Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt are soft and chewy with delicately crisp edges. Nutty browned butter and brown sugar give them their signature soft centers. While dark and milk chocolate chips add 2 layers of smooth and melty chocolate depth. To finish, the chocolate chip cookies are lightly sprinkled with flaky sea salt, enhancing all of the flavors. These cookies will change your entire chocolate chip cookie game for good.

The recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt was originally created for my Dad. He is a simple meat and potatoes man. Meaning, he doesn’t like his food served with any fuss. So, for his birthday I knew I needed to bake him something simple but substantial.

There is nothing more comforting than a warm Chocolate Chip Cookie

There is no cookie more beloved than a basic Chocolate Chip Cookie. Naturally, it's a fitting cookie for my Dad. I often opt for some kind of chewy oatmeal cookie, like my Almond Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies or Salted Peanut Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies. But for my Dad, I decided to keep it simple and play with a classic. Like magic, these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt instantly became his favorite cookie recipe. And they are my most commonly baked cookie recipe on the blog!

The original Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe dates back to the 1930s

It's fun to read about the history of the first Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. The story goes, Ruth Wakefield accidentally invented the original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe in the 1939. Apparently, she decided to add broken bits and pieces of semi-sweet chocolate into a cookie recipe on a whim.

Obviously it turned into an undeniably delicious thing and the original Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was born! How lucky are we? Chocolate Chip Cookies will always be an American gem. They've already been loved and shared amongst friends and families for the better party of a century.

More crave-able comforting cookie recipes

Everybody loves a soft and chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie with crispy edges, everybody

Most people have strong opinions on who makes the best Chocolate Chip Cookies, often stemming from memories of their Grandmother's cookie jar. I totally get it. I find it inspiring that there are so many varying versions of the common Chocolate Chip Cookie. This recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt has become a game-changer in my baking repertoire. And a beloved favorite among my friends and family. I hope you might start incorporating it into your CCC rotation too!

I didn’t want to stray too far from the basic Toll House classic recipe, much respect for the cookie OG, Mrs. Wakefield. However, I did add some modern twists to the historic treasure. Nothing too wild, just a few fun alterations to enhance classic Chocolate Chippers.

Key ingredients give these Chocolate Chip Cookies their crave-worthy character

• Browned butter adds a nutty, rich depth and complexity to the basic Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. It also helps to keep the cookies soft and chewy for many days after baking.
• Brown sugar also lends to the chewy texture in these cookies. This recipe uses a blend of white and brown sugar for a balance in structure and softness.
• Dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips layer in dimension. The mix of both types of chocolate add more flavor and a variety of texture to the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. The dark chocolate melts into cocoa rich pools while the milk chocolate adds a malty milky lighter chocolate to the mix.
• Sea salt flakes sprinkled onto the cookies just after baking sticks to the melted chocolate while it's still warm and gooey. That briney punch of sea salt flakes adds a crunchy finish while enhancing the warm browned butter and rich chocolate flavors. It may seem counterintuitive but the salt really allows the other flavors to shine!

While developing this recipe, I made 3 batches in 3 days. People went bananas for these cookies! Which just goes to show ya, everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. Whether it's the standard or something with a few modern modifications, like my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. There is room for all types of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Browning the butter properly is key to the success of this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe

If you aren't familiar with the process of browning butter, it's fairly easy. I've laid it all out below for you. You can use this brown butter method to incorporate browned butter into baked goods or use it in cooking as well. My Browned Butter Mizithra Dunderi with Red Sauce is a great way to enjoy brown butter in a savory dish. For a perfect fall recipe, try my Brown Butter Apple Oat Walnut Bread with Whipped Honey Butter.

Tips for properly browning butter

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Swirl the pan occasionally to be sure the butter is browning evenly.
• The color of the butter will start to turn from yellow to a deeper golden color.
• Toasty bits will start forming around the edges of the pan.
• A nutty aroma will fill the air. This is a sign the butter is getting close to being browned.
• The butter will foam up. This happens just before you need to pull it from the heat.
• If you listen carefully, you will notice the sounds of sizzles and snaps dampen as the butter begins to foam up.
• As soon as you see these signs, pull that pan off the heat to avoid burning the butter!

Tips for making the best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ever

Room temperature butter is key to properly creaming the butter and sugars together

Since this recipe uses a mix of unsalted butter and browned butter, you want to be sure both are at room temperature when creaming. The butters and sugar should be airy and lighter in color when properly creamed together. This ensures that the butter and sugar have melded together, giving the cookies loft and structure when they bake.

Use a cookie scoop for uniform cookie size

epending on my mood, I will change up the size of these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. I have had the best luck with the OXO Cookie Scoops and generally reach for the 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop when I make this recipe. I like them big!

Add chocolate chips to the scooped chocolate chip cookies

For super pro looking chocolate chip cookies, set aside ¼ -½ cup of the chocolate chips before mixing them into the cookie dough. Once you've scooped the cookie dough balls, press 2-3 of chocolate chips into the top of each cookie. Your cookies will come out of the oven looking ready for a cover shoot! It gives your cookies more texture, shape and the chips on pop really pop! Some of the chips will still hold their shape, clearly showing off what's inside. This isn't a necessary step by any means but it sure does make those cookies look good!

Chill the cookie dough

By giving the cookie dough time to rest in the refrigerator it allows the flavors to develop, making for tastier cookies! This also helps with shape and structure when baking. You can chill the chocolate chip cookie dough for 3-4 days before baking, just be sure the dough is covered so the it doesn't dry out. I prefer to scoop the cookies before chilling the dough but you don't have to. Once scooped, place the scooped cookie dough balls closely on a lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.

The best Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes are simple, approachable and oh so satisfying. And these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt are just that. However, if take the time to use the tips I have shared, your cookies will be reach new levels. While browning the butter, mixing dark and light chocolate chips and sprinkling on sea salt may seem insignificant. Each of these techniques adds to the overall experience of the Chocolate Chip Cookies, changing the whole game!

Cookies are the best birthday gift

Based on this text from my Dad, the cookies were a hit with him, woohoo! It just goes to show you, the classics are timeless and popular for a reason. It makes my heart so happy to share these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt with my Dad and I will continue to send them every year on his birthday.

This is text is not a joke, he literally used his birthday gift certificate to purchase chicken manure for my Mom's garden. There is no higher compliment than this text. It makes my heart so happy. I don't get many texts from him, so I know he truly enjoyed the cookies.

I hope you enjoy this Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as much as my family and I do. Once you try them, I have a hunch they'll quickly become a go-to cookie recipe in your household too. Happy baking, friends!

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