These salted brown butter chocolate chip cookies are extra rich and buttery, with perfect crispy edges and chewy centers. I’ll show you how to make the best homemade chocolate chip cookies that require no mixer and zero chilling time! Pressing extra chocolate chips into the crinkly tops right after baking gives you that soft, melty finish you see in bakery cookies.
These salted browned butter chocolate chip cookies are by far my most-made (and most-requested) cookie recipe. If you love bakery-style cookies, but don’t own a mixer and don’t want to wait around chilling the dough, I think these will be a fast favorite! They’re thick, chewy chocolate chip cookies loaded with rich, nutty flavor that only browned butter delivers.
This has been my go-to easy cookie recipe for years, and it’s absolutely the BEST. No mixer, no chill time, no complicated steps. Just delicious results with simple techniques. I’m sharing all my tips so your homemade brown butter chocolate chip cookies turn out perfect every time.
What Makes These Different From Other Brown Butter Cookies?
Many brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipes, and even my original chocolate chip cookies, require chilling the dough overnight. Which is great in most cases but not always practical. I designed this recipe to:
- Bake right away. This browned butter cookie dough goes from mixing bowl to oven in minutes.
- Stay thick without chilling. You still get thick, chewy cookies without waiting hours.
- Deliver that same rich brown butter flavor. Browning butter toasts the milk solids until they become rich and nutty. It’s easy to do, and it makes a big difference in the flavor of chocolate chip cookies! I’ve used this technique in my skillet cookie recipe and bourbon chocolate chip cookies.
- Crunchy sea salt steals the show. Instead of kosher salt, these cookies have little bits of coarse sea salt scattered throughout. You won’t believe how delicious it is with the melty chocolate.
So you get the best of both worlds: Convenience + bakery-style chocolate chip cookies.
NB: This chocolate chip cookie recipe is actually the cover recipe from my book, and one of its most popular recipes. I decided I needed to share it here as well for everyone who doesn’t yet own the Cookies & Cups Cookbook!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe is all about simple pantry ingredients working together to create magic. Here’s what you’ll need and why, along with possible substitutions. See the recipe card below for the full recipe amounts.
- Salted Butter – I prefer salted butter in most of my baking recipes, and especially this one. The saltiness of the butter combined with coarse sea salt makes these cookies a truly balanced sweet-meets-salty experience.
- Sugar – I use a combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe. Brown sugar adds moisture and a deeper, more caramelized flavor.
- Eggs – Pull the eggs out of the refrigerator before you brown your butter. This gives them time to come up to room temperature. Since the butter will still be a little warm when you add the eggs, it’s best to keep all the ingredients close to the same temperature so they mix evenly.
- Vanilla Extract – Always and forever use pure vanilla extract (or vanilla paste), and not imitation vanilla.
- Baking Soda – Make sure it’s fresh and not expired.
- Coarse Sea Salt – Flaky finishing salt, like Maldon salt, is best. Any coarse sea salt works, though.
- All-purpose Flour – Spoon and level the flour, or measure using a kitchen scale for accuracy. Overmeasuring (usually from scooping directly from the bag) can lead to dry, crumbly cookies.
- Chocolate Chips – I like to use semi-sweet chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies, but milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or a mix will also work. My favorite brand is Callebaut. I order it in bulk on Amazon. I buy the chocolate disks (callets), which are a little flatter than a chip, and they melt like a dream. If I’m out of Callebaut, I’ll use Guittard or Ghirardelli.
Why Salted Butter and Coarse Sea Salt?
Well, they are salted brown butter chocolate chip cookies, after all. I love the contrast of the salted butter and crispy sea salt flakes to the sweetness of the cookies. I’ve been making my chocolate chip cookies this way ever since my mom substituted coarse sea salt for regular salt in a batch of her cookies decades ago. This was way before the flaky-sea-salt-on-everything trend started!
However, if you’d prefer, you can make this cookie recipe with unsalted butter. In this case, I suggest adding the salt yourself, about ½ teaspoon.
