Emergency Saturday dispatch, friends! We have an update! We’re talking urgent Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
My parent’s are visiting New Orleans this week which means I’ve convinced my dad to make my favorite cookies (twice now and once more before he goes) – his Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I’ve made hundreds of dozens of cookies in my day but none better than these.ย Two things make these cookies so special: 1) browned butter, and 2) dad making them for me.ย Now… when I make them for myself they’re still absolutely delicious. The effort barely decreases the pleasure at all.ย But ya know… it just feels nice to have dad bake cookies and mom help with dishes after a year long pantene pro-v.
I have this supremely fine recipe for Browned Butter Chocolate Chip. It’s been up for ages (7 years to be exact) and it feels high time for an update from our Virgo Baking Legend, Clifford Lesley.
The key to this recipe – the things that will make your cookies as good as Dad’s version:
โขย Brown the butter (a step-by-step here) and allow it to cool back to room temperature.ย You can speed this process up by placing the browned butter in the refrigerator to cool but bring it to a softened room temperature before combining with the sugar and other butter.
โขย Allow the cookie dough to rest for 1 hour (at least) before baking. This will allow the dough to meld and rehydrate.
โขย Portion the dough into 60 gram (about 2 1/2 tablespoon) round balls before baking.
Just the way dad does it and he seems to have the perfect touch.
Happy baking, friends. Let there be cookies in your future.
Print
Dadโs Very Best Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 12-15 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 18 cookies 1x
Description
Dad’s perfectly chocolate chip cookies. Chewy inside, crisp around the edges, deep buttery caramel flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 grams) unsalted butter, divided. 1/2 cup softened, 1/2 cup browned and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2ย 3/4 cups + 1 tablespoon (365 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 heaping cup (209 grams) chocolate chips or chocolate wafers
Instructions
- Place half the butter (8 tablespoons) in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling it in the pan occasionally. Itโll foam and froth as it cooks, and start to crackle and pop. Once the crackling stops, keep a close eye on the melted butter, continuing to swirl the pan often. The butter will start to smell nutty, and brown bits will form in the bottom. Once the bits are amber brown (about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or so after the sizzling stops), remove the butter from the burner and immediately pour it into a small bowl, bits and all. This will stop the butter from cooking and burning. ย Allow it to cool until absolutely room temperature. Speed this step up in the refrigerator, but don’t skimp on this step.
- In a medium bowl combine softened butter, room temperature browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.ย Using an electric hand mixer, beat on medium speed until well incorporated, lightened in color, and fluffy – 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the egg and yolk plus the vanilla extract and beat on low speed for 1 minute, until well incorporated.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt to incorporate the leavening evenly through the flour.
- Add the dry ingredients all at once to the butter and sugar mixture and beat on low speed or incorporate with a wooden spoon or spatula until no dry patches remain.ย Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Wrap the cookie dough in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.ย Dough can also be refrigerated overnight. Just allow the dough to rest on the counter while the oven preheats.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll dough into 60 gram portions (about 2 1/2 tablespoon balls). My dad rolls the dough into perfect balls and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
- Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire to cool further before storing.ย Eat as many as you can while they’re warm.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for as long as they last.
Notes
Cookie dough can be frozen in rolled portions and baked from frozen for an additional 3 minutes.
95 Responses
I followed this recipe using only the given weight measurements on a scale and it was the texture of crumbly damp sand. Definitely WAY too much flour in gramsโฆ I managed to save the mix by creaming a large knob of butter, heaping spoonful of sugar and whole egg together to add back into the mix. For context I used King Arthur AP and all other ingredients were from a popular U.S. grocery chain.
Yum! I volunteered to make 100 chocolate chip cookies for an event. There will be 100 oatmeal raisin cookies from another recipe. I reduced the cookie size to 45 grams, found it easy to take a wedge off the refrigerated dough, weigh it and then form them into a ball, so much easier. The dough balls are in the freezer. I was thinking of thawing the dough in the refrigerator overnight, then baking. Thoughts?
O. What temperature do you set the oven on?
Can’t wait to male the recipe, it looks like delicious cookies.
350 degrees F!
I made the dough for these two days ago exactly as written. Meant to bake them yesterday but couldn’t until today.
