The Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies are made with brown butter, plenty of vanilla, and tons of gooey chocolate! You can chill the dough for up to 2 days, or freeze it! This is a great recipe!
Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe
So last week I realized the craziest thing… I’ve never shared my favorite chocolate chunk cookie recipe with you. I seriously had to check the archives to make sure I wasn’t mistaken. But nope… no chocolate chunk cookies to be found. So I busted into the kitchen and baked them for you AT ONCE!
Is that love or what?
Ingredients for Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
- butter: unsalted or salted will work! but if you’re using salted, reduce the salt called for in the dry ingredients by 1/4 teaspoon.
- sugar: you’ll use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar (also known as white sugar). light brown sugar or dark brown sugar may be used.
- eggs: two large ones, at room temperature!
- vanilla extract: just a dash will enhance all the other flavors in this recipe.
- flour: all-purpose!
- salt: to balance out the flavors.
- baking soda: helps leaven the cookie dough, which in turn gives us soft and chewy cookies.
- and finally, chocolate chunks! you know i’m a lindt lover, so i their 70% chocolate bars. but use your favorite brand! and yes, you can even use chocolate chips, instead.
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- If you’ve never browned butter before, don’t sweat it! It’s so darn easy. You’ll need a saute pan, 2 sticks of butter, and a touch of patience – that’s it! You’ll start off melting the butter; once the butter has completely melted, you’ll continue to cook the butter, on medium heat (or medium-low if your stove top runs hot), until it’s turned a golden brown and smells slightly nutty. Just be sure you stay stove side once the butter has melted; brown butter can turn into burnt butter very fast.
- You will need to bring your browned butter back to room temperature before incorporating it into the recipe. To do this, simply pour the butter into a heatproof bowl and place it in the fridge for about 1 hour. You want it solid, but soft enough that when you gently press it with your finger it leaves an indentation. Be sure your butter is at the proper temperature before you begin baking. If it’s too warm, you’ll cookies will spread all over the pan 🙁
- I recommend using high-quality chocolate chunks for this recipe. If you can find them at your local grocery store (they’re usually right next to the chocolate chips), you can buy bars of chocolate and chop them into chunks. I prefer this method because it allows me to control the size of the chunks. I like to chop 80% of them small then leave 20% really big so they get all gooey and dramatic. I used Lindt 70% chocolate, but use any brand you know and trust. Of course, in a pinch, you could also use an equal amount of chocolate chips. As far as variety, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or semi-sweet chocolate all work well, but we love this recipe with dark chocolate!
- Don’t over bake! Your cookies should be set at the edges but still soft in the center.
- Be sure to allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a full 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They need the 10 minutes to firm up so they don’t fall apart as your transfer them.
- If you’d like your cookies to look like the ones you see in my photos, press a few chocolate chunks on top of each cookie right after they come out of the oven. You can also sprinkle them with flaky sea salt! I love Maldon sea salt because it’s flaky and delish.
I speak truth when I tell you these are some of the best cookies I’ve ever made – or tasted! ← And I’ve done a lot of both in my life. Bake a batch for yourself and you’ll see taste exactly why.
If you try this recipe for Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥
More Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipes:
- Soft Batch Chocolate Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies
- Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Almond Amaretto Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 2 dozen cookies
Thick and chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Sure to become your new favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted until browned and brought back to room temperature (see post for more on this)
- 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more ONLY if the dough seems to need it; adding one tablespoon at a time)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Instructions
- For the Brown Butter:
- Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes – stirring almost constantly – until the butter has browned. Pour the brown butter into a heatproof bowl, being sure to scrape all of the "toasted" bits into the bowl as well. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the butter is at room temperature. You’ll know the butter is at room temperature when you press a finger into the top and it makes a slight indentation. It should be solid but soft.
- Once the butter is at room temperature, you're ready to get baking!
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (F).
- For the Best Ever Chocolate Chunk Cookies:
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine both sugars, vanilla, and browned butter; cream on medium-speed until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each addition. Turn mixer off. Using a wooden spoon or sturdy rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour, stirring only until the flour begins to disappear. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Roll 3 tablespoon sized scoops of dough between your palms to form a ball (they should be big; almost a 1/4 cup), then place on prepared sheet (make sure to leave enough room in between each cookie for inevitable spreading). Continue this process until all the dough has been rolled. Place baking sheets in preheated oven, one at a time, and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, or until golden at the edges but still soft in the middle. Repeat with all cookie dough. Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire wrack to cool completely.
