Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
If I had to choose a cookie to eat for the rest of my life, it would definitely be chocolate chip cookies. Specifically, these brown butter chocolate chips cookies! Now, if you've never tried chocolate chip cookies using brown butter, I formally invite you to do so now. I'm almost 100% confident that you won't turn back.
What is Brown Butter?
As if butter wasn't already good enough on its own. Well, it only gets better when you actually brown it! So, why is it so good you ask? Browning butter not only changes the colour, but it creates a nutty and toasty-type of taste. This results in a more intense and deeper flavour profile. Totally worth the 10-15 extra minutes!
Do you have to use brown butter? Well, the simple answer is no. However, this recipe is meant for brown butter. But if you absolutely do not want to use brown butter, you can just use regular unsalted butter that is either melted or softened at room temperature.
Making brown butter is pretty straight-forward, but you want to be sure to keep your eye on it so that it doesn't burn. It usually will take between 3-6 minutes over medium heat. You will let the butter melt in your pan and continue to swirl and mix to prevent sticking and burning. There will be bubbling, popping, foaming--all of which are completely normal. You will begin smelling a beautiful, nutty aroma and the butter will brown. That is when you remove your pan from the heat.
Chilling the Cookie Dough Before Baking
If you prefer thinner, more spread out cookies, then you can totally skip chilling the dough for 30 minutes. If you're skipping the chilling part, you can preheat the oven before preparing your ingredients so it's ready to go. You can go ahead and follow the other instructions as normal.
By chilling the dough, you are going to get a cookie with a bit more thickness to it that isn't as spread out. It really comes down to personal preference! For me, chilling cookie dough really depends on my mood, haha!
Making Chocolate Chip Cookies Ahead of Time
You can certainly make these ahead of time, which is pretty convenient. Follow these simple steps if you would like to make these cookies ahead of time.
- Make the chocolate chip cookie dough by following this recipe.
- Scoop 2 tbsp of the dough into your hands and roll into a ball. Place the dough balls onto a parchment lined tray. They can be close together but not touching.
- Place the tray with dough balls into the freezer for 30-45 minutes.
- Remove from freezer and place balls into freezer bag or container for storage. Return to freezer. Keeps for up to 3 months.
- When ready to bake, remove from freezer, place on parchment paper lined tray 2 inches apart, and bake according to recipe instructions. It may need a couple extra minutes in the oven.
Storage of Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to 3 days. But I'm pretty confident most of us will not have to worry about that. ;)
Another way to store cookies is by baking them, letting them cool all the way, then placing them in a freezer bag and into the freezer. This way you can easily pop them out of the freezer when needed and warm them up in the oven.
And all that's left to do is grab a cookie and a glass of milk!
Looking for another sweet treat? Try these Blueberry Muffins!
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1¾ cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
- In a small pan over medium heat, begin melting butter. When butter completely melts, continue to cook until mixture becomes bubbly and starts browning. Be sure to mix occasionally to prevent any sticking. It will start becoming foamy and you will begin smelling a nutty aroma. This will take about 5-6 minutes--keep a close eye! Once you get to this point, transfer butter to a heat proof mixing bowl and let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
- While butter is cooling, in a separate bowl stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Once butter has cooled slightly and is now warm, add both brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl with butter. Whisk this mixture until well combined, about 2 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Do not overmix.
- Now, gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, mixing to combine. Once flour mixture is almost completely combined, fold in the chocolate chips. You do not want to overmix. The key is to mix or fold until everything is JUST combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Scoop 2 tbsp of cookie dough (cookie scoop makes it easier) onto parchment paper, leaving 2 inches of space between each dough ball. If your tray isn't big enough, bake cookies in batches (cover remaining dough and place back in fridge until ready to bake next batch).
- Place tray in preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. You will see the cookies become a golden colour all around; the center will not be completely set. At this point, remove tray from oven and let cookies rest for 5-10 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and let cool completely. If working in batches, you can now bake your next batch of cookies following the instructions above.
- Since every oven is different, it is important to keep an eye on your cookies near the end of the cook time.
- If you prefer a crispier cookie, you can leave cookies in a minute longer.
- If you prefer a thinner cookie, read the required section of the blog post above.
- You can use any type of chocolate chips: dark chocolate, semi-sweet, milk chocolate, etc.
