweet chocolate and chocolate chips. Ghirardelli is my favorite chocolate to use for both, but store brand chocolate tastes good as well!
Special Tools and Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer- helps make, making the cookie dough easier
- Parchment paper- so the cookies don't stick to the baking sheet
- Cookie scoop- that way all of your cookies are the same size and they bake evenly
- Fish spatula- the thin metal easily slides under baked cookies to remove them from the tray
Storing and Freezing Instructions
STORING:
Keep leftover brown butter chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can keep them in the fridge for up to 1 week, but the fridge tends to dry them out quicker, so I don't recommend it.
FREEZING:
Wrap cookies individually in a layer of plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil. Place all wrapped cookies into a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Thaw to room temperature and enjoy when desired!
A quick note about baking in grams...
You may notice that my recipes are listed in grams instead of cups. That's because it's really the most accurate way to measure and bake exceptional treats every time with little room for error.
While the recipe card does have an option for you to switch from Metric measurements to US measurements, I personally have not tested the switch. I recommend purchasing a $10 scale from Amazon and simplifying your life!
More Cookies You'll Love
Did you make these THICK brown butter chocolate chip cookies? If so, I would appreciate you leaving a comment and star rating down below.
You can also follow me on Instagram (@coleinthekitchen), Pinterest, Facebook, or sign up for emails so you never miss a new recipe.
Happy Baking!
PrintThick Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are the BEST Thick Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They're an elevated, bakery worthy chocolate chip cookie, that is still so simple and easy to make. With the nutty flavor of the brown butter, rich melted chocolate, and soft chewy texture, these are guaranteed to be your go-to cookie.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 8 minutes
- Yield: 12 Servings 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons salted butter
- 158g light brown sugar
- 65g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg- room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk- room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 210g all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 210g semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
BROWNING THE BUTTER
- In a medium saucepan, add the butter and set the pot over medium heat.
- Allow the butter to melt completely, then bring to a low boil. Swirl occasionally to prevent burning.
- Continue to allow the butter to simmer until it becomes foamy on top and you start to see small brown flecks in the foam.
- Swirl to prevent burning, and allow the butter to reach a light brown color. (not too dark or you'll burn it.)
- Remove the brown butter from the heat and allow it to cool for 30 minutes before using.
COOKIE DOUGH
- In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir together the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix well.
- Next, add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Again, mix until well combined.
- Finally, to the wet ingredients, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to gently combine all ingredients until no traces of flour remain.
- Lastly, use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
BAKING:
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the chilled cookie dough into balls, then use your hand to gently form the cookie dough into tower-like shapes. (see photo in post)
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges start to look lightly golden brown.
- Carefully remove the thick brown butter chocolate chip cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients: For best results, make the dough with all room temp ingredients. This helps them come together easier and forms a smoother dough.
- Measure ingredients properly: I know it can be annoying, but I list the ingredients in weight measurements for a reason. Measuring with a scale is the most accurate way to bake and also consistently gives you high quality baked goods.
- Chill the brown butter: Once the butter is browned, place it into the fridge to harden completely. If it's still melted, the cookies will spread too much.
- Chill the cookie dough: The cookies turn out with the best flavor and texture after the dough has been chilled. I recommend 20 minutes, but you can also make it a day ahead of time and chill overnight. Just let the dough sit out for 20 minutes before scooping.
- Don't over bake: You do not want to overbake these thick brown butter chocolate chip cookies or else they'll be dry. My favorite is to take them out when the top is still a bit shiny and let the residual heat from the pan finish the baking process.
- Storing: Keep leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
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