The best brown butter chocolate chunk cookies
These chocolate chunk cookies are chewy with a rich gooeyness and a balance of nutty and caramel-like flavours. Made with simple ingredients, you can enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee. Follow the step-by-step instructions & tips for making these delicious and crowd-pleasing cookies.
AUTHOR : KHUSHALI PATEL
PREPARATION TIME: 2 hours
BAKING TIME: 15-16 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 15 minutes
*For the best results, read the entire post & follow the instructions.
Are you a big chocolate chunk cookie lover in constant search of a recipe that is easy to make with an overload of flavour and a rich melt-in-your-mouth texture? If you are a big chocolate chunk cookie lover, then you are in the right place! And even if you aren’t, this recipe will surely blow your mind away as it is not like a traditional chocolate chunk cookie.
Way before I began the recipe trials for the perfect chocolate chunk cookie, I spent quite a lot of time thinking what exactly does a perfect cookie taste and look like. Eventually realizing that it’s a cookie that balances the three distinct flavours – vanilla, chocolate and toffee along with a balance in texture – chewy on the outside and gooey in the middle.
These cookies win in all these aspects as they have phenomenal flavour with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. This recipe is easy to make and requires simple ingredients that can be found in your pantry.
I have also included success tips that will help you make the perfect batch of cookies. You can either bake the cookies immediately after chilling or freeze the dough for when you crave something sweet.
Why are these the best chocolate chunk cookies?
During the recipe trials, I first used the more traditional method of preparing the cookie dough with a mix of castor and brown sugar, flour, butter and chocolate. But the cookies lacked the depth in flavour and didn’t win in the aspect of texture as well. So, my creative juices began flowing even more, and I thought of different ways to help me find the unique flavour and texture I wanted.
Read more below this below:
Butter
The very first thought I had, was to brown the butter for a more toffee-like flavour and then chill it till it reaches the correct texture – soft butter. However, the cookie ended up being too cake-like. After that, I divided the butter into two – melted brown butter and soft butter to help balance flavour and texture. The browned butter improved the flavours of the cookie and gave it a lovely chewiness while the soft butter gave the cookie a lovely firm structure.
Chocolate
I prepared the cookies with dark chocolate (minimum of 50% cocoa). As I didn’t want the sweetness to overpower all the delicious flavour of the browned butter, I used high-quality dark chocolate. I roughly chopped the chocolate and mixed it into the dough which resulted in a gooey centre.
Remember, the higher the per cent of cocoa, the lesser the sweetness. Avoid compound chocolate as it does not give the flavour the cookies need. Read more about it here. The roughly chopped chunks melt while baking which contributes to the gooey texture.
Cocoa Powder
Countless recipes use espresso powder to intensify the chocolate flavour which also reduces the overall sweetness because of the bitter taste of coffee. But I found cocoa powder a hit with these cookies. It, like coffee, contributed to the extra chocolate flavour while reducing the overall sweetness in the recipe.
Salt
Using salt in recipes helps boost all the flavours as it cuts the sweetness tremendously. Even a tiny amount of salt helps achieve this that’s why I recommend using unsalted butter in the cookie dough with a light bit of salt in the cookie dough. However, if you only have salted butter in hand skip adding salt to the dough to avoid salty cookies. Although, I do recommend sprinkling sea salt on the cookies after baking, it depends completely on your preference.
Chilling the dough
Chilling the dough is one of the most crucial steps in successful cookie baking. It makes the cookie dough firm and it controls the spread of the cookies. It also helps the cookie dough in developing strong flavours.
I found that chilling it overnight helped the flavours develop and blend well with each other. But if you are in a rush, a chill time of 30 mins to 1 hour is more than enough. Too know if the cookie dough is ready to be baked, take a piece of dough in your hand and if its firm and not greasy then its ready to go.
05 tips to make the best brown butter chocolate chunk cookies
Never leave your butter out at room temperature for too long
We all live in different countries where the room temperature can range anywhere between hot and cold. I have seen many people who live in hot and humid countries like myself make this simple mistake that makes or breaks a batch of cookies. Instead of leaving it out at room temperature for long, wait for the butter to reach the correct texture instead.
To know if you butter is ready to be used, press the butter with your finger and it only leaves an indent without the butter sticking to your finger or it becoming greasy, it is the right texture. Usually, this happens when the butter is still a little cool.
Chop your butter
This is one step that a majority of bakers’ skip. Avoid adding the entire stick of butter into the saucepan or mixer. Because you will either burn your butter before the butter has melted or over-mix your butter leading to a flat or burnt cookie. It is crucial to chop your butter into even-sized cubes before using it for the perfect result.
Mix the dry ingredients beforehand
After you weigh or measure your dry ingredients, mix them with a spoon. It ensures that the baking soda, salt and cocoa powder have mixed evenly. Avoid using a fork or whisk to mix the dry ingredients because you will incorporate air into the dough.
Brown butter
Follow this easy tutorial on how to make brown butter. Once you prepare the brown butter, let it cool down in the pan. Avoid using hot brown butter as it will melt the soft butter. I usually make the brown butter before weighing out the other ingredients giving it enough time to cool down.
Avoid creaming the butter and sugars
While preparing the dough, the butter and sugars need to be just combined. The butter should not be mixed for a long time as this will aerate the dough resulting in an over-baked and flat cookie.
Weigh your ingredients
I encourage you to weigh your ingredients instead of using a measuring cup or spoon as there is a higher chance of adding the wrong amount of ingredients in the recipe which will in turn affect the final cookies.
Want to take the first step towards developing an intentional habit that jump-starts your baking experience
?