These are far and away the best thing I have *ever* baked. Better than both the Doubletree, Neiman Marcus, or Crumbl cookies.
Crispy on the bottom and edges, soft and chewy in the center. OMG, going in for my 4th.
I just made these cookies and will not make again with that many grams of flour. Way too firm, couldnโt scoop the dough after being in the fridge. Btw 365g of flour equals 3 cups. Wish I had done the math before adding all the flour ?
Dough came out super crumblyโฆ is this normal??
Good morning! the first time I made it, the same thing happened for me. I made sure to measure the flour in grams next time around and it was better. Also the 1 hour in the fridge helps a lot, but you’re right there isn’t a lot of liquid in the recipe!
Our family’s favorite cookie recipe. Have made it successfully with 1:1 gluten free flour, too. Thanks for sharing!
โThey look fake. Like the cookies you get in a toy tea set.โ The comment my sister gave when I sent her a photo of these cookies after I baked them. This is an incredible recipe, the cookies come out soft and chewy with a slight crisp on the bottom, truly amazing! Iโll be making these again and again!
Horrible. If I could give it zero stars, I would. Followed recipe including using the weights provided for ingredients. Dough is basically just a CRUMBLE. Waste of ingredients.
Outstanding. Followed recipe exactly, easy to make, delicious to eat. Thanks Cliff!
Tough question for you – which is better, The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies or Dad’s Very Best Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies? The differences are minimal – addition of molasses, use of less flour, and regular salt (slightly less) – in the first. Does that change the taste, texture, something else? I also noticed that the refrigeration and post-baking cooling times differ. Is this because of the differences in the ingredients? What sort of difference in the outcome will those factors make?
M nephew asked for a cookie cake for his birthday. I found you searching for that and clicked on the link for your dad’s recipe, hence all my questions. I want to make something that’s more cookie than cake. Can the baking time for the cookie recipe be adapted for using a pizza pan? Due to the spreading while baking, would you recommend not placing the dough so that it’s all the way to the edge of the pan?
I, too, am in New Orleans (well, technically, Metairie). So glad to have stumbled upon you. I’ll be keeping you close at hand!
Hi Joy. I cannot thank you enough for sharing this recipe and your dad as well, for all the work perfecting it over the years. These are BY FAR the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet, hands down, and such a treat to make. I will never make another type of chocolate chip cookie again. They are so incomparably delicious that I will also never be able to buy a chocolate chip cookie again. Thanks from me and my loved ones in Montreal, Canada who are devouring them now. :). Angela
You’re so welcome Angela! Thank you for the kind words!
Delicious cookies!
Iโve never browned butter before, so I was a little nervous trying this recipe. The instructions were easy to follow and the cookies turned out exactly as described. Theyโre absolutely delicious. The browned butter tastes a bit like toffee and adds something extra special to these cookies.
Instructions were clear, dough turned out amazing. Definitely worth the labor of love and patience! New go to chocolate chip cookie recipe! Thank you from my family to yours Joy! ??
These are next level delicious. As someone who prefers cooking to baking, I greatly appreciate the ingredients by weight! I donโt know why, but it seems less like work. Super nerdy question here. I agree that chilling cookie dough almost always results in a better cookie, but always get mad at trying to scoop chilled dough. Is there any โscientific/baking reasonโ why you couldnโt weight out the soft dough into the portions, roll, and then chill those pre-portioned? If Iโm gonna bake, I def want the best result, but am always curious about this! Thx again for sharing this recipe and snippets of your current adventures in life!
I haven’t tried it with this recipe, but I always scoop my cookies and then put them in the fridge overnight and have great results at baking without hurting my arm trying to scoop rock hard dough.
Regarding make-ahead cookies ready for the oven: I make large batches of chocolate chip cookie dough and roll 2″ scoop size balls; place the balls shoulder to shoulder on parchment covered sheet and freeze without covering – depending on your freezer you can cram a lot of them in and they freeze quickly. When they are fully frozen I put them into a container or zipperlock bags and freeze for future use. I keep mine in the freezer up to 6 months and they are insanely good every time, baked right from the freezer no need to defrost. I am with the others who have stated a refrigeration “rest” offers a superior cookie with fully developed flavor.
