Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

You guys. I’ve been tinkering with this recipe for years, and I think I finally nailed it. Break out your reading glasses, ‘cause we’re about to get real nerdy up in here!
If you’d prefer to just follow the recipe, feel free to scroll down… but follow the steps precisely for best results!

The nutty, delectable flavor of browned butter. The chewy crumb from the extra brown sugar. The extra hint of saltiness that brings out the sweet. The use of mini chocolate chips (for perfect dispersement of gooey chocolate per bite). Cornstarch to keep them soft and thick. These are dang good, if I do say so myself. And utterly addicting.

You’ll start by browning 8 ounces of butter. Melt in a saucepan, and continue to cook until a dark golden brown. You’ll know when it’s ready, because your kitchen will smell to-die-for. Make sure that you stir or swirl the butter often, to brown it evenly without burning. We want the solids in the butter to cook and develop this delicious, nutty flavor and a gorgeous golden hue. Pull it off the heat and pour into separate bowl as soon as it’s browned, to avoid burning.

Take your butter from here…

…to here. Now honestly, this is as dark as you’ll want to get your butter. I was living very close to the edge here! Its teetering on the verge of burning. But it didn’t. And it was glorious.

You’ll pop that dish into a freezer for 20 minutes to cool. While it’s chilling, measure out your flour. Sift, or at least fluff it up before scooping into a measuring cup- flour sitting in a canister will become densely packed and will alter your final results. You’ll always want to measure with loosely packed flour for the best-possible baked goods! Now, whisk it together with the baking soda, salt and cornstarch in a medium bowl. The cornstarch will allow for a thicker, cake-like cookie, as opposed to one that thins out and has a tougher, chewier bite.

This recipe officially calls for 1.5 teaspoons salt. That being said, I love myself a cookie that has a generous hint of salt to bring out that buttery, sweet flavor and become besties with the rich chocolate. So, I always, always add 2 teaspoons to mine and they are always a hit!

Once the butter has cooled, add to a large bowl with the brown and white sugar. Be sure to get all those brown bits from the butter– they’re the real star of this cookie!

Mix on medium speed for two minutes. Because the butter is a different consistency, we want to mix a little more than usual to allow the sugar crystals to break up those fat solids.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds with each addition. Time for vanilla!

Let’s have a little chat here. Now the vanilla flavor is going to stand out in these cookies, so make sure you are using a good quality vanilla– and definitely no artificial vanilla extract here! Add your two teaspoons of the stuff into the butter/sugar/egg mixture, and beat until combined. Standard chocolate chip cookie recipes will call for just the one teaspoon but that’s just a little part of what makes these scrumptious goodies stand out.

Add the flour mixture, one half at a time, beating on low until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix once the flour is in. You’ll overwork the gluten and that will result in a tougher cookie. It’s funny how being a “tough cookie” is such a positive attribute in a person. But not in a cookie!

If you’ve ever wondered why you split the wet and dry ingredients into two different bowls at first, that is exactly why. We just need to mix the sugar and butter much more than the flour would allow.

When your wet and dry ingredients are combined, add the entire bag of mini chocolate chips and give it one last quick go with the mixer, until your chocolate chips are dispersed evenly.

Refrigerate dough for at least an hour. This will keep your cookies from spreading too thin.

Preheat oven to 375. Scoop one ounce balls of cookie dough (a very heaping tablespoon, like almost two- if you have a food scale, measuring a few to get a feel for the size is extremely helpful! ) and roll into balls, placing on parchment lined cookie sheets a few inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. If using a bottom and top rack, switch positions halfway through for more even results.

A note about the cooking time: we are using more brown sugar than white in this recipe. Because of that, the finished cooked will set, or harden, more quickly. So pull the cookies when they have crispy golden edges, but aren’t completely set in the middle. For me, that takes 9-10 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes, while your mouth waters and your family and friends gather around the kitchen like a pack of vultures (just me and mine? Anyone else?!) and transfer to cooking rack.

But mostly… enjoy! And screenshot or bookmark this recipe because you’ll want to make these again, and again.