These salted brown butter chocolate chip cookies are chewy and soft with amazing flavor. They can be baked right away; no chilling required!

You know the next-level gourmet cookies that you often see in high-end bakeries that taste like a heaven sent gift? Or the stunning cookies that people pose with and brag about on Instagram? And you think: “if only I could make those at home!?” Well, now you can!

Top down view of chocolate chip cookie pulled in half with melty chocolate chips.

Next Level Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe gets a gourmet boost by incorporating these simple ingredients:

  1. Brown butter: adds caramelly, flavorful notes to the cookie dough (and it’s not hard to do! Tutorial here).
  2. Higher ratio of brown sugar to granulated sugar: creates more chewiness and deeper flavor.
  3. Flaky sea salt on top: cuts the richness of the chocolate and sweet cookie dough and makes the cookies pop with deliciousness (more on this below!).
Browned butter in white skillet.
Melted brown butter in glass bowl with brown sugar.

And in case that isn’t enough, here are two other major selling points to convince you why you should make these cookies immediately:

The dough can be mixed by hand in one bowl (no electric mixer needed!).

The cookies don’t require ANY chilling. They can be baked right away! (Insert: MAJOR REJOICING! 🎉)

These salted brown butter cookies are SO GOOD. They are soft and chewy with the flair and taste of an incredible, gourmet cookie, and I want to make them every day of my life for the rest of forever.

Semisweet chocolate chips in glass bowl with dry ingredients and red silicone spatula.
Bowl of unbaked chocolate chip cookie dough.

A Few Notes About Flaky Sea Salt

Adding flaky sea salt to the top of the baked cookies is totally optional. Feel free to leave the salt off if it’s not your thing.

If you ARE using it, here are a few important tips:

  • Use flaky sea salt. The light, delicate grains are perfect for adding a hint of salt without overpowering. I don’t recommend using coarse salt, kosher salt, or table salt. This is the salt I buy and use. {aff. link}
  • Add the salt right as the cookies come out of the oven.
  • Only add a tiny sprinkle – just a few grains per cookie. That’s all you need!
Sea salt flakes on top of baked brown butter chocolate chip cookies on parchment lined baking sheet.

I’m Almost Done…

I highly recommend using semisweet chocolate chips in this recipe. Personally, I think milk chocolate chips are too sweet for these grown up cookies.

But I’m also not here to micromanage your life, so follow your heart on this one.

You can chill the dough for several hours or overnight if you’d like. If doing so, scoop the dough and shape into balls before chilling. Add a few minutes to the baking time (and if the cookies aren’t flattening well while baking, reduce the baking temperature to 325 degrees F and/or give the chilled cookie dough a light press before baking).

Truly, these are some of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever! I hope you love them!

Four half cookies stacked on each other on parchment lined baking sheet.

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Soft melty brown butter chocolate chip cookie split in half on parchment paper.

Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 30 to 36 cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
4.86 stars (49 ratings)
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (227 g) salted butter
  • 1 ¼ cups (265 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large (100 g) eggs
  • 1 large (20 g) egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cup (426 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon table salt
  • 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions 

  • Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper; set aside.
  • For the brown butter, cut the butter into pieces and add to a 10-inch skillet (preferably light-colored so you can see easily when the butter has browned). Heat over medium heat, stirring as the butter melts so that it cooks evenly.
  • As the butter continues to cook, constantly and slowly stir with a silicone spatula. The butter will foam, sizzle, bubble, and after a few minutes (anywhere from 5 to 8 minute), the solids in the butter will begin to turn golden. Brown butter can burn easily, so don't walk away!
  • When the butter solids are browned and golden and it smells caramelly and fragrant, immediately remove the skillet from the heat and pour the butter into a large bowl.
  • For the cookies, to the bowl with the brown butter, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Stir to combine. Let the mixture sit until just barely warm or cooled to room temperature, 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla, and stir until well-combined and the batter is light and creamy.
  • Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until a few dry streaks remain.
  • Stir in the chocolate chips until evenly combined. Let the batter rest while the oven preheats.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (Make sure the oven is preheated fully before baking the cookies – if the oven isn't hot enough, the cookies will likely spread while baking.)
  • Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon size portions (I use a #40 medium cookie scoop) and roll into balls. Place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
  • Bake for 10 to 11 minutes until the cookies are just set around the edges and a bit crackly on top. For super soft and chewy cookies, don't over bake.
  • Immediately out of the oven, sprinkle a few grains of sea salt on each cookie, if desired.
  • Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Flattening Cookies: if your cookies are flattening in the oven, increase the oven temperature by 25 degrees. I find these cookies bake best in my oven on standard bake vs convection bake, but you can play around with the oven settings on your oven to see what works best.
Chilling Cookie Dough: these cookies can be baked right away. However, if you want to chill the cookie dough prior to baking, roll the cookie dough into balls prior to chilling, and add 1 to 2 minutes onto the baking time if baking the cookie dough straight from the refrigerator. 
Author: Mel Gunnell
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Method: Bake
Serving: 1 cookie, Calories: 187kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 139mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g

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