Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are crisp on the edges, thick and chewy in the center, and exploding with the warm nutty brown butter flavor. I've also added some walnuts and topped them off with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Servings: 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste (optional)
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips (or any chocolate chips of your choice)
- 2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
- Flake sea salt
Instructions
Make Brown Butter
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, the butter will begin to crackle and sizzle. Occasionally swirl the butter in the pan. After it stops popping, the butter will begin to brown.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low. The milk solids will begin turning a light brown on the bottom of the pan. Use a heatproof spatula to occasionally scrape and stir the butter to prevent burning.
- Remove from the heat once the solids turn golden brown and you smell a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer to a bowl, being sure to scrape all those brown bits from the button of the pan. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
Make Cookies
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- In large bowl, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla extract, and vanilla paste and mix until incorporated,
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. I like to stop the mixer before the flour is fully incorporated and mix the rest by hand with a spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Scoop dough onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart. I used a medium cookie scoop that is approx. 3 tablespoons, but feel free to use a smaller 2 tbsp scoop. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Chill the pans in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, until lightly golden on the edges. Let the cookies set for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
Freezing Baked Cookies:
Baked cookies can be put in freezer bags and frozen for up to 2 months.
Freezing Cookie Dough:
If you prefer to bake before freezing, simply scoop out balls of cookie dough and put on a plate or pan. Put the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the dough balls to freeze. Then put the cookie dough balls into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
To thaw, remove from the freezer and place the dough balls on a baking pan 2 inches apart. Let them sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to thaw. Then bake as normal.