These Easy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in Under 1 Hour are really good, but don’t take my word for it. Try the recipe for yourself and then tell me if you don’t agree.
It’s hard to believe that at the time of this post, I’ve been doing this blog thing for nearly six years, and still, I don’t have a recipe for a really good chocolate chip cookie. I have all manner of cookie recipes here – from Lemon Glazed Cornmeal Cookies to Mango Tajin Thumbprints, but not a single chocolate chip cookie recipe. I felt this was something that needed to be corrected.
I’m fussy when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. I like them to be generous with the chocolate, but not to the point where the cookie doesn’t hold its shape. There needs to be a good balance between the ratio of cookie to chocolate. I prefer them to be a little on the chewy side, but not under baked. And I’m all about adding walnuts and a little salt to balance out the sweetness.
So what makes the ideal chocolate chip cookie? There’s no shortage of recipes out there claiming to be the “best” or the “ultimate” chocolate chip cookie recipe, and maybe they are. But for me, the perfect chocolate chip cookie has rich, caramel notes from browned butter and vanilla. It’s a little chewy, and contains a combination of white chocolate, dark chocolate, and walnuts to balance out the sweetness. What I just described to you is the essence of these brown butter chocolate chip cookies.
So, if this sounds like a chocolate chip cookie you could get on board with, read on, gather your ingredients, and then meet me back here to make what I will call a really good chocolate chip cookie – no hyperbole needed.
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The Use of Brown Butter in this Easy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
In this chocolate chip cookie recipe, browning the butter delivers subtle caramel notes that really play well with the vanilla. Don’t be tempted to skip this step. It makes all the difference. Incorporating melted butter into the batter also delivers a more chewy texture as compared to the cake-like texture you get from whipping the butter until light and fluffy. So what exactly is brown butter? If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a little primer.
Essentially, brown butter is unsalted butter that has been cooked until the milk solids brown and any water has cooked off. What you are left with is something similar to clarified butter, but with a rich, nutty flavor.
Tips for Making Brown Butter
Browning butter is easy, but you do have to stick with it. It only takes 2-3 minutes to brown. However, it can go from just melted to burnt in a matter of seconds. For this reason, you need to stir the butter constantly. When browning butter, I like to use a stainless steel saute pan and a white spatula. This allows me to see the milk solids more easily and know exactly when the butter is ready to come off the heat. By keeping the butter over medium heat and stirring constantly, you minimize the risk of burning the milk solids.
When the milk solids are a toasty brown (roughly the color of the finished cookies), the butter is ready. I recommend pouring the butter immediately out of the pan into another container to stop the cooking. Even when you turn off the burner, there’s still residual heat in the pan, and if you keep the butter in the pan, it will continue to cook. So, it’s best to transfer the butter to another container to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Scoop Sizes, Baking Times, and Yields
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it holds its structure and bakes up well whether you choose to make your cookies larger or smaller.
It’s important to mention that baking times will vary depending on the scoop size that you choose. Larger cookies will bake at 300 degrees F. for 16-18 minutes, while the small cookies will only need approximately 10-12 minutes.
For larger cookies that measure 3 1/2 inches in diameter, I used the medium-size scoop shown here.
When using the medium-size scoop, this recipe will yield 18 cookies. For the smaller cookies that measure 2 1/2 inches wide, I used the smallest scoop shown. The small scoop will yield approximately 48 cookies.
I do not recommend using the large scoop for this recipe. I found that the edges browned way before the center could set. Raw dough is never a good thing, so stick with the medium-size scoop or the smallest one for this recipe.
Tried and Tested Substitutions
If you’ve been reading along on the blog, you may have noticed that I often give recommendations for ingredient substitutions that I have tested during development.
Although I did not test this recipe using egg substitutes, I did test it using a gluten free flour with good success. If you look in my pantry, you’ll find a collection of flours for nearly everything imaginable. My go-to gluten free flour is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1to1 Baking Flour. I love that it takes the guess work out of converting any gluten-rich recipe into one that is gluten free.
The finished bake is a little drier than the gluten-rich version of this Easy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but it’s still every bit as delicious. So, if you need to make these chocolate chip cookies gluten free, you can do so confidently.
If you’re not a fan of walnuts, I understand. They can be a bit polarizing. You can easily substitute pecans for the walnuts, and if you need to avoid nuts altogether because of allergies, you can leave them out entirely.
Other Recommendations for Success with this Recipe
European-Style vs. American-Style Butter
European butter has less water and a higher fat content than its American counterpart. European-style butter also has a richer flavor as many of them are made from cultured milk. European-style butter is my favorite butter for most bakes and buttercreams. For these reasons, I recommend using European-style butter for browning in this chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Mexican Vanilla
I’m partial to Mexican vanilla. Mexican vanilla has a unique flavor profile that I would describe as having subtle, warm spice notes – similar to cinnamon – that come through and add a depth of flavor that I have not been able to find in other types of vanilla. I’ve experimented with others, but I always come back to Mexican vanilla as my standard. If you can find good Mexican vanilla, use that for making this chocolate chip cookies recipe. However, if you can’t easily find it, consider making your own vanilla from scratch.
Let’s Get Social!
Whether you’re preparing these cookies to take to a gathering or simply satisfying an evening sweet tooth, this chocolate chip cookie recipe is sure to satisfy – it may even become your new favorite.
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Blessings and enjoy!
Easy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies in Under 1 Hour
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy18
servings15
minutes18
minutesRich, caramel notes from brown butter and vanilla, a little chewy, and packed with white chocolate, dark chocolate, and walnuts to balance out the sweetness of this irresistible cookie.
Ingredients
1/2 cup European-style butter, browned and cooled
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tsp. Mexican Vanilla (other vanilla is fine, but Mexican is best)
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs, room temperature
2 cups A.P. Flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnut pieces
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine 2 cups of AP flour and the baking soda. Give it a quick stir and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, brown the butter over medium-low heat until just golden brown. This will take approximately 2-5 minutes, depending on how cold your butter is when you start. Transfer the butter to a large mixing bowl to cool while measuring the other ingredients.
- Add the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla to the butter and mix on low speed until combined – approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time to the sugar mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl between additions to ensure all ingredients are combined.
- Add the flour and baking soda to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl again before adding the chocolate chips and walnuts to the batter. Mix until just combined. The batter will appear quite wet, but will firm up quickly.
- Scoop the cookie batter and position the cookies on the baking sheet a minimum of two inches apart so they have sufficient room to expand while baking.
- Use a medium-size cookie scoop for larger cookies and bake at 300 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. For smaller cookies, use a small scoop and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Cookies are done when they are light golden brown on top and the edges are set. Remove the finished cookies from the oven and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or towel to finish cooling and setting up.
- Once cooled, transfer cookies to an air tight container where they will keep for 1 week at room temperature, 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 1 month in the freezer.
Notes
- How many cookies will I get when using a small- or medium-size scoop and how long should I bake them for? Baking times will vary depending on the scoop size that you choose. Larger cookies (approx. 3 1/2 inches) will bake at 300 degrees F. for 16-18 minutes, while the small cookies shown (2 1/2 inches in size) will only need approximately 10-12 minutes. When using the medium-size scoop, this recipes will yield 18 cookies. A small scoop will yield approximately 48 cookies.