These are actually perfect chocolate chip cookies. Like, since discovering this recipe I have not made any other chocolate chip cookie recipes. This is the one. Sublime every time. Can’t recommend enough!
Thank you and your dad for sharing with us this great recipe! Amazing and I appreciate it so much.
Iโve made these – or slight variations (m&ms instead of chocolate chips, for example) so many times I *nearly* have it memorized. Today I made with local baking discs and the puddles of chocolate were next level. Every time I bring them to others, they rave. Follow the directions exactly and the weights (including the weight of each dough ball) and you wonโt be disappointed!
After watching the Instagram live where Joy and her pops made these cookies, I finally made them. These are all they are hyped up to be. I followed her dad’s instructions and weighed the ingredients. I enjoyed scooping the cookies from a slab of chilled dough – that was a new trick for me. I baked two cookie sheets at a time and rotated them halfway through. They are the perfect cookie! They didn’t spread too much, are crispy at the edges, and soft and gooey in the center. I also used dark chocolate chips for the ultimate decadent experience. Well done, Papa Joy!
I have not baked these yet. Followed recipe and used the 2 1/2 cups of flour; dough is very dry and grainy. Put it in the frig covered with plastic wrap.
is it suppose to be dry and grainy? Your recipe that was Best Brownie instead of
Very best only called for 2 1/3 cups of flour; was that more correct or should there be more butter? Hoping it is better after refrigeration. Thank you for your reply. Cannot rate yet as I don’t know how they will turn out. Diana
My husband has been gluten intolerant for years. Recently he discovered he tolerates gluten again. These were the first treats I made him with real flour. They did not disappoint!
These cookies are amazing! This will definitely be a go to cookie recipe. Thank you!
We’re so glad, Jessica!
What is the yield for one batch? How many cookies?
Sounds like a great recipe, canโt wait to make them. Myquestion is can I add nuts to the cookie dough?
Desiree, I would say yes and add them when you add the chocolate chips!
Your Dad’s recipe is the BOMB! Thank you for sharing it! I baked exactly as directed, but made my cookies smaller by using a smaller scoop DELISH!!!!!
This is it!! The best cc cookies ever. I have always made mine with 1 stick of butter browned and 1 not. I was wrong. Dad was right. Am I forgiven?
Truly the BEST choc chips cookies Iโve made. The burn butter gives so much depth and caramel after taste that is just divine. Cannot recommend this recipe enough.
The hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie has ended here <3
I tired this recipe for the first time one week ago, fell in love, and just made my second batch. They are simply perfection and will be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe going forward. (In addition to taste, they are also the prettiest cookies!) All around LOVE!
Really want to try these!! Is it okay to substitute gluten-free flour? If so, do you recommend a particular brand? THANK YOU so much!
I’ve successfully made them with GF flour :) I used the king arthur brand.
These may be the BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever made and I have made dozens of different recipes. I love browned butter! I chilled it in the refrigerator before using. I also subbed in dark brown sugar because I love the flavor it gives. Thanks to Dad for a great recipe!
The magic of brown butter. Love these.
Um, I do NOT know why I waited so long to make these. I’ve been making the same chocolate chip cookie recipe for years, and this just TOTALLY dethroned them! Send your Pops all my thanks and love for this recipe!
Made these with my daughter who is visiting from New Orleans. Perfect snowstorm activity and they are just delicious. Thanks, Joy!
I have long been on the hunt for a soft, thick chocolate chip cookie with great flavor and these were perfect! I think it is my favorite recipe I’ve ever tried for chocolate chip cookies. Fantastic.
Needed to add 2 tsp of milk at the end as the mixture turned out on the side of dry. I love the idea of making balls, freezing them and popping them into the oven as and when needed.
Just made these with the kids. The browned butter/ghee lend it a lovely flavour. Reminded us of nankhatai.
Just here to report that I made these subbing baking powder for baking soda – 3 tsps to be exact – and it worked out very well. Highly recommend this recipe!
These are the best chocolate chip cookies. Baked them yesterday and they are still soft today. I did make them smaller, as we prefer smaller cookies. If I could give them ten stars, I would!!!
