My Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies come together in the time it takes to preheat the oven. Chewy on the inside and crispy on the edges, brown butter chocolate chip cookies have massive chocolate puddles, and these no mixer, no chill time cookies will become your new favorite - these are the most popular recipe on my site for a good reason!
Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these brown butter chocolate chip cookies! These are a thin and chewy version of my favourite small batch chocolate chip cookies. These brown butter cookies are crisp around the edges and still chewy in the middle - I love them so, so much.
I made these a ton of times during the recipe testing process to really nail down the recipe so that they are totally foolproof for you - I will hold your hand the whole way. If you wanted to turn these into a cookie bar, my chocolate chip cookie bars are exactly that!
The most Underrated ingredient: Brown Butter.
Brown butter is butter that has been heated to a point where the moisture evaporates and the milk solids brown. It has a delicious toasty flavour, which adds an amazing depth to brown butter chocolate chip cookies. Browning butter for recipes is a super simple trick to adding flavour to recipes - I love it in cookies, a streusel topping, cinnamon rolls, or a brown butter salted caramel.
My top tip to remember when browning butter is to go slowly. I have made a ton of brown butter in my time and it can catch quickly and you don't want to burn the milk solids, just toast them until nicely brown.
I know that making brown butter can be intimidating. Don't be scared, I will hold your hand the whole way through in my post and you'll be nailing it in no time: Brown Butter 101: The Ultimate Guide
Community Review
“I made these today and am already looking for an occasion to make them again. They're simple to pull together with an added bonus of not having to remember to soften butter first. The browned butter makes these stand out in a sea of chocolate chip cookies. If you're on the fence, bake these! You won't regret it.”
—Libby
The recipe testing process for changing a cookie's texture
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are more on the 'thin and crispy' side than other chocolate chip cookie recipes on my site. They aren't super thin, but they have that perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie soft centre, and get that crispy edge. If you would like them more on the crispy side, you can increase the bake time to give you crispy chocolate chip cookies.
Here's what I usually change when I am looking to make a cookie recipe thinner:
- Increase the quantity of butter in the recipe. This means the cookies will spread more in the oven.
- Reduce or remove the chill time. While some cookies call for a long chill time, I wanted a recipe that was super easy to make and did not need a chill time. This meant finding a delicate balance between dough that spread in the oven but not too much.
- Bump up the chocolate quantity. This doesn't have a huge impact on how much a cookie spreads, but more chocolate chunks in the cookie certainly help it to spread a little more.
- Play around with the ratio of brown to white sugar. Cookies which have a higher ratio of brown sugar to white tend to be a little thicker, while those with more white sugar spread and are a little more chewy. Sugar and butter ratios are what I will usually play around with first when trying to change the texture or spread of a chocolate chip cookie.
The best chocolate to use for chocolate chip cookies
I almost always use chopped chocolate in my chocolate chip cookies. There are a few reasons for this:
- Sizing - Cutting up chocolate into chunks gives you a great range of size in your chocolate. This means you get a good distribution throughout
- Melty Pockets of chocolate - Chocolate chips often have a stabiliser in them which means they don't melt. This makes them great for things like muffins, but I much prefer using chopped chocolate for cookies because the chocolate melts, and you get pockets of chocolate throughout.
- Quality - if you use chopped chocolate, you can use whatever quality you like. It's also a great way to mix up the types of chocolate you use too - I like doing a mix of dark and then sometimes a fun flavour
- Chocolate Dust - This is a name I made up, but the dust is what's left from chopping chocolate. It all goes into the bowl and you get tiny chocolate specks all throughout the cookies.
- Melty Chocolate Puddles - Chopped chocolate means you can press extra chocolate onto the top of the cookies to get big chocolate puddles!
How to make a freezer stash: Freezing cookie dough
Yes- because it is a no chill chocolate chip cookie recipe, if you freeze the dough it will bake up a little thicker, but this is fine as long as you are aware of this. You can also freeze the baked cookies if you like - however this recipe only yields 12 cookies, so even in our household of two they don't last that long!
For all my tips and tricks on freezing chocolate chip cookie dough and baking from frozen, check out my post: How to freeze cookie dough
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Chewy and Crispy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
My Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies come together in the time it takes to preheat the oven. Chewy on the inside and crispy on the edges, brown butter chocolate chip cookies have massive chocolate puddles, and these no mixer, no chill time cookies will become your new favorite!
