Everyone thinks the secret to the best chocolate chip cookies is the chocolate. It’s not.
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with rich nutty flavor, melty chocolate chunks, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
If you’ve never made chocolate chip cookies with brown butter, you’re in for a treat. Browning the butter adds a rich, nutty flavor that takes classic chocolate chip cookies to a whole new level. Pair that with melty chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, and you have a bakery-worthy cookie that’s crisp around the edges, perfectly chewy in the center, and impossible to stop eating.
The only extra step is browning the butter, but I promise it’s worth every minute. Once you’ve tasted the deep caramel-like flavor it adds, you’ll never want to make chocolate chip cookies any other way.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich nutty brown butter flavor
- Soft centers with chewy edges
- Loaded with melty chocolate chunks
- Finished with flaky sea salt
- Bakery-style cookies friendly
- Easy to make ahead
- No chilling required
Why Brown the Butter?
Flavor, flavor, and FLAVOR! Browning the butter removes some of the water content and toasts the milk solids, creating those deep caramel, toffee-like notes that make these cookies taste extra special.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Just a handful of pantry staples come together to create cookies that taste like they came straight from a bakery. Browning the butter is the secret ingredient that makes all the difference.
- Butter: Browning the butter creates a rich, nutty flavor that gives these cookies their signature taste.
- Flour: Provides structure while keeping the cookies tender.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise and spread perfectly.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances the brown butter flavor.
- Brown Sugar: Adds moisture, chewiness, and caramel notes.
- Sugar: Creates crisp edges and balances the brown sugar.
- Vanilla: Rounds out the flavors with warm sweetness.
- Eggs: Bind the dough together and create a soft texture.
- Chocolate Baking Chunks: Melt into big pools of chocolate throughout every cookie.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Browning the butter adds one extra step, but it