How to Brown Butter for Cookies
The beauty of browned butter is that it’s very easy to do, and it gives a little gourmet flair to just about any baked goods, from cookies to rice krispie treats. Before you begin your cookie dough, here’s what you’ll do:
- Add the butter to a saucepan. Melt it over medium-low heat. I’ve always found it helpful to use an aluminum or light-colored pan so I can see the butter change color as the milk solids separate and brown.
- Bring the butter to a boil. Swirl the pan continuously (or use a whisk or wooden spoon to stir) until the butter foams up and turns a deep amber color. It will take a few minutes for the butter to begin to brown. But once it starts, it will happen quickly, so don’t leave the stove.
- Cool. Once the color is deep amber, remove the butter from the heat immediately and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes. You want the browned butter to cool enough that it won’t melt the chocolate chips, but don’t let it cool completely and resolidify, or it will be difficult to mix without a mixer.
If your butter cools too much and firms up, reheat it a little on the stove. Or, if it cools completely, instead of reheating it, you can also make your chocolate chip cookie dough in the mixer using the paddle attachment. There’s a lot of flexibility.
How to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies From Scratch
Gather your ingredients, and it’s time to turn your browned butter into a batch of the best chocolate chip cookies. Here are the steps.
- Get ready to bake. While your brown butter cools, line your baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Mix the cookie dough. Once the butter is cool enough, add the sugars, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and sea salt. Stir using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the ingredients are creamed together and smooth. Next, fold in the flour (don’t overmix!) and finally the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the dough. Use a large cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough onto the lined baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches in between each cookie.
- Bake. Bake these brown butter chocolate chip cookies at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes for soft-baked, chewy cookies. When the edges are just set and lightly golden, pull the cookies from the oven. If you want, sprinkle them with a little extra sea salt! Afterward, cool the cookies on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.
The Secret to Perfect Cookie Tops
After using the pan-banging technique in my giant crinkled chocolate chip cookies for years, I recently learned this (much quicker!) trick for crinkly cookie tops. If you’ve ever wondered how bakery cookies get their perfectly ridged, crackly tops, here’s how it’s done:
- When portioning the cookie dough, scoop the dough, release it from the scoop, and break it in half (as pictured).
- Then, turn the broken, jagged sides upward before pressing the smooth sides of the dough back together. The dough should still be tall, as it will flatten as it bakes, but it’ll settle into a textured top. It really gives the cookies a bakery-style look!
FAQ
Brown butter adds a rich, nutty flavor that takes regular chocolate chip cookies to the next level. It’s a simple step that makes a big difference.
Nope! This cookie recipe is specifically designed to be made without chilling. The ingredient ratios and method help the cookies stay thick and chewy even when baked right away.
It could be because the butter was too warm when you added it to the dough, or you may have undermeasured the flour. Cool the butter for 20 minutes before making the cookies and be sure to use the spoon-and-level method when measuring. Lastly, cool your baking sheet in between batches so the cookies don’t spread on the still-warm pan.
Yes! Just add an extra pinch of salt (½ teaspoon) to balance the flavors.
Expert Tips for Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Spoon and level the flour. Measuring the ingredients correctly is important, especially in this no-chill chocolate chip cookies recipe. If you aren’t using a kitchen scale, spoon the flour from the bag into your measuring cup. Afterward, level the flour using the back of a knife. Don’t scoop directly from the bag, or you may end up with too much.
- Choose the chocolate you prefer. Milk chocolate is sweeter, while dark chocolate is less sweet. You can always use a combination of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, as I use for my triple chocolate cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop. This is a super helpful cookie-making tip. Using a cookie scoop ensures that all your cookies are the same size so they bake evenly. Plus, using a cookie scoop is just an easier way to portion out the dough.
- Press chocolate chips into the tops. I do this every time I bake chocolate chip cookies. As soon as they come out of the oven, gently press a few extra chocolate chips into the warm cookies. The chips melt slightly into the tops, giving the cookies a pretty, professional finish.
