Brown butter chocolate chip cookies

Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite recipe is, this is it! My brown butter chocolate chip cookies have pockets of chocolate, a delicious flavor from the brown butter, and they are gooey in the center with perfectly crisp edges. This recipe was originally published in 2021, and I've updated it to include all of my tips and tricks to ensure you get the most delicious and perfect chocolate chip cookie!

There are a lot of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there (I know, because I've baked lots of them) and there are some that stand out from the pack. I've taken elements I love most from my favorite recipes, added some twists of my own, and after testing the baking time and temperature, it's time to share the beauty of this recipe.

You'll notice there is both a chilling period and a freezing period. I know it sounds excessive, but I promise you that the end result is worth it. That's another reason this recipe makes about 20 cookies, larger than my other recipes. It's perfect for storing dough in the freezer (for up to 2-3 months) so that you can have the best chocolate chip cookie whenever a craving strikes! It's also the perfect recipe to share with loved ones, and makes enough so that you'll still have some to enjoy yourself. Depending on how thick or thin you want your cookie, I've also included different baking temperature options so you can get your cookies just how you like it.

Because this is one of my favorite recipes, I've made it countless times over the years and I've learned a lot about how to perfect it. Recently I narrowed it down to a few key steps:

• Avoid finely chopping your chocolate. I noticed that sometimes when I baked this recipe, my cookies were coming out thinner than I liked even when I strictly followed the chill and freeze guidance. Some of this has to do with the temperature (which we'll get to) but another thing that impacts this is the size of your chocolate. I found that when I used larger chunks of chocolate vs. finely chopping, I got a thicker and more gooey cookie. I usually use half Super Cookie Chocolate Chips from Guittard and half roughly chopped semisweet chocolate, or all super cookie chips.

• Bake a test cookie or two. I know it might be tempting once you've made it through the chill and freeze process to put all of your cookies straight in the oven, but there is nothing worse than baking all of your cookies at once and realizing they are thicker or thinner than you wanted. While it can always be an issue with the dough if the texture or thickness isn't quite right, it can also often simply be a matter of temperature!

  • If your test cookies are too thin: first make sure your dough is properly chilled, and then increase the temperature 25 degrees for the next round and reduce the bake time by a few minutes

  • If your test cookies are too thick: reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees and bake for an extra few minutes

• Follow the chill and freeze guidance, even though it requires some patience. We know oven temperature has a lot to do with the thickness of your cookie, and the temperature of the dough also has a big impact. Your dough needs time to chill properly before you scoop and freeze. This allows the flour to hydrate and especially important your brown butter needs time to solidify. The freeze then helps to ensure a slightly thicker and chewy bake, with a gooey center. I also love this step because then you can leave as much of your dough in the freezer as you want to bake later on - I really don't believe in a non-freshly baked chocolate chip cookie!

• If you have one, use a food scale. When I made this recipe, I wasn't using a kitchen scale, and since then I now use one almost exclusively. I was so resistant to using a food scale because it felt like an unnecessary extra step - and wow was I wrong. If you have any issues with inconsistent textures or baking, I can almost guarantee you this will solve the issue. I now find that every time I make this recipe, it comes out just how I want it and there is so much less left up to chance. A small variance in the amount of flour or sugar can make a big difference in the texture, and a scale helps to remove this variable.

Technique is of course important when baking, but ingredients make a big difference too. Overall, this recipe doesn't call for any "specialty" ingredients aside from the bread flour. I promise the ingredients and quantities were selected very carefully and tested many times over the past three years, so I don't recommend straying.

A few specific notes on ingredients:

• Brown butter: Butter is great in all forms, but especially so when it's browned. To brown your butter, you'll melt it in a pot or pan on low to medium heat. After it melts, it will begin to crackle. Continue to stir and watch your butter carefully. You'll start to smell a nutty aroma (you'll know it when it happens). Once you see the color turn to a light brown or amber, remove your pan from the heat and transfer your butter into a heat proof bowl (make sure to get all of the brown bits at the bottom!). I like using a european style unsalted butter or an "extra creamy" butter like Cabot which has less water content, but I've made this recipe with a variety of butter brands, and I promise they've all tasted delicious.

