Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
The ultimate chocolate chip cookie! Nutty, velvety brown butter makes for a perfect cookie with crisp edges, chewy centers, and rich chocolate chunks in each bite.
Servings 24 cookies
Calories 86kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 bag bag chocolate chunks 12-ounce bag
- optional: sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Make the brown butter. In a saucepan or medium saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat stirring occasionally. Once the butter is melted the milk fats in the butter will start to darken as it cooks, this takes about 3 to 5 minutes. The butter will start to foam and rise (this is a sign it's almost done). Use a rubber spatula to stir and move the foam to check the color of the milk fats. Once the butter is a toasted brown color transfer to a bowl.
- Chill the butter. Place the bowl of butter in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. The butter should be chilled and just starting to solidify once the time is up.
- Preheat. About ½ way through chilling the butter, preheat the oven to 350°F. If using silicone baking mats, this cookie dough batter does not need to be chilled after mixing. If using parchment paper or baking directly on the baking sheet, chilling the cookie dough for 3 hours is highly recommended to prevent the cookies from spreading thin.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In the bowl of a standing mixer or in a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix for another minute on medium speed, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl halfway.
- Mix in the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix increasing the speed to medium as the flour incorporates. Beat for about 1 minute until everything is combined. Lower the speed and mix in the chocolate chunks. Note: reserve about ¼ cup of chocolate chunks for the top of the cookies if you want visible chocolate chunks on top like in the photos.
- Bake the cookies. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and lightly roll into a ball. Place on a silicone mat-lined baking sheet. (see note below about mats vs. parchment paper). Top each cookie with 2 or 3 extra chocolate chunks. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, just until the centers are cooked and the edges have just started to turn golden brown. Optional: sprinkle with flaked sea salt right after baking. Let cool for 3 to 4 minutes before transferring to a wire baking rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Silicone mats vs. parchments paper. I looooove me some parchment paper for easy cleanup, but I also really hate waiting for cookie dough to chill. Using a silicone mat to line the baking sheet will allow you to bake these cookies without chilling the batter and also prevent them from spreading. If you don't have silicone mats, I'd recommend chilling the batter for 3 hours before baking if you don't want the cookies to spread.
- Spooned and leveled. Just scooping straight out of the bag of flour may lead to dense cookies because the flour to packed! To get the perfect amount of flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off with a knife. Alternatively, you can just weigh the flour. You'll need 270 grams of all-purpose flour.
- This dough can also be made in advance and chilled up to 48 hours before baking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 96mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg