These brown butter chocolate chip cookies take a familiar favorite and elevate it with rich, nutty brown butter. Browning the butter adds deep caramel-like notes that pair perfectly with melty chocolate chips and soft, chewy centers. Note that this recipe requires 2 chill times, but I promise these cookies are worth the wait!
I originally shared this recipe in 2014, and I’ve updated it with new photos, clearer instructions, and more success tips. One minor but helpful change: shape the cookie dough balls before chilling instead of after, which makes the process easier and helps the cookies bake up evenly.
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies take my fan-favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies and elevate them with rich, nutty depth. Browning the butter transforms the flavor like magic, adding subtle caramel-like, toffee notes that pair perfectly with melty chocolate chips. The result? Thick, chewy cookies with soft centers, golden edges, and irresistible depth in every bite.
One reader, Mackenzie, commented: “These cookies are amazing! Well worth the effort to brown the butter, and they’ve become my go-to cookie recipe. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Amie, commented: “I’ve been looking for that ooey-gooey delicious bakery recipe for years—FOUND IT! If you want a warm, soft chocolatey cookie that has that professional bakery flavor—this is it. This is now my ONLY chocolate chip recipe!!!! ★★★★★”
Why These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Work
These aren’t just regular chocolate chip cookies with browned butter swapped in. The entire dough is built to support it. Here’s what makes them stand out:
- Cornstarch: Adding cornstarch helps make the texture extra soft and tender. Use it in my shortbread cookies and brown butter marshmallow crispy cookies, too.
- Milk: Browning butter reduces moisture, so adding a splash of milk brings that balance back without weighing down the dough.
- Sugars: Use more brown sugar than white for a chewier, softer cookie.
- Egg + Egg Yolk: An extra egg yolk equals a richer-tasting cookie.
- Quality Chocolate Chips: I love using Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and Callebaut chocolate morsels, or a mix of both. The latter is definitely a splurge, but the flavor and melt are incredible if you’re feeling fancy.
- Flaky Sea Salt: An optional topping, this adds the most incredible salty-sweet flavor combo that works wonders with the toffee-like notes of brown butter!
What Is Brown Butter?
Browning butter simply means melting it and continuing to cook it until the milk solids toast. As it cooks, moisture evaporates, the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn golden brown, and the butter develops a deep amber color. This small extra step completely transforms the flavor, creating a beautifully complex, nutty richness with subtle caramel-like notes that regular melted butter just doesn’t have. It’s a simple technique with a big payoff. If you’d like a detailed walkthrough, I wrote an entire tutorial on how to brown butter.
Try it in recipes like brown butter apple blondies, brown butter pound cake, brown butter cream cheese frosting, and brown butter pecan pie bars.
How to Brown Butter
The first step in this recipe is, you guessed it, browning the butter.
Cut the butter into uniform pieces and place it in a light-colored pan over medium heat (this helps you monitor the color). Stir as it melts, then continue cooking. The butter will foam as the water evaporates and the milk solids toast on the bottom of the pan.
Watch and listen closely as you stir. The butter will turn deep golden amber in color, smell a little nutty, and the sizzling will quiet down. Immediately remove from heat and pour into a heatproof bowl. Don’t leave behind any of the browned bits… they’re packed with flavor!
Brown Butter & Moisture Loss
Browning butter can turn a good cookie into a great one, but you can’t simply swap it into any recipe without adjustments.
Why? Moisture loss. During browning, butter loses about 20–35% of its water content. That’s a significant amount, and if you don’t account for it, your cookie dough may be crumbly and/or the cookies may spread too much. Adding extra butter won’t fix the issue either—you’d just be increasing the fat.
The solution is simple: add a little liquid to the dough. Browning butter delivers unbeatable flavor, but the dough needs moisture added back intentionally. In my brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies, the moisture-rich pumpkin does the job.
In this recipe, 2 Tablespoons of milk restores that balance without weighing the cookies down.
The Butter and Dough Need to Chill
This recipe requires a little planning ahead—there are two chill times, and both matter.
Chill the browned butter: After browning, pour it into a bowl or shallow dish and refrigerate until solid, about 90 minutes. Once firm, cream it with the sugars just as you would softened butter.
This is solidified browned butter:
Here is the creamed browned butter and sugars:
Chill the dough balls: Scoop the dough into 45g (about 2 Tablespoons) portions, roll/shape, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before baking.
Chilling prevents the cookies from spreading into greasy puddles and intensifies the flavor as the brown butter settles into the dough. The result? Thick cookies with soft, buttery centers and lightly crisp edges—well worth the wait!!
Once you’ve browned your butter and chilled both it and your dough, these cookies bake into beautifully thick rounds with soft, buttery interiors and edges that crisp ever so slightly. Over the years, we’ve found that baking these at 375°F (191°C), slightly warmer than usual, helps set the shape quickly so the cookies stay thicker.
Make-Ahead Tip: This is an excellent freezer-friendly dough. Freeze the shaped cookie dough balls and bake straight from frozen (add 1 extra minute). Fresh brown butter chocolate chip cookies whenever the craving hits? Yes, please! 🙂 See how to freeze cookie dough.