- Re-shape cookies that spread. Occasionally, cookies can lose their perfectly circular shape while they bake. To easily fix cookies that have spread, right when they come out of the oven, use a spatula to gently reshape the edges back into circles on the hot baking sheet. If you wait too long, the cookies will set, so do this while they are still fresh from the oven.
Storage
- Store airtight. Store these browned butter chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They’re freshest within 3 days of baking.
- Freeze. You can freeze these cookies in a freezer bag or container for up to 1 month. Thaw them at room temperature.
More Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
My go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! Not only do you not need a mixer, but there’s no chilling time, either. These bakery-style brown butter chocolate chip cookies get their rich depth of flavor from nutty brown butter and flaky sea salt.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan (7-quart) over medium heat, melt the butter and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, swirl the pan or stir constantly until the butter passes the foamy phase and becomes a deep amber color.
- Remove from heat and allow butter to cool for 20 minutes.
- While the butter is cooling, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt into the cooled butter and stir to combine using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Stir in the flour until the dough comes together and the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Finally, mix in the chocolate chips.
- Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoon-sized), scoop the dough out onto the lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. *See note in the post for my trick to pretty cookie tops!
- Bake the cookies for 10 – 12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are just set.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- If desired, sprinkle a small amount of flaked sea salt on top of the cookies as they are cooling.
Notes
- Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days for best freshness.
- Freeze for up to 30 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 263
- Sugar: 23 g
- Sodium: 186.8 mg
- Fat: 13.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.4 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 35.8 mg
What would be the weight in grams for the dry ingredients?
If the butter looks a little gritty while is cooling , did I over brown it?
Hmm… I don’t know what you mean by gritty, but the milk fats will separate and brown. You’ve only over-browned it if it gets burnt!
I just made these for the first time and they are soo good! I’ve been looking for a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe and I think this might be the one. I’m curious if you could share the measurements by weight because my cookie dough looked a bit more moist/caramely than yours does in your photos. I’d love to know how many grams of the granulated and brown sugar specifically should go in to this recipe so I can be really precise next time (even though they still turned out delicious)!
I will get to work on that for you. But I will say that the warmer the butter, the more caramel-ish the dough will look. As it cools of it will become a bit stiffer 🙂
I use 1 cup light brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. As far as the butter goes….I actually set an alarm for 20 mins once the butter is done and use that time to ready the ingredients in my mixer and line my cookie sheets. I wait to put the eggs & vanilla extract in when the butter is cool. I also move the pan off the stove because if I’m preheating the oven the top of the stove gets warm and keeps the pan from cooling properly. 🙂
Soooo…I’ve now made this recipe oh about…..6 times since I first commented! I’ve used eggs that weren’t as fresh as I’d like, organic all-purpose flour & regular all-purpose flour, dark brown sugar because I ran out of light, Kerrygold butter because I ran out of Land O’Lakes, and each time I got a different result. I figured I’d share my results for other people who may come across a similar situation. First, I ran out of light brown sugar and used dark….the flavor of the browned butter was greatly overwhelmed by the amount of molasses (I’m guessing that was the issue). I usually have a nice, slightly strong taste of the browned butter but with dark brown sugar I barely tasted it at all. When I tried the recipe with Kerrygold butter I didn’t get as good a taste of the browned butter as when I used Land O’Lakes. Supposedly, European butter is better than ours because it has less water but I liked our butter much better in this case. I had the best result when I used fresh..organic..cage-free..brown eggs, King Arthur..organic..all-purpose flour, and Land O’Lakes..salted butter. And for those who are having issues with browning the butter……keep it moving and on medium heat until it melts and begins to rapidly boil. Keep stirring! (Or swirling the pan) I found that right when it stops the boiling and starts to rise and becomes frothy is when the browning is done. I use a wooden spoon to constantly stir and then I know it’s done when I move the spoon around through the froth I can see the swirls of deep amber liquid underneath. As far as the chocolate chips go…only one person in my house likes chocolate chips in their cookies so I leave the chips out until I have most of my dough on the cookie sheets the fold a small amount of chips into the remaining dough:) I know it’s weird to leave the chocolate chips out of chocolate chip cookies! Ok…..I’ve talked enough! Can you tell I love this recipe?! :):)
P.S. flaked sea salt is the other thing (besides the browned butter) that really makes this recipe!
