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If there’s a chocolate chip recipe that goes famous, it should be these brown butter chocolate chip cookies. It’s like your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but even more flavourful.
Essentially, these are your classic chocolate chip cookies but with a nutty caramelized flavor that’s similar to toffee. This is because we toast milk powder in butter until golden for an intensely toasty brown butter. Packed with both gooey milk and dark chocolate, the cookies also have creamy nostalgic notes balanced with fruity bitterness.
Did I mention the texture? These cookies have golden crispy edges and chewy centers that stay soft in the center for days. You don’t have to worry about them drying out by the next day, so you can stretch out the deliciousness.
So, if you like toffee flavoured chewy cookies that are on the thinner side, these are the perfect chocolate chip cookies for you!
Problems this recipe solves
- Waiting for brown butter to cool. Stick an ice cube in and some cold eggs and you can mix up the dough immediately.
- No brown butter flavour. These cookies’ brown butter flavour doesn’t get overpowered by chocolate because we toast milk powder to get extra toastiness. No browning butter for nothing here!
- Monotone cookies that taste like sugar, sugar, and more sugar. I’m not saying sugar is bad, I’m just saying we can do better. These cookies taste like toffee, caramel, fruity dark chocolate, toasty butter, creamy milk chocolate, and happiness. Money can’t buy happiness, but these cookies definitely can.
- Cookies that dry out the next day. If I’m baking cookies, I want them to last as long as possible in their prime. With this recipe, they do! The centers stay soft and chewy for days as long as they’re stored in an airtight container and not overbaked.
- No egg yolk required for good texture. We’re avoiding random extra egg whites here.
Why you’ll love these cookies
- No mixer or letting ingredients come to room temperature is required.
- No special ingredients nor leftover egg whites or yolks.
- Bakery-style big because the more chocolate, the better.
- Rich toasty flavor that leaves other brown butter cookies in the dust.
- Full of gooey milk and dark chocolate.
What is brown butter?
When butter is cooked until golden, it’s considered brown butter. The milk solids in the butter brown to create a delicious toasted nutty flavour. This recipe adds milk powder to increase the milk solids, which increases the flavour of the brown butter.
Since one of these cookie’s primary flavours is butter, the depth of flavour brown butter adds is well worth the effort.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Flavour, tenderness, richness, butter does it all for these cookies. If you only have salted butter, omit the added salt.
- Skim milk powder: Milk solids in butter that toast as you brown butter gives these cookies a deep toasty flavour. So, extra milk powder (more milk solids) is toasted in the butter to amplify the flavour of browned butter.
- Granulated sugar: Sugar not only sweetens the cookies but also gives them crisp edges.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and flavor for chewy toffee-flavored cookies. Dark brown sugar is better than light brown sugar since it’s has more molasses, but both work in this recipe.
- Ice cube: An ice cube cools the hot sugar and butter mixture. This way, the egg doesn’t cook when you add it. It also adds moisture to compensate for the lost water content from browning the butter.
- Eggs: The egg binds the cookie dough together and improves texture.
- Vanilla extract: An entire tablespoon of vanilla is added for lots of flavour. The vanilla complements the chocolate and deepens the flavour of the cookies.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour gives these cookies structure.
- Espresso powder: The small amount of espresso powder brings out the chocolate so the cookies taste extra chocolatey. Don’t worry, you won’t taste any coffee.
- Baking soda: Baking soda leavens the cookies. Do not substitute for baking powder, it does not function the same as baking soda.
- Table salt: Salt enhances the other flavours of the cookies. If you’re using kosher salt or sea salt, double the amount of salt listed in the recipe. You can sprinkle on some extra salt on top of the cookies after baking if desired.
- Chocolate: A combination of milk and dark chocolate is used so there’s a balance of sweetness and bitterness. Having multiple types of chocolate makes prevents the cookies from tasting monotone. Please use the best quality chocolate you have, as chocolate is one of the primary flavours in these cookies. Generally, chopped chocolate is better as it melts into gooey puddles (chips hold their shape), but chocolate chips work too.
Instructions
Whisk melted butter and milk powder together.
Cook the butter until golden like the image above.