Notes
Total time includes bringing the butter back to room temperature.
Courses Dessert
Cuisine Cookies
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1-2 cookies
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
% Daily Value |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
I’ll take some of this chewy chocolate brown butter goodness!
I am all over these! They look awesome!
I just made these and they are very good and look as good as the picture. But why do people leave comments before they make them. Their comments are useless to the readers. Of course they “LOOK” good.
Yes! Thank you! That drives me nuts!
Agree!!!!
There should be two comment sections, one for observations and the other those who actually made them and have something valuable to say.
These look totally amazing and the best chocolate chip cookies ever!!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
I love how thick the middle of these cookies are! These definitely look like the best ever. 🙂
These look amazing! Definitely giving me a morning craving. 🙂
Morning cookie cravings are brutal… you gotta bake some 🙂
Do you have directions for high altitude, 7000 feet? Thank you.
Please dear the amount of 2 stick of butter is before or after toasting the butter? Because it evaporize the water in it! Thank you!
It’s 2 sticks total (before).
These sound divine. If my little one decides to take a nap today I might have to make the batter so I can bake up a batch after dinner!
Oooooh that sounds like such a great idea 🙂 I hope nap was a GO!!! xo
COOKIES! These sound so classic and fantastic. Who doesn’t love a cookie full of chunks of chocolate?
I love your cookie enthusiasm 🙂
Those melty chocolate chunks are speaking to me big time right now…pinning!!
Thank you, Alyssa! xo
I can tell these are chewy to the max just by looking at them! I’ll be getting my CCC fix on with these asap.
Yay 🙂 I know you’ll love these! xo
Soft and chewy are the only way I like my chocolate chip cookies! Love all the chocolate chunks in here – I could definitely eat a few of these with a big glass of milk!
I am making these STAT. I love me some brown butter!
Yes! Brown butter high five!
Brown butter?? Your recipe said softened butter.
They are good, but the best ever? No way.
I, too, wonder why people comment on the photography.
Baking is an ART, that’s why! I for one, always take pictures of the things I bake, especially when it looks as good as these. I mean, that may be one of the most delicious looking cookies I’ve ever seen. Bravo to you, bakerbynature!
WANT. You had me at brown butter! I’m seriously making these as soon as I get home from work!
Yessss! Can I come over?!
GIMMEGIMMEGIMMMEEEEEEEEEE!
I am obsessed. These cookies really do look PERFECT!
¡Qué ricas! Me encantan las galletas de chocolate y estas tienen que ser superjugosas, me la apunto!!! Besos!
Help! Just started making these and by butter/sugars never “fluffed” up. It remained a wet soggy mess.
Hi Anne. Did you beat them on high speed for 3-4 minutes?
I’m experiencing the same problem. They have been mixing in my Kitchenaide for about 10 minutes. Does the butter need to be chilled after browning?
Hi Jennifer. Yes, the butter should be brought back to room temperature. You want it semi-solid; not liquid but soft enough to show an indentation when gently pressed with a spoon or spatula.
Thank you! I see that in the instructions now but I didn’t see it previously. These cookies are so amazingly yummy!! I’m making them for a fourth time today 🙂
These are really good! I just made them and I didn’t have enough chocolate so I used Reese peanut butter cup. They are really moist and chewy!
Hi Janelle! Oooh, I bet the addition of PB cups made them something special. So happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
When I seen these I couldn’t wait to make them!! I did have to mix on high for about 7-8 minutes to get it creamy!! The only downfall I see with these cookies is that they definitely don’t make enough!! Lol. I’ll be making a double or triple batch next time!! We have three boys who LOVE cookies!! My five year old said the dough tastes like caramel!! Love the browned butter!!
This looks so yummy!! I’m definitely trying these out today. Can you share any alternative to bake cookies without egg.
Hi Aashi. Unfortunately I haven’t tried making this recipe without the eggs 🙁
Hi I live in the UK and would love to make these but can you tell me how much a US stick of butter weighs? Thanks
Hi Angela! One stick of butter here weighs 4 ounces. I hope that helps 🙂
I wanted to make these tomorrow morning for later in the evening (: Looks amazing! I was wondering, a another comment said… do they really taste like caramel? I’ve never used browned butter before so I’m a little anxious. Also, about how many cookies does this recipe make? 🙂
Hi Erica. They have a slightly nutty/ caramely taste from the brown butter, but it’s not overwhelming – just delicious 🙂 The cookies are a small batch (about 1 dozen) but you can certainly double the recipe if needed! xo
Just made these the other night for my roommates and myself, and they were a hit! Thanks for sharing!