Thank you so much for your review and experience! Yes, I’ve found the European butter in this recipe is kind of a waste…it’s not bad, but it’s not worth the extra money. Save it for toast!
My butter will not brown for the life of meeeee!!!!! It just keeps foaming and foaming and foaming! Boiled for over 5 mins and not one hint of brown!
Keep going!! It will get there!
I heat my butter straight from the fridge in a saucepan…keep it moving and on medium heat until it melts and begins to rapidly boil. Keep stirring! (Or swirling the pan) I found that right when it stops the boiling and starts to rise and becomes frothy is when the browning is done. I use a wooden spoon to constantly stir and then I know it’s done when I move the spoon around through the froth I can see the swirls of deep amber liquid underneath. I don’t do this on high heat. I start out on medium and when stirring I take the heat down a notch to brown it slowly rather than high heat and risk burning it. Comes out perfectly every time!
Hi these look so good! Do you think this recipe would work for making really big ones like 1/2 cup per cookie? Thanks!
I don’t see why not!
What would happen if you added an extra just egg yolk
I have this Half Pound Cookie recipe…https://cookiesandcups.com/half-pound-cookies/
You could use those measurements…if you’re mostly interested in the brown butter just brown the butter and then chill it until it’s cold and solid again and follow as written…
The oven was already hot after baking pizzas. I saw this recipe and decided to make a batch! They are really good! I would submit a picture but the teens and pre-teens in my house devoured them. Thanks for such a great recipe. The cookies had a great, deep flavor due to the browned butter. Usually when my butter is too warm I end up with flat cookies, but this recipe calls for just the right amount of flour so that the cookies keep their shape. We will be making these again – probably a double batch so there will be one left over!!
Thank you so much for the review! I make a double batch pretty frequently!
First off, I’m not a baker nor am I one to leave comments. As they say there is always a first for everything… I made these cookies over the weekend and they are just FAB!!!! If I can make them anyone can. Just saying…. I’ve been looking and trying different recipes for chocolate chip cookies and they have been OK. They taste like chocolate chip cookies but never left me with the – I need to make these again.. Until now!!! Melting the butter to an amber is a game changer. I love that I don’t have to make the batter and then put it in the refrigerator. When I start a recipe I prefer to finish it the same day. What can I say?? I don’t wait well and who does when they are in the mood for chocolate chip cookies??? I didn’t have the coarse sea salt but had regular sea salt. I added that to the recipe but I did NOT add the salt to the tops after baking. The next time I make this recipe I think I will add the coarse sea salt to the top of some of them and do a taste test. I think the cookies were even better the next day. They do need to be at room temperature to really enjoy them. Oh and I used a ice cream scoop for the batter..lol.. Thank you Shelly for sharing your recipe and talents!
Thank you so much for such a thoughtful review and sharing your tips!!
Are these crispy or chewy cookies?
Crispy on the edges and soft in the center 🙂
Holy Christmas these are the BEST cookies EVER! Not even just the best chocolate chip cookies….the best cookies ever! The browned butter is the key…it’s what makes the whole recipe! I’ve never used browned butter before even though I’ve seen it everywhere and WOW….it is a total game changer! Even the smell of it in the pan is heavenly! This will forever be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! I’m chewing as I type this! ;)) btw, I browned my butter in a small saucepan, allowed it to cool, then added the sugars, vanilla, eggs, etc. to my stand mixer fitted w/the paddle attachment, then poured in the butter. Mixed on the first setting until combined then slowly added the flour. Folded in the mini chocolate chips with a wooden spoon. Came out AMAZING!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Oh so glad you enjoyed these! I do it that way occasionally as well in the mixer! And when my boys make them they always use the mixer because they don’t like to “stir” lolol!
Yeah the stirring is def not the fun part! I’ve passed the recipe along to 3 people already! And I’m making it again tonight!
Love hearing that so much!