Get the Recipe:Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These fabulous brown butter chocolate chip cookies have quickly become my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe! They are everything I want and expect from a chocolate chip cookie with the added nutty flavour of browned butter!
3/4teaspoonkosher salt, reduce to 1/2 tsp if using salted butter
3/4cup(150g)light brown sugar, packed
100g(100g)white granulated sugar
1largeegg , at room temperature
1largeegg yolk, at room temperature
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
1 1/4cup(225g)semisweet chocolate chips
Equipment
Food processor or blender
Instructions
Tip! For perfect cookies each and every time, use a kitchen scale and weigh out the ingredients using the weight measurements provided.
Brown the butter:
Place the butter into a medium saucepan. Melt the butter over medium heat, then continue cooking, stirring regularly until the butter starts to turn golden and smell a bit nutty. Reduce the heat under the pan slightly and continue cooking, swirling the pan continually to assess the colour and to avoid the milk solids on the bottom of the pan scorching. When the mixture changes from golden to amber, remove from heat and immediately pour into a clean bowl. Allow the browned butter to cool for 30 minutes.
Mix the dry ingredients:
Add the oats to a blender or food processor and blend until finely ground and powder-like. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine well. Set aside.
Mix together the dough:
When the browned butter has cooled, (it shouldn't be hot but it's ok if it's a bit warm) add the brown sugar and white sugar. Whisk together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk again until smooth.
Add the oat-flour mixture and use a spatula to stir together just until no flour is visible. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Chill the dough (do not skip or skimp!):
Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm enough to scoop, about 30 minutes.
Refrigerate the dough balls (do not skip or skimp!):
Line baking sheet with parchment. Divide dough into 55g (3 Tbsp) mounds and place on the baking sheet. Cover the dough a chill in the refrigerator until completely firm, at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.
Bake the cookies:
Preheat oven 350F (non-convection) Transfer 6 portions of the cookie dough from the refrigerator to a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Space them well apart as they will spread. (4 inches between dough balls is ideal.)
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will look a little undercooked at that time, but trust that they will continue to cook on the pan and don't over-bake. (13 minutes is perfect in my oven for crispy around the edges and chewy in the centre. You could bake the extra minute if you prefer crispier cookies). Cool the cookies on the baking pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack. **If baking multiple batches allow the baking sheet to cool completely between batches.
The dough balls can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours or can be frozen for up to 3 months. If baking from frozen allow a bit more baking time.
Notes
Note 1: Unsalted butter is highly recommended as the butter will be browned and unsalted butter just browns better. That said, if you only have salted butter on hand, it will work, though it may be trickier to judge the colour as it tends to be foamier as it cooks. Also, remember to reduce the added salt in the cookies as directed if using salted butter.Note 2: In this recipe, quick-cooking oats will be processed down into a powder/flour before use. As quick-cooking oats are smaller to begin with, it's a shorter trip :) If you only have large-flake, old-fashioned oats on hand, process some down to the size of quick-oats first, then measure out the required amount, then process again to the powder/flour stage. This way you'll be using the appropriate amount.Note 3: If you aren't using a scale to weigh out the flour, it is important to use the spoon and level method to measure. Stir your flour, then use a spoon to over-fill the dry measuring cup. Use the back of a knife to level the flour off evenly with the top of the measuring cup.Tips!
Browning butter is like a game of chicken. You want to cook it long enough for it to develop the wonderful nutty browned flavour, but not so long that it scorches the milk solids and introduces a bitter flavour to the butter. I find reducing the temperature from medium to medium-low as the butter nears browning gives a larger margin-of-error and helps to avoid over-browning.
Don't forget to take the eggs out of the fridge ahead so they are at room temperature when they are added to the dough.
Don't skip the refrigeration times as they are critical to achieving the perfect finished texture in these cookies.
While warm chocolate chip cookies are always tempting, I find these cookies (and most chocolate chip cookies) develop more flavour once they have cooled and sat for a bit. You can always re-warm them in the microwave later!
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe. You'll also find step-by-step photos there, that you may find helpful.