What lucky roomies you have 🙂 Happy to hear they were a hit!
Hi,
How long can I keep them in the freezer for, I like to make a lot of dough in advance? Recipe says between (2-48 hours before baking). Also after baking how long do they remain soft and chewy.
thank you
Hi Veronica. The dough can be made and frozen (after it’s been shaped into balls) for up to two months. The cookies, once baked, will remain soft and chewy for 48 hours when stored in an airtight container.
thank you! I’m baking these next weekend
so, I made these 9n Thursday night let them cool and by Friday morning they were hard ; ( I dnt know what I did wrong? I did shape them and put them straight in the freezer, would that matter?
Hi Veronica. How strange. You may have over baked them by a few minutes. Also, how did you store them? If you leave them out overnight on a cooling wrack, they will go hard. They should be cooled for an hour, then placed in an airtight container.
Yeah it was odd. they were really good so I might jst have to try them again. I let them cool then put then in a container. I made 4 batches and only baked a couple so I’ll go for round 2.
I would say bake them for about 4 minutes less next time. Your oven may run a little high, so it’s possible the cookies just got over baked 😉 When in doubt, I always say under bake… no one ever complains about a soft gooey cookie 🙂
I just made them… and my aunt and cousins fell in LOVE these cookies!! So easy to make! I didn’t have chocolate chunks, but instead I used big chocolate chips and then put mini ones as well, and the chocolat goodness is amazing and mouth watering! Can’t get enough of it!!!!
Hi Hailey! That is so awesome to hear!!! I love the idea of doubling the chocolate in mini and big chip form 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know these were a hit!
I have come back to this recipe several times to make it but now there is a different recipe in its place… There used to be a recipe where you brown the butter (then chill to bring to rom temp) and where you chill the batter for at least 2 hours… Where can I find that recipe again?
Hi Amanda. I have an intern converting some recipes into easy print versions and she may have switched something around by accident. Let me look into this and see what’s what.
Were you able to find the correct recipe? The one with browned butter and refrigerate the dough for at least 2hrs? I would really like to make them again…..
I feel the same way as Amanda and Becca what happen to the original recipe? I hope you can bring it back the cookies were delicious!
The recipe has been corrected!
I wish the original recipe was still here! This is different 🙁
These used to be browned butter cookies and I used the recipe all the time, why did it change?
The recipe has been corrected!
Just made these and they came out really well!
Thankyou for sharing the recipe with us !
Love the chocolate goodness ❤️
So happy to hear it, Neha! Thank you for letting me know how much you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Greetings, I made the cookies several times last year and they were amazing. I am looking at the recipe and it seems different with brown butter and less butter. Am I crazy? If not, why did you change the recipe? Just curious. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes.
I absolutely loved this recipe! These cookies were amazing. 🙂 I just started up a blog, and included your recipe as a post to share with readers. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
hey, just want to tell you that i tried this recipe and it turned out great! i can say this is the best recipe for cookies that i’ve found so far. Thanks a lot!❤
I too, am sad that you changed the recipe! I tested MANY other chocolate chip recipes and this was my favorite! 🙁 I wish I had printed it out. You say you fixed the recipe, but I’m SURE it was supposed to be refrigerated in the old recipe, and I don’t remember having to wait until the butter was back to room temperature. Are those the only differences? Do you happen to have the old instructions you could share? Thanks so much!
The recipe is the same. The method has only changed to reduce the amount of time the whole recipe takes. Instead of chilling the dough for 2 hours, you chill the butter. If you’d like to do if the opposite way, it will be the same as it was before I adjusted it.
I just tried this recipe with gluten free flour, and it was a success! It’s the best gluten free cookies I’ve ever tried, thanks for the recipe!
YAY!!! Thank you for letting me know, Marianne 🙂
Just saw this pic in instagram and that brought me hear they are lovely hoping todo it soon ❤️After all cookie craving
Yay!!! I hope you give them a try real soon 🙂
I could swim in that beautiful gooey chocolate! Yum!
Haha thanks, Lane!!
There are never too many chocolate chip cookie recipes to test according to my family! This definitely looks like a winner!
Thank so much, Liz 🙂
So much chocolate! This looks wonderful!
You can never have enough chocolate, right?! Thanks, Megan!
That ooey, gooey chocolate has my mouth watering!
