Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately. I actually love reading, but when work gets busy, I’m usually too tired to read at night.

In one of the books I read, the main female character loves baking and even shares her baking secrets. She baked a lot in the story, and it made me realize how much I’ve missed baking. So, I’ve been baking a lot recently. Stress baking? Maybe! 😅

The things I mostly like to bake are muffins, cookies, and brownies! Muffins because they’re already in perfect serving sizes. Cookies because you can prepare the dough ahead, freeze it, and bake whenever you want. Brownies… well, because I’m a total brownie monster!

Even though I love baking cookies, I’ve never tried using brown butter. Honestly, I was afraid I’d burn it, but my daughter said she thinks I’d do just fine. So here I am giving it a shot. Oh, and I actually made this twice in a week thrice last month! 🙌🏽🍪

The cookies have lots of chocolate chunks, so every bite is really yummy and chocolatey. The brown butter gives them a nice nutty, caramel flavor that makes them taste even better.

They’re soft and chewy in the middle, but crunchy around the edges. If you bake them longer, they get chewier, though they can dry out a little after a few days. Fresh out of the oven, with a sprinkle of sea salt on top, they’re just perfect!

UPDATE: I had lunch with a friend last week and decided to bring some cookies. I prepared the dough using the same recipe and kept it in the fridge for 24 hours. I wanted to see if there was a difference between chilling the dough for 2 hours versus 24 hours. The dough that was chilled for 24 hours didn’t spread as much as the dough chilled for only 2 hours. Also, it also gives the cookies a rustic, textured look.

NOTES ON BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES:

• Measure flour correctly: Spoon and level, don’t scoop! Or better if you weigh the flour. 
• Brown the butter carefully: Don’t let it burn. Cool it before using.
• Chill the dough: At least 2 hours is fine but 24 hours gives better flavor and texture
• Add sea salt: A pinch on top of each cookie enhances flavor.
• Use chocolate chunks: You can use chocolate chips but chopped chocolate is the best for me.

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Cookies made with nutty brown butter and loaded with gooey chunks of dark chocolate. A perfect balance of crispy edges and soft centers in every bite!

Course Snack

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Chilling Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Servings 12 cookies

Author Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Ingredients

• 10 tbsp (140 g) salted butter
• 1 ½ cups , spoon & leveled / (210 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp (18 g) milk powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup (108 g) light brown sugar, packed
• ⅓ cup (73 g) white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg room temperature (59 g with shell)
• 1 tbsp (15ml) milk
• 140 g chopped chocolate I used dark chocolate

Instructions

1. In a light-colored small pot, add the butter. Turn on the heat (low) and melt the butter, stirring constantly. The butter will first foam up, then start to turn golden, and eventually, it will begin to brown. Once you see brown specks forming at the bottom of the pan and it smells nutty, it’s ready. Transfer to a heatproof mixing bowl, making sure to get all the brown bits from the pan. Let it cool completely.

2. Combine the cooled melted butter with the brown sugar and white sugar. Whisk until it resembles a wet sand. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla. Mix well.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, milk powder, and salt. Mix well, then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a silicone spatula.

4. Add the chopped chocolate and mix again.

5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6. After 30 minutes, or once the dough is firm enough, begin forming the dough into balls. (Tip: I like rolling them into a tall ball rather than a perfectly round one.) I used an ice cream scoop with a 40 ml capacity. The weight of each dough ball is 60-62 g. Once all the dough has been used up or formed into balls, place them on a tray that fits in your fridge. Chill for another hour or two. (Note: You can keep the shaped dough in the fridge/freezer for up to 24 hours and bake directly from the fridge/freezer. Bake at the same temperature, but add 2 extra minutes to the baking time. I baked mine for 15 minutes (the 24-hour chilled dough, I mean) – slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. But keep in mind that ovens vary, so watch your cookies closely.)

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each. Bake for 8-12 minutes (see note above), depending on the texture you want. Don’t forget to rotate the pan halfway through baking if you’re using a non-fan oven to ensure even cooking.

8. Leave the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool further.

Recipe Notes

• Measure flour correctly: Spoon and level, don’t scoop! Or better if you weigh the flour. 
• Brown the butter carefully: Don’t let it burn. Cool it before using.
• Chill the dough: At least 2 hours is fine but 24 hours gives better flavor and texture
• Add sea salt: A pinch on top of each cookie enhances flavor.
• Use chocolate chunks: You can use chocolate chips but chopped chocolate is the best for me.

 

 

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