Ingredients
- 150g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge is fine
- 100g light or dark brown sugar
- 60g granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 150g all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 3g (1 tsp) salt
- 220g dark chocolate, chopped, plus about 150g additional for the tops of the cookies (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Place the butter in a medium saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until the butter has melted, and then continue to cook, swirling the pan often and stirring with a whisk, until the butter foams and turns golden brown and nutty - this should take 3-4 minutes.
- Weigh out 110g (see Notes section below) of the brown butter into a medium bowl and leave to cool for 15-20 minutes so that it does not scramble your eggs.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl with the brown butter, and mix to combine.
- Add the egg and whisk well for 1-2 minutes, or mix using an electric mixer, until the mixture has lightened in colour and has thickened.
- Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix to combine with a rubber spatula until there are some flour streaks remaining - this is to ensure you do not over work the dough.
- Add the chocolate and mix to incorporate with a rubber spatula.
- Scoop 6 cookies (about 55g per cookie dough ball) using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop onto the prepared baking sheet. If desired, flatten each ball of dough, press more chocolate pieces on the top, and roll into a ball (this works particularly well in this recipe). Arrange evenly apart on the pan. Keep the remainder of the batter in the bowl lightly covered with plastic wrap.
- Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes, until the edges are set. Bake for longer if you would like your cookies to be crispier. Remove from the oven and bang the pan briefly on the counter to help deflate the cookies. If you would like to help your cookies to be perfectly round, use a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to ‘scoot’ them into a perfectly round shape.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with flaky sea salt. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat the baking process with the remainder of the cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
If you are worried about browning butter - don't be! I have a full guide on brown butter 101
You will notice that there are two quantities of butter in the recipe - the initial quantity of butter, then a second measurement in the method which is the quantity of brown butter. The larger initial quantity is to account for water loss when browning - read more about that in my FAQ.
If you are using the recipe scaling feature (2x or 3x) be aware that any quantities, measurements, pan sizes, and cooking times given in the method do not scale automatically - it's only the quantities in the Ingredient List that scale automatically.
Different butters will have different moisture levels, which affects the yield of brown butter. American style butter have a higher water content, so will produce less brown butter when the water is cooked off. European or New Zealand style butter, which is higher in fat than American butter, will have less water that needs cooking off, so you will end up with a higher yield of brown butter. The quantity of the butter in these browned butter cookies is important here, so the best way to measure it is by using a scale. You start with an initial quantity of butter - in this case 150g, and then cook it down. You then re-measure the weight of the brown butter, and use 110g of that in your cookie recipe. I have accounted for the moisture loss from the initial quantity of brown butter in the recipe.
Comments
Danielle says
This is my go-to choc cookie recipe- it is the best there is. Reminds me (from what I can remember!) of City Bakery in NYC (RIP). Thank you so much for this!!!
Rima says
Fast, easy, and excellent results!!
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! Yes you do - sorry this is an issue with my recipe card where it only doubles the amount in the ingredients list and not the instructions otherwise it would give crazy oven temps and pan sizes.
Rebecca says
Thank you so much! Sorry I realized you had answered this in a previous comment.
Chelsea Reinhardt says
Can I use callets instead of chips or chopped chocolate? I've made this recipe a few times with chopped chocolate, but want to make on a larger scale and don't want to buy 20 chocolate bars 😅
Erin Clarkson says
Yesss of course!
Chelsea says
Thank you!! Also if I want them smaller, would you recommend i just cut the weight in half, or is there a specific weight you'd recommend?
Erin Clarkson says
I wouldn't go half but have a play around with sizes and see what you prefer 🙂
Chloe says
Best cookie recipe! I always get so many compliments on these!
sofiyyah says
hey!! i’ve made this cookies multiple times and they’ve turned out great, everyone loves them. however, being from nz we have fattier butter. Usually i make these in double batches and I use the normal 300g to brown. They come out great everytime, Nice and round, chewy on the inside, slightly crunchy on the outside — but the past 2 times i’ve made it, they’ve come out quite thin and spread out and just not the texture that me and everyone have loved. I’ve been doing everything the same, browning to the maximum and adding my normal amount of flour, and even now chilling the dough for an hour — but still, it spreads and thins out. One thing that comes to my mind is that now it’s summer in nz. Do you think due to this factor, I may have to reduce the butter amount?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, check that your baking soda and powder haven't expired - or have you changed ovens or started using a silicone baking mat?
K says
Just FYI the second butter amount within the recipe is not scaling at all. Easy enough to calculate out, but could catch the uninitiated baker.