Looking For The Right Chocolate Chip Cookie?
- Want a classic, no-brown-butter version? Try my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Looking for extra buttery brown butter and toffee flavors? Try my Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- In the mood for oatmeal cookies? Try my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Want pure brown butter flavor in a thick, chewy cookie? You’re in the right place.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 13 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes chilling)
- Yield: 26-28 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are thick, soft, and chewy with deep caramel-like flavor from toasted butter. The dough includes an extra egg yolk for richness and a touch of milk to replace lost moisture. Plan ahead for two chill times—your patience is rewarded with bakery-style cookies every time.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (do not scoop; weigh or spoon & level)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk, warmed or at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (270g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- optional: flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Slice the butter into pieces and place in a light-colored skillet. The light colored helps you determine when the butter begins browning. Melt the butter over medium heat and stir or whisk constantly. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam. Keep stirring/whisking. After 5–7 minutes, the butter will begin browning and you’ll notice lightly browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan, which are the milk solids toasting. Cook until it is golden in color. Once browned, remove from heat immediately and pour into a heatproof bowl, including all of the browned bits (flavor!). Let cool for 10 minutes, then place in the refrigerator and chill until solid, about 90 minutes. After about 30 minutes, tightly cover the bowl.
- Remove the solidified brown butter from the refrigerator and spoon it into a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer). Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat on high speed for 1–2 minutes until smooth and creamy. It may look slightly grainy at first—keep beating and it will come together. If the butter is too firm to cream, let it sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes. You can also microwave it for 5–8 seconds to slightly soften it, but do not melt it; it should remain solid, just softened enough to beat smoothly.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until lightened in color and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. With the mixer running on low, drizzle in the milk and mix until incorporated. The cookie dough will be thick and soft. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed.
- Scoop and roll the dough into balls, about 2 Tablespoons or 45g each. Shape them taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Place the dough balls on a lined baking sheet or plate, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. Arrange 8 dough balls per baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Sprinkle sea salt, if using, on top of the dough balls.
- Bake for 12–14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown. The centers will look soft when you remove them from the oven. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. During this time, you can press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops (just for looks!). The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool. After 5 minutes, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Light-Colored Skillet or Stainless Steel Skillet | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack | Flaky Sea Salt
- Why Do I Solidify the Browned Butter? Solidifying the browned butter allows you to cream it with the sugars, which creates structure and gives the cookies a thicker texture. Using melted brown butter will produce a thinner, denser, and possibly greasy cookie.
- Extra Egg Yolk: The extra yolk adds richness and chewiness without making the cookies cakey; do not skip.
- Why Add Cornstarch? Cornstarch helps create a softer, thicker cookie by tenderizing the crumb. If needed, you can leave it out.
- Milk: Browning butter reduces moisture, so adding a splash of milk brings that balance back without weighing down the dough. I recommend reduced-fat milk, though whole milk and nondairy milks work in a pinch.
- Oven Temperature Update: Over the years, we’ve found that baking these at 375°F (191°C), slightly warmer than usual, helps set the shape quickly so the cookies stay thicker.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking success tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This has become the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever use. After the first try, my family and I were hooked! Nothing beats the flavor of brown butter and these cookies are always picture perfect, as well!
This recipe is beyond delicious! Why can’t I rate it more than five stars? So unfair. I will never make another chocolate chip cookie recipe again and this will be passed down for generations I’m sure! My family likes their chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips, with or without, this recipe is amazing!
Will this cookie mail well?
Hi Debbie, these should ship just fine! See our post on how best to ship cookies for packing advice.
My favorite CCC ever!
I’ve been looking for that Ooey-gooey delicious bakery recipe for years – FOUND IT! If you want a warm, soft chocolatey cookie that has that professional bakery flavor – this is it. This is now my ONLY chocolate chip recipe!!!!
I have brown butter that I’ve made a few weeks ago. Do I measure the same amount of it for this recipe?
Hi Dana, that should be fine.
Perfection! I had no problem with this recipe as written. Delish! Thank you for my new best ccc recipe. Definitely a keeper!
Do you have an oatmeal cookie with brown butter?
Our Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies would be delicious with brown butter. Just let the browned butter cools and solidify first. Here is exactly how we make and use brown butter.
I made this recipe by the book the first time- using the grams measurements as I’m in the UK and I was sad because the flavour was amazing but they were really flat and greasy underneath. Second time I made them I upped the flour to 350g and they’re so much better. Instead of 24 cookies I made them big and only got 14. Baked them for 14 minutes same temp and they’re perfect now.
Hello! Quick question–if you wind up leaving the browned butter in the fridge for longer than three hours (i.e. overnight) should you bring it to room temperature before using like you would with regular butter?
It’s a little late, as I did not do that and my dough is chilling in the fridge right now, but hopefully they still turn out! I’m sure I’ll make this recipe again regardless. 🙂
Hi JA, If chilling overnight next time, you can let it sit out until it reaches room temperature. You want to make sure that you can beat it until it’s completely smooth and creamy before adding the sugar.
This recipe is AMAZING! I get asked to make these all the time now!
