Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Classic chocolate chip cookies, made just a little better with nutty brown butter, plenty of chocolate, and crisp golden edges with soft, chewy centers.

Recipe 41 of The 100 Recipe Project

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There are some recipes that don't need reinventing. Chocolate chip cookies are one of them.

But browning the butter first might be the one extra step that's actually worth it.

It takes just a few minutes and transforms an otherwise very simple chocolate chip cookie into something deeper, toastier, and almost caramel-like.

You still get everything you want from the classic gooey chocolate, chewy centers, crisp golden edges, but with a little more flavor.

These are the kind of cookies I want to make on a Saturday afternoon when the kids are around, or tuck into lunchboxes during the first few weeks of school.

Nothing fancy. Just a really, really good chocolate chip cookie.

Why You'll Love These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Simple ingredients. Everything is probably already in your pantry.

• No mixer required. The melted brown butter makes these easy to stir together by hand.

• Crisp edges + chewy centers. My ideal chocolate chip cookie situation.

• The brown butter actually makes a difference. It gives the cookies a warm, nutty, almost toffee-like flavor without making the recipe complicated.

• Kid-friendly, grown-up good. Familiar enough for kids, but good enough that you're absolutely hiding a few for yourself.

A Few Ingredient Notes

Butter: This is the star. Use unsalted butter so you can control the salt in the finished cookies.

Brown sugar: Brown sugar gives these cookies their chewy texture and works beautifully with the toasted flavor of the butter.

Egg + egg yolk: The extra yolk adds richness and chew without making the cookies cakey.

Chocolate: Semisweet chocolate chips make these wonderfully classic. For a slightly more bakery-style look, use chopped chocolate or a combination of chunks and chips.

Flaky salt: Totally optional, but I love the little hit of salt against the brown butter and chocolate.

MY FRANKLIN KITCHEN

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Classic chocolate chip cookies, made just a little better with nutty brown butter, plenty of chocolate, and crisp golden edges with soft, chewy centers.

Makes: about 18–20 cookies  ·  Prep: 20 minutes + optional chilling  ·  Bake: 10–12 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

• 1 cup packed light brown sugar

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

• 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

• Flaky sea salt, optional

Instructions

1. Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring or swirling frequently, until it foams and the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and smell nutty, about 5–7 minutes. Immediately pour into a large mixing bowl, including all those browned bits.

2. Cool slightly. Let the brown butter sit for about 10–15 minutes. It can still be warm, but shouldn't be piping hot.

3. Make the dough. Whisk the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the butter. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until almost combined, then fold in the chocolate.

5. Chill if you can. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes. You could technically skip this if you're impatient, but I think 30 minutes is worth it for thicker, chewier cookies.

6. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Scoop the dough into roughly 2-tablespoon portions and arrange a few inches apart. Press a few extra chocolate chips or chunks into the tops if you'd like.

8. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone.

9. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.

Franklin Kitchen Tips

Don't leave the stove while you're browning the butter. It can go from perfectly toasted and nutty to burned surprisingly quickly. As soon as you see amber-brown flecks on the bottom of the pan and smell that almost caramel-like aroma, pour it into your mixing bowl.

Freeze scooped cookie dough balls on a sheet pan, then transfer them to a freezer bag. Bake straight from frozen whenever you want just a few warm cookies; simply add a minute or two to the baking time.

How to Brown Butter

Browning butter sounds fancy, but it only takes a few extra minutes. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, then continue cooking as it foams and bubbles. Stir or swirl the pan frequently.

Once the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty and toasted, immediately pour it into a bowl, including all those flavorful brown bits.

From the Franklin Kitchen

A batch of homemade cookies is one of my favorite little ways to make the kitchen feel ready for the week ahead.

Once they’re cool, I tuck a few into an airtight container for after-

school snacks and freeze the rest for lunchboxes, unexpected friends, or afternoons when something warm from the oven sounds particularly good.

More from the kitchen:

• Soft & Chewy Monster Cookies — colorful, chewy, and always a hit with kids.

• Homemade Granola Bars — an easy make-ahead snack for busy weeks.

• The Franklin Kitchen Reset — my simple routine for stocking the fridge, resetting the pantry, and making the week ahead feel a little easier.

From,

Alexis at My Franklin Kitchen — Recipe #42 of The 100 Recipe Project

Simple, seasonal recipes for real family life.