You'll never make chocolate chip cookies another way after trying these salted brown butter cookies. They are sweet, salty, chewy, and crispy, with layers of flavorful depth throughout.

The process isn't a long or complicated one either, and they remain to be a one-bowl wonder. So, without further ado, let's get baking.

The Art of Browning Butter (Beurre noisette)

Brown butter (beurre noisette) is popular in French cooking and can be found in a variety of different dishes, though mostly savory. Beurre noisette translates to nut butter because of its nutty colour and aroma, which is why it pairs beautifully in today's recipe.

The process is a simple one, we begin with a small saucepan (though I usually cook exclusively with cast iron, for this method I suggest using stainless steel so you can gauge the colour). Melt the butter down over medium heat and as it melts you'll notice it begin to foam. Stir or swirl the pan gently then as it begins to reduce and bubble, it will start to brown. Continue swirling the pan gently and when the butter turns a golden caramel and smells toasty, it's ready. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Beyond the Butter

This recipe is chock-full of surprises, but what it really comes down to is the quality of ingredients not the quantity. That being said we swapped the vanilla extract for fresh vanilla beans to offer a distinguishable vibrance.

Next up we have the chocolate. I used three varieties for today's recipe and strongly suggest using bar chocolate vs. morsels because visually, the shards of chocolate are more attractive. Bitter chocolate (baking chocolate), semi-sweet, and milk chocolate, offers a nice balance keeping the cookies just sweet enough without overpowering the rest of the ingredients.

Finally, the salt. Flaky sea salt or course will work perfectly here. Do not use anything finer than that. The salt compliments the nuttyness, the bittersweet, and the fragrant vanilla.

Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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5 from 12 reviews

Author: Living the Gourmet
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 2 dozen cookies 1x

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Ingredients

Units Scale

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cup AP flour
1/2 vanilla bean
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
Coarse sea salt or flaky salt, for topping
1/4 cup baker's chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup milk chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt down butter and cook over medium heat until browned. Remove and let cool to room temperature.
Beat the butter, sugars, and egg until whipped.
Add flour, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix until smooth and fluffy.
Add chocolate and mix again.
Scooped rounded tablespoon amounts of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sea salt.
Bake for 10 minutes or just until the cookies turn lightly golden around the edges.
Let cool and set on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American