As a Professional Baker I've Tried Lots of Cookies, And This Is The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe I Always Come Back To

These are hands down the best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies that everyone needs in their baking repertoire! Crispy and chewy, gooey and buttery, sweet yet well-balanced with a hint of sea salt on top. My favorite chocolate chip cookies!

brown butter chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet.

Why This Is The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Chewy texture - My recipe will guide you through all the necessary steps to achieve that irresistible chewy texture on your brown butter cookies.
Gooey and fudge center - Remember to watch your baking time and avoid over-baking your cookies!
Excellent flavor - I mean, brown butter, brown sugar, and chocolate chips...I never compromise on taste!
It's quick and easy! - Making brown butter is really much more hassle-free than you might think. My recipe is totally beginner-friendly, I promise
It's a detailed tutorial! - While this recipe may seem lengthy, all the information provided here is designed to help you achieve the best result.

Useful Ingredient Notes

Butter: Always use unsalted butter, as you want to be in control of the quantity of salt. I use butter with an 82% fat content in all my recipes. Brown butter gives the most delicious deepness to the flavors, I highly recommend that you do not skip browning the butter!
Sugar: For the best results, I recommend using a combination of white and brown sugar (light brown sugar or dark brown sugar) in this chocolate chip cookie recipe. Their mixture contributes to both taste and texture.
Vanilla extract: Avoid using artificial vanilla. Buy pure vanilla extract or make your own vanilla.
Egg: Use room temperature as always.
Flour: I find that the best cookie recipe requires a mixture of soft (pastry) and hard (bread) flour, as both offer different benefits in terms of texture. Alternatively, use all-purpose flour.
Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients.
Baking soda: Makes cookies slightly risen, tender, and chewy.
Chocolate: Use high cocoa content, high-quality chocolate which you would anyway enjoy eating on its own, and avoid using “baking chocolate”. I am using Valrhona or Callebaut in almost all my recipes, I found these are the most perfect chocolate chips. Please avoid using too sweet chocolate chips.

You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the original Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe at Spatula Desserts.

Make the Brown Butter First

Brown butter (beurre noisette) is a classic French one-ingredient gold that will take your chocolate chip cookies to the next level! It has a deep, nutty, complex flavor and really elevates butter to the next level. Use it for making madeleines, financiers (French teacakes), or even on savory dishes, such as on top of grilled salmon or gnocchi.

Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Ensure the heat is not too high; otherwise, the butter will burn quickly.

First, the butter should melt, then it will foam.

Then, white bits (milk solids) will start to appear on the bottom of the pan.

The brown butter is ready when the white bits on the bottom of the pan turn golden brown, and you'll start to smell a lovely nutty aroma.

Once your brown butter is ready, carefully pour it into a cold heatproof container so it will cool as soon as possible.

Top Tip: Make sure you carefully watch the butter throughout the process, stir it regularly, and remove it from the heat before it starts burning

Making brown butter in a small pot and mixing with a spoon. — Making brown butter is super easy and totally elevates your cookies to the next level

Make The Cookie Batter

Making this Browned Butter Chocolate Cookie recipe is extremely easy and quick, but there are a couple of key steps you must get right to achieve the perfect texture.

With an electric hand mixer, cream together room temperature (!) browned butter and brown sugar for a few minutes. Whip in the egg, just until combined.

Sift the dry ingredients: the two different kinds of flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Sifting is necessary to avoid lumps later.

Fold the flour mixture into the batter with the help of a rubber spatula, just until combined. Make sure to fold it only until the mixture comes together, which should take literally 30 seconds.

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Leave some chocolate chips to place on top of the cookies just before baking. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and divide the cookie batter into 10 equal cookie dough balls.

Press more chocolate chips on the surface of the cookie dough balls. Now comes the chilling time. See details below.

Top Tip: Avoid using a mixer when making cookies, and refrain from over-mixing the cookie batter. Overmixing ingredients would result in incorporating too much air and gluten into the mixture

How To Bake The Cookies

You’ll need to chill the cookie dough for at least 1 hour to prevent the cookies from spreading too much and turning out thin and flat. Warm dough spreads too easily in the oven, but we’re going for thick, crackly, fudgy cookies. If you’re short on time, you can chill the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes instead.

The key to perfect fudgy chocolate cookies is not overbaking them. They may look underbaked when the timer goes off, but trust the process. Let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.

If, for some reason, you forgot your cookies in the oven, check out my how to fix burnt cookies.

Top Tip: The cookies will be very fragile straight out of the oven, so be careful while moving them.

Expert Tips to Make Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use brown butter – It adds a rich, nutty, complex flavor. Don’t skip this step.
Choose high-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips – Brands like Callebaut or Valrhona melt beautifully and offer a deep cocoa taste without being overly sweet.
Bake on parchment paper or a perforated baking mat – This helps prevent soggy bottoms. Avoid silicone mats, which can trap moisture.
Shape with a cookie cutter after baking – Gently swirl a round cutter around each cookie to make them perfectly round while still soft.
Avoid over-mixing and over-baking – Both can lead to dry, crumbly cookies instead of soft and fudgy ones.
Finish with sea salt – A sprinkle of flaky sea salt enhances the flavor and balances the sweetness.

a hand is braking a chocolate chip cookie.

Storage & Freezing

These cookies are best eaten fresh from the oven. However, you can store them for 1-2 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. Warm them up in the microwave before serving.

You can easily freeze the cookies either before baking (after you divided them into balls) or after baking.

More Cookie Recipes

If you loved this easy recipe, you won't want to miss my other gooey, tasty cookie recipes:

And that's not all! Make sure you also check out my list of 60+ Different Types of Cookies for even more fun cookie ideas.