Whisk sugars into the hot butter mixture. Then transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk in egg and vanilla extract until smooth and glossy.
This is what the finished cookie dough with the chocolate should look like. Scoop with a cookie scoop and bake.
Add ice cube and whisk. The mixture should have gone from hot to warm.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then add chocolate.
When the cookies are coming out of the oven, they should look mostly dry and lightened in colour in the center like the image above.
Variations
These cookies are the perfect base for any mix-ins, so feel free to add whatever mix-ins you want to them. Here’s some ideas to get you started!
- Candy bar cookies: Chop candy bars into bite-size chunks and mix-in instead of chopped chocolate for extra fun cookies.
- Simple berry cookies: Mix in berries instead of chopped chocolate. If using frozen berries, do not defrost, mix in the berries straight out of the freezer. You can also substitute the milk and dark chocolate with white chocolate chips for a more refreshing and light cookie.
- Nutty chocolate chip cookies: Add your favourite roasted nuts to the cookies alongside the chopped chocolate. They’ll enhance the toasty flavour of the cookies and add a crunchy texture.
- Brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies: The caramelized flavour of toffee pairs wonderfully with the chocolate. Mix in small toffee pieces with the chocolate and bake as usual.
Equipment
Baking pan material can affect the cookies. If you use a dark coloured baking pan, the cookies will bake and brown faster than if using a lighter pan, so keep a close eye on the cookies. Don’t overbake these cookies or else they’ll become dry.
Also, make sure you have a kitchen scale for this recipe since most of the measurements are in grams. Using a kitchen scale ensures you get the same results I have! Learn about why I use a kitchen scale here. If you’d like to use measuring spoons or cups, you can use an online recipe converter to change the units to whatever you’re using.
Storage
These cookies can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container for 3-4 days. If storing for longer, you can store the baked cookies in the freezer in an airtight container.
You can also freeze the unbaked scooped cookies and bake from frozen. Chill the cookie dough as usual until it’s firm enough to scoop into cookie dough balls. Freeze the scooped cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet until solid, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze. Bake from frozen at 350F for 13-15 minutes.
FAQ
You don’t have the chill the dough, but since the cookies’ main flavor is butter and sugar, chilling the dough to bring out the toffee undertones makes a noticeable difference in flavor. Even a couple hours of chill time will enhance the flavor.
The center of the cookie should look dry, not very wet or shiny, but it will still be soft. The cookies will firm up significantly once they cool. Be very careful not to overbake them, or else they’ll become dry.
These cookies will lack a lot of their flavour without the milk powder, so please keep it in. Additionally, omitting milk powder may change the texture of these cookies, as the recipe was designed with milk powder.
Of course. If baking 1.5 tbsp cookies, bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes.
No, you’ll see the flecks of milk powder (brown bits) and that’s okay. Just whisk constantly while cooking until brown, then remove from the heat.
You can use a circular cookie cutter that’s larger than your cookie to swirl the cookies around on the baking sheet when they’re fresh out of the oven. This will push the edges into a circular shape for more circular cookies. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can use an inverted bowl or cup.
You can also add extra pieces of chocolate on top of your cookies while they’re hot if desired.
Let’s bake!
This chocolate chip cookie recipe might just yield the best cookies you’ll ever try. They’re so rich, chewy and delicious.
When you make them, tag me on Instagram @bakewhenitrains so I can see your amazing cookies.
Also, don’t forget to leave a comment and rating below. I’d love to hear your feedback.
With love,
Your baking friend Sherene ❤️
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 175 grams unsalted butter
- 35 grams skim milk powder
- 45 grams granulated sugar
- 130 grams brown sugar
- 1 ice cube 23 grams
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 200 grams all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp table salt
- 75 grams milk chocolate chopped
- 75 grams dark chocolate chopped
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt butter on medium heat.
- Once butter is added, add milk powder. Whisk constantly until golden brown.
- Turn off heat and add granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add ice cube and stir in.
- Add egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Add flour, espresso, baking soda and salt. Fold with a spatula until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375℉ and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Let the dough come to room temperature for 1 hour, then scoop in 1/4 cup cookie balls.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes until the center of the cookies no longer look wet.
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