These have a nice taste, but I found them very greasy. I even put them on paper towels to absorb the excess butter and I kept having to replace the paper towels multiple times. Can you think of a reason why these cookies might leak so much butter?
I LOVE this recipe. The only one I use now! I do have a question. Would this recipe work well for a cookie cake?
Can’t see why not!
Question: my butter only weighed 180g after browning it. Is the 230g measured before or after browning (I assume before)? I’m not sure if I need to add more butter.
I love your brown butter sugar cookies so I am dying to try these. Question: is there any reason why I can’t use the melted brown butter instead of needing to refrigerate and harden? Kinda like your chewy choc chip recipe but w browned butter instead. I know there must be a science-y reason for this.
Hi Mary, we use solid brown butter so that you can cream the butter with the sugars, just as if you were creaming softened butter. We hope you love these cookies!
Finally found my best chocolate chip recipe!!! Thank sally. As always never let me down.
Hey super excited to try this! Is it possible to put the butter in the freezer to speed up the process?
Hi Jen! We don’t recommend putting the melted butter in the freezer as it will cool unevenly.
These turned out great! I was a bit concerned at the sheer amount of sugar I was putting in, but it didn’t turn out overly-sweet like I was expecting. I used white chocolate chips instead and tried to colour my cookies pink, but they turned out a muddy orange instead. Sally, do you mind making a post on how to colour cookie dough that isn’t white, like this one?
Hi Elena! There’s no great way to color cookie dough like this one. You could try adding a LOT of gel food coloring, but you’ll always have the light brown undertones of the cookie dough in the background. Adding colored sprinkles can be a great way to add a pop of color to cookies instead – like we do with these drop sugar cookies and cake batter cookies. Glad you enjoyed these!
I have made these many times now… They are the so good! After they have been in refrig. for a few days, then they get even better the longer they are in the freezer. I usually mix 2 to 3 types of chips – combo dark, semi sweet and milk chocolate..
Excited to try this recipe but when I have previously browned butter for baking, it seems to lose its brown butter flavor when I bake it? The butter smells nutty and my dough tastes like brown butter, then I bake and it goes away. Why would that be? Could It be the quality of butter having less fat or something? Thank you!
Hi Haley, I haven’t noticed that before– it could be the brand or quality of butter you’re using. Also, you may not be browning it long enough– see if you can leave it on the stove for a few extra seconds to brown a little more.
I will try that. Thank you!
This recipe is now on my weekly rotation my family loves it so much! The layers of flavor are delicious every time. I plan to try this as a chipless cookie soon as I am not a huge chocolate chip fan. Thank you for this recipe for heavenly chocolate chip cookies!
So good! Chilled for 36 hours and distributed to friends, the brown butter was a great addition (though took a while to cream). No issues with spreading.
Hi! I just made this cookie dough and it’s in the fridge right now. Will bake it tomorrow for my daughter’s birthday.
I made a mistake with the flour. I think I added too much flour, I accidentally added about 33g more flour to the recipe. Is there a way to fix it tomorrow before baking? Can I add more butter or olive oil to it? Help! I wouldn’t want to ruin my daughters first try if chocolate chip cookies.
Hi Anna, we wouldn’t recommend adding anything else to the dough – they should bake up OK. They may be a but thicker but will still be delicious!
Hi Sally! Can I use milk chocolate callets instead of semi sweet chocolate Chips for this recipe? Do I need to reduce the sugar? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Anna, Yes you can. No changes necessary.
Great! Can I also prepare the dough a day before and just chill it in the fridge? 🙂
Hi Anna, You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 5.
these are literally the best chocolate chip cookies i’ve ever had.
Happen to know the best Gluten Free substitute?
Hi JD, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour and it worked perfectly.
What are the recommendations for freezing ?
Freeze dough and bake when ready?If doing that… how long would the cookie last if heat sealed in a cellophane bag after baked? What about freezing already baked cookies in heat sealed cellophane bags?
Hi Lauren, Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Click here for tips and tricks on freezing cookie dough.
I have tried dozens of chocolate chip cookies recipes in search of the best one. The search is over! These are hands down the best chocolate chip cookies. It is chewy in the middle and crisp on the outside. The perfect cookie.
This is the last CCC recipe I’ll ever try. This one can’t be beaten! It’s a bit more work than the previous recipe I swore by, but it definitely pays off! The browned butter really takes this to the next level! You’d pay a lot of money if you bought t his in a bakery, plus you have the satisfaction and joy from making it yourself.
SO glad we tried this recipe! My husband came home from work and said, “you have to make this cookie recipe, it was featured on my favorite podcast today (Stuff you should know) that talked all about cookies”. Browning the butter wasn’t as hard as I thought- especially since the video features specific how-tos. These cookies are very soft, chewy, and tasty! By far, the best cookie I have ever had. Perfect texture, flavor and sweetness. Keeping this one close by!
I was thrilled a recipe of mine was named on that podcast! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and I’m glad to read you enjoyed them!
Oh my gosh I heard about them on the same podcast and I am making them today for the first time! The raw dough is delicious so I have high hopes for the baked result!