I’ve made these 3 or 4 times. I tell everyone about them, lol. I use half chocolate chips and half baking chocolate chunks. I also add whatever nuts I have on hand. It’s very forgiving for additions. Most delicious cookies I’ve ever made. I usually make a half dozen or if the fridge, then freeze the balls and pop a few in the toaster oven when we’re looking for a little sweet to go with our tea.
Absolutely my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. No-fuss ingredients, reliable results every time. Iโve gotten so many compliments on these from people who are self-proclaimed cookie snobs. Thank you!!
I baked these for my 70 year old brother who is a life long chocolate chip cookie lover. We both think these are the best we have ever tasted. Thanks Joy and Dad!
Joy has done it again! Iโve made, and loved, many of her recipes. But this is the first time Iโve left a comment. The world needs to know how good these are! Take the time to brown the butter and measure out the cookie size. (Also worth breaking out the good butter and the chocolate chips.) You will not be disappointed!
PS – thank you to her lovely dad for sharing these too!
So if you roll them into cookie-sized balls and freeze, can you skip the fridge step?
We made these and they were wonderful! Thanks for the recipe Joy!
These are delicious – I made them with big chocolate chunks and finished them with flaky salt. My only critique is that 60 grams would have been HUGE, and there’s no way it would have yielded 18 cookies. I made 40 gram balls and only got 11 (enormous) cookies out of it. That won’t stop me from making them again though (and probably doubling the recipe).
Just wondering, was your scale calibrated? I did 60 grams and got 18 cookies.
That’s a great question. I’m so sorry for the confusion Roxanne.
Has anyone accidentally browned the whole cup of butter? I browned the butter earlier this morning, and was still half asleep, so browned both sticks… should I just save half for something else? Or should I bake the cookies will all browned butter? Help plz!
So good!! Thanks to your Dad! I was generous with the “heaping” chocolate and got 19 cookies when I weighed them out.
Print this out. Tape to the back of your spice cabinet. You’re gonna want quick access to this one. Do not deviate. Perfect as is :-)
These are delicious! I’ve made them twice now and I’m going on my third time. I think this is the cookie recipe I’ve been looking for my entire life. I love that they are soft and can stay soft if you treat them correctly.
Baked these lovies three times now. This latest batch I used 2/3 more flour, added one heaping teaspoon of baking powder, and no chocolate. The crowd loves this recipe!
And my changes to this last batch received alot of love as well.
Thank you for this recipe and teaching me about browned butter. Hats off to you!
This looks awesome! Question though, are we able to use a stand mixer also? I noticed that you mentioned hand mixer. Can’t wait to try them.
Stand mixer or hand mixer – either will do!
I’ve made these cookies twice now and they are amazing! Perfect size, density, number of chocolate chips, etc. They will be my new favorite. Yum and thanks to your dad :)
Rock on Dad! These cookies are amazing! Everyone who tried them loved them. Nice and chewy without being sloppy in the middle. The only thing I did differently was add a bit more vanilla. Too bad they didn’t last long enough to get a picture! Maybe next time……
Thank you for the great recipe!
These have officially become my #1 chocolate chip cookie. I’ve made them twice in the past 2 weeks and they were perfect both times. I even weighed the dough balls to get the ideal size and rolled them perfectly round which made them extra special. My husband usually gets bored with a dessert after eating one or two servings but he ate 3 of these the first night I made them and I had to bake the rest of the dough balls! They’re even still good after they sit for a day or two.
Your dad is a genius! These are going to be my new go-to chocolate chip cookies (I now have zero excuse for shelling out too much $$$ on the terribly delicious Whole Foods bakery ones). Thank you (and your sweet dad) for sharing this winning recipe with us.
They look extragood!!
I am going to make these today! Very excited. Also, I jus bought your over easy cookbook and man! I want to try all the recipes. Such a great book!
I bake as a hobby and unable to taste anything I make due to being diabetic. I love to make sweet rolls (cinnamon/citrus) and known around here for them. I do volunteer work where I have willing tasters. This week I decided to make citrus rolls and make your cookie recipe (and never really much of a cookie person, but do like to make skillet cookies for the ease). I made these cookies and individually wrapped them. People went BONKERS over them. They kept trying to figure out the “SECRETE ingredient.” When they found out I made the cookies they asked if I would reveal the ingredient. I was glad to tell them about brown butter and they thought these were the “best chocolate chip cookies they had ever had.” Thanks
Wow, these cookies look amazing. I would love to make these soon. Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe.