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, thank you! This is addressed in the notes of the recipe 🙂
Claire says
I made these for Christmas last year and they were specifically requested again this year. I made a double batch and they went so quickly that I needed to make a third! It helps that the recipe is so easy to follow - I really appreciate that it's in grams so all the mise en place happens right on the scale, and specifying how much butter to start and end with is a nice touch.
Ebs says
Super easy, super yummy cookie recipe, Thanks for making the Xmas holidays easier for my baking enthusiast 10 y/o, grams and all 😉
Reagan Ward says
One of my goals for 2025 was to find my signature CC Cookie recipe and this is it!! I have made these probably 10 times, and I love them every time. I use Ghirardelli 60% baking bars, and I reduce the chocolate to about 175 grams (three bars for a double recipe). THE BEST!
Anonymous says
10/10 this cookie. I love love that the ingredients are listed by grams. Made the cookies twice and they came out the same each time. There’s another popular brown butter ccc recipe from someone else that I tried before this and while I love it, it’s never consistent. This is my staple cookie recipe, I plan to try subbing the chocolate chips w/ the same volume in raisins and oats and see how that comes out. Thank you for this recipe!
Poncho says
It says 1 TSP of salt or 3g. It’s about 1/4 tsp for 3g. That seems off?
Erin Clarkson says
Hi, yes I use diamond crystal kosher salt, and 1 tsp of that is 3g
Louise says
Absolutely loved these! Great to not have to worry about chill time, and the Bron butter adds such a nice depth of flavour! Great texture too ❤️
GinnyBeit says
This recipe has (GASP) taken over my beloved ATK salted brown butter chocolate chip cookies that I previously had been making for almost 20 years. With two young kids it's so easy to throw together (and I only use one bowl so cleanup is a breeze!) and I love that you can make them smaller without changing the texture too much. We made these three times this week, getting really popular with the neighbors!
Caitlin T says
If you make my mistake and forget to only measure out 110 grams of butter after browning, you can put the dough in the refrigerator for 30-45mins. That will help the runny dough issues
Lauren Quickmire says
This is THE number one chocolate chip cookie recipe in my house! They are so delicious and easy to whip up. My husband likes them extra salty, so I use salted butter and still add the recommended salt. 10/10.
Mariana says
Love this recipe already! I even incorporated 20 g of milk powder to the brown butter and they were exceptional! But I was wondering which is the difference with your "Small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe" which makes 12 as well. Thank you for your kindness in sharing all your recipes.
Erin Clarkson says
Hi! So happy you loved! This is more of a thin and crispy chocolate chip cookie, whereas the small batch ones bake up a bit thicker! I developed the small batch ones first then realised it was a great amount of batter for a cookie recipe so now lots of my recipes use the same amount!
Marilyn Grosvenor-Attridge says
Oh my goodness these were the best cookies I’ve ever made. I feel like I’ve been searching for this recipe for years! Epic amount of chocolate and just delish. Also the brown butter tip is so clever! Thank you for sharing!
Laura says
Hands down my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I've made it dozens of times and it's always amazing!
Laura says
My friends and I loooove these cookies. I’ve made them about 50 times (not an over exaggeration). The brown butter step really makes the cookies extra yum! I like to do a mix of dark chocolate (I.e. some 72% and some 50%) and a little bit of milk chocolate! I’ve also made them GF and they still turned out great!
B says
This recipe is perfect. Great instructions, easy, perfect every time. The salt in the cookie dough is a game changer. I like to do a mix of milk & dark choc which is nice too. Thanks for creating my go-to CCC recipe!
Eman Yousuf says
Wow - these are the best chocolate chip cookies I might have ever eaten (and I baked them?!) This was a really easy recipe to follow and the cookies are chewy and crisp too! Absolutely delicious, I can't imagine i'll ever go looking elsewhere for chocolate chip cookie recipe - and this will definitely be what I recommend to friends and family 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Aditi says
If I put half the sugar to make this half sweet, would that work?
Erin Clarkson says
Probably not, sugar plays an important role in hydration in baking.
Kayla says
Absolutely unreal! The only thing wrong with this recipe is the idea I'd only want 12 cookies 🤭 Pretty much fool proof, perfect cookie texture! I used semi-sweet chocolate chips since that's what we had on hand, so I didn't do the puddles of chocolate in the middle but still a 10/10 cookie! Will for sure make a double batch next time 🤗
Elle says
Easy to make and the texture is great, crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle. They freeze well too and retain the texture when baked from frozen. They are too sweet for me, though, but my husband loves them.