Download the *free* guide on how to line your baking pans like a pro by subscribing to my email list
P.S. you will also get access to my Facebook group where I share exclusive content that will only share with you
Step-by-step instructions
Preparation
Follow these few simple steps before you start making the cookie dough. You will save your time and reduce the stress you feel when you are halfway through the recipe and you realize that you are missing an essential ingredient.
1. Bring the butter to the right temperature/texture.
2. Weigh the butter for browning in a saucepan.
3. Follow this recipe post to make your brown butter.
4. Once the brown butter is ready, set it aside to cool.
5. In a bowl, weigh your all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix with a spoon and set aside.
6. Weigh the chopped soft butter in the stand-mixer bowl or mixing bowl and set aside*.
7. Weigh the castor sugar and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
8. In another bowl, weigh the whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Whisk with a fork till combined.
9. Weigh the whole milk and set aside.
10. Roughly chop the chocolate and weigh it. Set aside.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
- Chopping Board & Knife
- Weighing Scale
- Light Coloured Saucepan
- Whisk
- Spoon and fork
- Spatula
- Mixing Bowls
- Stand-Mixer or Hand-held Mixer
- Baking Trays
- Parchment Paper or Silicon Baking mat
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 290 grams All-Purpose Flour
- 10 grams Cocoa Powder*
- 4 grams Baking Soda
- 3 grams Salt
Butter*
- 90 grams Unsalted Butter, Browned
- 60 grams Unsalted Butter, Soft
Sugars
- 100 grams Castor Sugar or Superfine Sugar
- 100 grams Dark or Light Brown Sugar
Liquid Ingredients
- 30 ml Whole Milk
- 50 grams Whole Egg
- 20 grams Egg yolk
- 5 ml Pure Vanilla Extract
Other
- 250-300 grams Dark Chocolate*
- 5 grams Sea Salt (optional)
Instructions
Preparing the Brown Butter
- Bring the butter to the right texture.
- Weigh the butter for browning (90g) and follow the instructions here.
- Once the brown butter is prepared, let it cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
Preparing the Ingredients
- In a bowl, weigh the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well with a spoon.
- Weigh the chopped soft butter in the stand-mixer bowl or mixing bowl and set aside*.
- Weigh the castor sugar and brown sugar in another bowl and set aside.
- In a bowl, weigh the whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and in another bowl weigh the whole milk.
- Weigh and roughly chop the dark chocolate and set aside.
Making the dough
- In the stand-mixer bowl fixed with the paddle attachment or using a hand-mixer, mix the browned butter (don't leave out the caramelized milk solids at the bottom of the bowl) and soft butter (medium speed) till just combined about 30 seconds. Avoid creaming.
- Add the sugars and mix till its just incorporated with the butter (do not cream).
- Whisk the whole egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and then incorporate for 10 seconds or until just incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix at low speed for 10 seconds and then increase to medium speed for 30 seconds or till very small nuggets of dough form.
- In a slow and steady stream, add the milk and incorporate till large nuggets of dough form.
- Once the dry ingredients have just been incorporated, fold in the chopped chocolate chunks. The dough will be soft but will not stick to your fingers.
- Transfer into a mixing bowl and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes preferably overnight*.
Rolling the dough (refer to notes)
- Preheat your oven to 180°C or 350°F.
- While the oven is preheating, line a tray or cookie sheet with parchment paper and weigh the dough (44g-45g or about 3 tablespoons) and pat to bring together into a rough ball. If you feel the dough has become too soft during rolling you can further chill the cookie dough for 15 minutes or till firm.
- Baking - Place the rolled cookie dough on the tray with 2 inches gap in between. Bake at 180°C for 15-16 minutes or till firm at the edges.
- Cooling - Remove from the ovenand allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes. Sprinkle sea saltand then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, transferthe cookies into an air-tight container.
- Cookies stay fresh at roomtemperature (in an air-tight container) for 5-7 days. For freezinginstructions, refer to the notes given below.
Notes
- Cocoa powder - I love using cocoa powder in these cookies for extra flavour. You can skip the cocoa powder entirely or if you do not have it on hand make sure to add in extra flour in an equal amount.
- Dark Chocolate - I make these cookies with 55% dark chocolate chunks for the best flavour but feel free to use any chocolate you prefer. Avoid using chocolate chips as they do not melt while baking giving you the mouth-watering melted chocolate pockets in the cookies. Avoid using compound chocolate. Read more about it here
- Chopping the butter - If you live in a hot country, after chopping the butter into even-sized cubes, transfer the butter (for the soft butter) into the refrigerator while you weigh or measure the other ingredients so it does not become too soft. Remove it from the refrigerator 10 minutes before you are ready to prepare the dough.
- Chilling the dough - You can refrigerate the dough for a minimum of 30 minutes or till firm enough to roll. I prefer chilling the dough overnight for better structure and flavour.
- Freezing instructions - The cookie dough can be refrigerated for four days before rolling and baking. If you want to freeze the cookie dough, roll the cookie dough and store them in a Ziplock bag or air-tight container (Label the box/bag with the name and date of preparation) and freeze them. Cookie dough lasts for three months in the freezer. Before baking, thaw it in the refrigerator till the cookie dough is firm to touch. Bake immediately.
- Ingredient Substitution & Weighing Guide - Read it here
HI! I'M KHUSHALI
Hi! I'm Khushali Patel, a cookie-loving professional pastry chef, recipe developer and content creator whose aim is to guide you to find more happiness in your baking journey every step of the way.
Join my email list and get ✨instant✨ access to the laughing butter community where I will share exclusive content with you that I do not share anywhere else.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Begin your baking journey that is full of support and happy vibes ☀︎
Join my email list and get ✨instant✨ access to the laughing butter community where I will share exclusive content with you that I do not share anywhere else.