Joy!!! Your dadโs method is the same as how I make your (I would argue) most iconic recipe! That makes me so happy. The only difference between his method and mine is that I do a full teaspoon of salt. I really try to make the dough a few days before I intend to bake them as that fridge aging makes them completely irresistible. I also think using a mix of chocolate chips (I usually do semisweet and dark chocolate) takes it over the top. One of my hobbies is trying new chocolate chip cookie recipes but this one is my absolute fave. Itโs such a good recipe!
your dad is the cutest! love this!
What an ingenious method to freeze them for an hour and roll them out. I tried this last night and my family just loved these. Because I rolled them into a ball just like how your dad suggested, they all came same sized. That is a tip that I will always try now for all my cookies. Love all the way from India :)
I’ve made these twice already, and my third batch is in the fridge , waiting to bake them in an hour. Last time I made a half dozen right away, and froze the rest of the balls. The frozen cookies came out just as good as the fresh ones. Nothing better than putting a few in the oven, and making a cup of tea to have with them.
So for this recipe, am I browning half a cup of butter and using what’s left after the water cooks off? Or do I use exactly 1 measured cup of brown butter? I was planning on making a batch of brown butter to keep in the fridge for another recipe, so I’m not sure if it measures the same since water will cook off of it. These cookies look amazing and I can’t wait to try!
Worth it! These were phenomenal!
I made these cookies last night. Perfectly shaped buttery cookies! I love the browned butter step for cookies. It gives them that extra oomph. I’m so glad your parents were able to visit!
Made them for dinner tonight. Amazing!
JOY! Holy crap, these cookies. I almost don’t even care about the chocolate chips (!) because the crunchy caramel-y corners are giving me so much life. You and your dad have excellent taste. I’m so grateful for the tiny miracle of you guys being together this weekend. Thanks for the recipeโy’all have a great visit! Thanks for all you do. xo
Do you or your dad recommend a specific chocolate chip?
Thank you for sharing your Dads
original Brown Butter Chocolate
Chip cookie recipe. At first sight that is
some good size cookie. Iโve been wanting to make chocolate chip cookies
for about a month. Now you have given
me a new recipe to try that is different
from most I have seen. Thank you and your Dad.
The cookies look delicious and I can feel the love all the way to LA. Enjoy
I mean I do love you Joy, but your dadโs recipes are some of my faves. First it was the sweet potato pie which people go nuts over and now these cookies. They are definitely my new favorite. By the way, I do about 45 grams each and get 25-26 cookies and theyโre plenty big. Thanks for the great recipes, the Sunday blog and for sure thanks for your dad!
Lookin’ good in that apron Cliff! Love to all!
Enjoy this visit with your parents!
This is the most beautiful cookie, especially when it’s in its cookie dough form. Soft, supple, perfectly balanced. My go to recipe has been Cook’s Illustrated Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies, and while this recipe is very similar, it is a touch superior to Cooks. Thank you Joy’s dad!
Love this!!! Love that your Dad makes you cookies.
Your brown butter chocolate chip cookies are THE BEST! I make them all the time :)
The sprinkle of sea salt in the top truly adds the perfect finish to a great cookie.
Can’t wait to try these. I’ve made your version of browned butter chocolate chip cookies and these sound fantastic too. I especially love that you have a handwritten version (hoping it’s your father’s writing) of the recipe. I treasure all the handwritten, stained with age, recipes I have collected over the years from family members and friends. There is something extra personal about them.
I made the the recipe and found that the cookie gets even better if thatโs possible by aging the dough in the fridge for a few days!
Best chocolate cookie ever! A must try.
Thanks Dad!
This is the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made and I make it all the time!! We putting a little extra flour in now?!
Dad puts a little extra flour in! :)
I will definitely try baking your father’s cookies. I needed to take the time to say how blessed you are to have a father that bakes you cookies, not once, but 3 times. Tripled blessed. This special blog with your father brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing your family with us.
More Blessing to you all, Janie