Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown the Butter

Place the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat.

Stir the butter continuously as it melts and begins to foam.

Continue cooking until the butter turns golden amber and smells nutty, about 4–5 minutes.

Immediately pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl to stop the cooking.

Let the brown butter cool for 10 minutes until it is warm but not hot.

Mix Wet Ingredients

Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the brown butter.

Whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth and well combined, about 1 minute.

Add both whole eggs and the egg yolk to the butter-sugar mixture.

Add the vanilla extract.

Whisk until the mixture is pale, thick, and ribbony, about 2 minutes.

Combine Dry Ingredients

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and fine sea salt.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients all at once.

Fold with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry streaks remain.

Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Chill the Dough

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat and Prepare

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Portion the Dough

Scoop the dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls using a cookie scoop or spoon.

Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Sprinkle a small pinch of flaky sea salt over the top of each dough ball.

Bake

Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 10–12 minutes.

Remove from the oven when the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone.

Cool

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.

Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.