Amazing Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
These rich, brown butter sea salt chocolate chip cookies are chewy in the middle with perfectly crisp edges. Brown butter intensfies the flavor of the cookies while adding a slight nuttiness. Studded with chopped chocolate and sprinkled with flaked sea salt, you will not be able to resist these cookies!
If you have yet to try browning butter for chocolate chip cookies, I am SO excited to intodruce you to the concept, because it’s simply amazing. It deepens the flavor of the cookie and adds a slightly nutty, rich flavor. Similar to how brown sugar has a deeper, more rich flavor than granulated sugar; in this case, we are getting deepering the flavor with brown butter vs. regular butter here. The dough aroma will be a little strong, but it mellows out once it’s baked. Yes, it adds a couple extra steps in the process to brown the butter… but it is oh so worth it, trust me!
Tools you’ll need
Here are a few of my go to tools for baking cookies!
How to make brown butter sea salt chocolate chip cookies
Brown the butter
Brown the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, you should stir constantly using a rubber spatula to keep the butter from burning. The browning process will take 6-8 minutes. The butter will first start to sizzle and foam white. Continue stirring until the sizzling sound stops and it is foaming clear tiny bubbles. When you turn off the heat and stir, you should see brown bits collected at the bottom of the pan and the butter should be a deep golden color, almost a light orange. The aroma should be rich and nutty. Set aside, let the butter cool for 10-15 minutes. (See Tips for more on this!)
Make the dough
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, mix together the sugars with the butter on medium for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on low until incorporated. Add vanilla and mix on low until incorporated. One cup at a time, add in the flour mixture, mix on low until lightly mixed in, then repeat until the flour mixture is completely incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the chopped chocolate, saving 1/4 cup for when it’s time to bake.
Chill the dough
I know, I know, nobody wants to wait for the dough to chill. BUT, this step is critical to the taste and texture of the cookie. If you skip this step, you will end up with cookies that spread and become flat. How sad, right?
Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
Bake
When ready to bake, remove dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, this will make the dough easier to work with. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat and place 2 tablespoon sizeu dough balls, 2 inches apart. Press 2-3 chunks of the remaining chopped chocolate into the top of each dough ball.Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with sea salt
Once cookies are out of the oven, let them sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Wait until they’ve cooled for at least 10 minutes, and then sprinkle with flaked sea salt. This what makes these cookies a piece of art!
Tips
- This recipe how-to video is on my Instagram, if you need help with browning the butter
fREEZE
Freeze the cookies for 2-3 months, or freeze the dough. Simply thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator when you plan to bake.
storing cookies
You want to store these in an airtight container with little as possible leftover space; the container should be small enough so that the cookies fill it. Keep a slice of white bread in the bottom of the container. This helps to keep the cookies from drying out too quickly.
Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Brown the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, you should stir constantly using a rubber spatula to keep the butter from burning. The browning process will take 6-8 minutes. The butter will first start to sizzle and foam white. Continue stirring until the sizzling sound stops and it is foaming clear tiny bubbles. When you turn off the heat and stir, you should see brown bits collected at the bottom of the pan and the butter should be a deep golden color, almost a light orange. The aroma should be rich and nutty. Set aside, let the butter cool for 10-15 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl for a hand mixer, mix together the sugars with the butter on medium for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on low until incorporated. Add vanilla and mix on low until incorporated.
- One cup at a time, add in the flour mixture, mix on low until lightly mixed in, then repeat until the flour mixture is completely incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the chopped chocolate, saving 1/4 cup for when it’s time to bake. Refrigerate dough for 3 hours, up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove dough from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat and place 2 tablespoon sizeu dough balls, 2 inches apart. Press 2-3 chunks of the remaining chopped chocolate into the top of each dough ball.Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Once cookies are out of the oven, let the cookies sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Wait until they’ve cooled for at least 10 minutes, and then sprinkle with flaked sea salt.
