Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These brown butter chocolate chip cookies are over the top: big and chewy, with nutty brown butter, chocolate chunks, topped with flaky sea salt (Nutella swirl optional). Our friends and family agree, this is one outrageously delicious cookie!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 large or 12 medium 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil or olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups (175g) all-purpose flour (unsifted)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz best quality dark chocolate (60%), chopped (plus additional dark chocolate with caramel for topping, recommended — see Notes)
- 3 tablespoons Nutella, optional but recommended
- Flaky sea salt (Maldon), for finishing
- Special equipment (optional): 4-inch cookie molds
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Place the butter (sliced into pieces) in a skillet over medium heat. Heat for a few minutes until it melts, turns foamy, and then starts to become golden brown and then brown in color and smells nutty. For the best flavor, you’ll want the butter to be very brown: but not burnt! Be careful because it can burn very quickly.
- Immediately remove from the heat and transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the sugars and oil into the butter. Allow to cool until it is room temperature, for about 10 minutes (we like to place the bowl in the refrigerator for this part).
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- After the sugar mixture is room temperature, use a spatula to stir in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Then stir in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate, saving out about 1/6 of the chunks for the topping (or you can add it all and use additional for topping).
- For molded cookies: Divide the dough evenly into 8 silicone molds (scoop out approximately 1/2 cup scoops or 80 g each). Lightly roll it into a ball then press it down to make a disc. If using Nutella (recommended), add a 1/2 tablespoon dollop into the dough, then fold over the dough and press it into a disc again. Place the molds on two cookie sheets, then refrigerate the sheets for 30 minutes.
- For free-form cookies: Scoop out 1/3 cup scoops into 12 medium (50 g) sized cookies. Place them across two baking sheets. If using Nutella, pull each ball in half, add a 1 teaspoon dollop of Nutella, then top with the other half of the dough and re-roll into a ball. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. (It is very important to form the dough into cookies before refrigerating, and to refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour), otherwise the cookies will spread in the oven. You want the dough as cold as possible.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the cookies until golden brown and set at the edges, 19 to 22 minutes for the cookies in molds, switching the trays halfway. (Without molds, bake 12 to 14 minutes for the 12 medium cookies on sheets). Keep in mind, the bake time depends on your specific oven, so adjust as necessary. You’ll want them just golden and baked through, but still slightly underbaked so they stay chewy.
- Remove from the oven. Important: Press in chopped chocolate into the tops of the cookies (we like using chocolate with caramel inside for the topping), then sprinkle with a small pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Place the molds onto cooling racks, then allow to cool for about 1 hour until the cookies are able to pop out of the molds. (Allow cookies without molds to stand on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to baking racks to cool.) If serving for a crowd, a fun way to serve the molded cookies is to slice them into 4 wedges, making for more cookies!
- Storage: Storage is important for keeping the cookies chewy. Place the cookies in a plastic bag with parchment in between layers (if there is extra air, suck out as much air as possible with a straw). Store at room temperature for up to 2 days. (You can also individually wrap the large cookies in plastic wrap if desired to keep them very moist.)
Notes
For the best results, use the Nutella and top with extra chopped dark chocolate with caramel inside (in addition to the dark chocolate in the cookies). The caramel dark chocolate adds a nice flavor nuance. If desired, you can also use it inside the cookies as well.
Another method for incorporating the Nutella is stirring it into the dough after the chocolate chips with a spatula but only a few times, so it incorporates in streaks.