• Bread flour: If you don't think you'll be making cookies often, it's okay to skip this and swap in all purpose flour for your second cup of flour. It does add to the chewy texture of the cookie, but it will be okay without it if you want to avoid another trip to the store.

• Chocolate: I love using half roughly chopped semisweet chocolate and half Super Cookie Chocolate Chips from Guittard. The super cookie chips are truly the perfect size for any chocolate chip cookie recipe, and make it easy to get the perfect chocolate melt in your cookies. The combo of them and chopped chocolate is just incredible. I wouldn't suggest using standard chocolate chips because they don't melt quite as nicely, but in a pinch really any chocolate can work.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour 120g

• 1 cup bread flour 120g

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter 226g

• 1 cup light brown sugar 192g

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 96g

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 large egg + 2 egg yolks*

• 10 oz (a little less than two cups) semisweet chocolate 280g

*The only ingredient update I've made from the original ingredients list published in 2021 is to switch from 2 full eggs and 1 extra yolk, to 2 yolks and 1 full egg (removing one egg white). If you loved the original recipe and want to make it that way, follow the same instructions below with 2 eggs and 1 yolk!

Total time: 8-24 hours including chill and freeze time

Prep time: About 20 minutes

Bake time: 12-14 minutes

Cooking instructions:

Brown your butter. Place both sticks of butter in a pot or pan (I recommend using a nonstick heavy bottomed pot) on the stovetop on a low to medium heat. After it melts, you'll hear it begin to crackle. Stir the melted butter and watch it carefully as it can burn easily. You'll start to smell a nutty aroma (you'll know it when it happens). Once you see the color turn to a light brown or amber, remove your pan from the heat and transfer your butter and all of the brown bits at the bottom into a large, heat proof bowl. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, combine both cups of flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, add your light brown and granulated sugar and your browned butter. Stir together to help further cool your butter and to fully combine your sugar into the butter. Mix in your vanilla extract.

In a separate small bowl, add your egg and two egg yolks. Add about one egg/egg yolk at a time to your butter and sugar mixture. Note: before doing this, if your butter and sugar mixture feels too warm, you can place it in the fridge for about 5 minutes before combining to avoid scrambled egg cookies :)

Add your flour mixture into your butter mixture in three rounds. As part of the last round, before your dough is fully formed, add and fold in your chocolate. Continue to fold together until your dough is formed and your chocolate is evenly distributed. Cover your cookie dough and place in the fridge for at least two hours.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from your fridge and use a large cookie scoop to portion out your dough (it should make about 20 cookies about 2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons in size) and place the portioned dough onto your lined cookie sheet. Cover your cookie sheet and place into the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours - I usually do this overnight to get a full 20-24 hours!

Once your dough is frozen, if you don't plan to bake it all at once, you can transfer it all into a more space-friendly container (I typically use a plastic bag but tupperware would work great as well).

When you're ready to bake some or all of your dough, preheat your oven to 350** degrees. Space your frozen dough onto a lined cookie sheet (I use parchment paper). Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove your cookie sheet from the oven. Allow your cookies to cool, and enjoy!

Additional cooking and storing information:

If you bake the whole batch at once, you can store the baked cookies in an airtight container once cooled for about 3 days. I cannot emphasize enough how much I recommend keeping the dough frozen and baking the amount you want to eat that night or day, because you just cannot beat the experience of fresh baked cookies. I have eaten one a day later though, and it still tastes delicious.

**If you like a slightly thinner cookie, you can bake instead from frozen at 325 for 14-16 minutes. I highly recommend baking a test cookie or two to see which temperature you like best. I tried both methods, and felt that the 350 temperature led to a better bake and texture, but both work really well. It may also depend on how long the dough has been in the freezer, so know that you may need to increase or decrease the temperature for example if you're using dough that has been frozen for a few weeks vs. when you made it the day prior.

Carb and serving info: Servings: 20 cookies

Carbs per serving: 33

Carbs for full recipe: 658

Carbs from chocolate: 171 (adjust this if you use a different type of chocolate!)

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.