Thank you!!!
Beautiful !! I wonder how to prevent chocolate chunks from becoming dry when it is done, it always happen to me..
I suggest chopping your chocolate chunks extra large, which helps them stay gooey longer 🙂
Made these today and broke my fast with one. Obsessed!!!
Really great cookies! I’ve made them twice and each time they have gotten rave reviews. I added some sea salt to the cookies right out of the oven to add a salty punch. One note, all though mentioned in the “notes”, it is a little misleading that the prep time is only 20 mins. I had to make an adjustment for the refrigeration of butter. Not a deal breaker, but be sure to plan around it for timing!
I’ve made these 3 times since I found your recipe and I am obsessed. The dough is so caramely and I love biting into huge chocolate chunks. They’re especially good cold. But my cookies never turn out as golden as yours in the pictures and the rich toffee flavor in the dough seems to completely bake out? I’m definitely browning the butter long enough and I’m using dark brown sugar so I’m not sure why mine turn out so pale, but I love them nonetheless.
Hi!
Can I replace the butter with oil?
Hi! Unfortunately I don’t recommend that.
These are by far the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made!!! They are moist and the brown butter/brown sugar give them a really strong depth of flavor. I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe since the cookies are large (which is exactly what you want…) if you’re making it for a group! I’ve already shared the recipe multiple times with friends and expect this to make regular appearances in my baking!
Thank you!
I just made them and they are to DIE for! They are soft and deelish. BEST cookies I’ve had in awhile. I might as well throw all of the other recipes away 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
Hi! Love you recipes. I just think that it would be super helpful for us if you wrote down how much your recipes yield. How many cookies does this recipe make? Thanks!
Any chance you could post gram measurements for those out of country? Thanks!
Tried this with my niece and our families loved it! So easy to follow! Thank you and keep the recipes coming!!
Can I substitute half the flour with bread flour
We recommend following the ingredients listed in the recipe. Different flours can affect the type of cookie you end up with. Hope that helps 🙂
Better late than never. I’m so glad I found this recipe. It is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe!!!! So delicious!!! Thank you! Thank you!
Does this batter need to be refridgerated before baking?
Maybe yo can put the recipe in grams?
Sweet mercy. These cookies were incredible! I sent some with my kids to their teachers and the all reached out to say how delicious they were! Definitely don’t skimp on the salt flakes on top. They totally enhanced the flavor!
Made these today and these were a huge hit! They turned out beautifully! Thank you my teenagers were very pleased!
So happy you guys enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Just made these! So easy and so Delicious! Taking the time to make the browned butter is worth it. It adds a little bit more depth and I have to say these turned out to be the BEST chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had! (Yes, I substituted chocolate chips for chocolate chunks because that’s what I had!)
I got to this post from your Instagram post about these cookies from March 10th, and they look quite different in that photo. They looked thinner, which is the way I like them. I’m just wondering if you changed anything and what I need to do to make sure they turn out like that. I can’t wait to try these!!
Hi! Nope same cookie recipe 🙂 Just a different angle and lighting!
Does anyone know how much the cookie dough (per cookie) should weigh? I think that would be a lot easier!
I love this recipe so much!! chunk make the difference!!
i am NEVER using chocolate chips ever again! These cookies are decadent, chewy, and oh so delicious! I used light brown sugar and salted butter
. I highly recommend this recipe to any chocolate chip cookie lover!
hey these look great
I made these, following the recipe exactly. Although I was told they were delicious (I don’t eat sugar of flour), the cookies were spread out and flat. As stated, followed the recipe, and I am quite comfortable with browning butter (that is what attracted me to the recipe in the first place…and the thickness of the cookie.) The temp of my oven is accurate…so not sure what went wrong. I am tempted to try again, this time using 3 cups of flour, as that is the amount in a relatively similar recipe I use that always gives me thick, lovely cookies. Any other suggestions would help..(baking soda was fine, too, as I used it in baking cookies right after the flat cookies.)
Hi,
I have made these once in the past and this was an absolute crowd pleaser. This time, I want to freeze the dough, so that I can bake them fresh in batches. Can you please elaborate on how to freeze and defrost before baking if I have to make these ahead?
Thanks a lot
I made these cookies two days ago and they are absolutely the best cookies I’ve ever made. I’m known for my delicious chocolate chip cookies, but these are much better. I only had German milk chocolate and milk chocolate with Heath Bar bits from Aldi’s on hand, so I also added a handful of chocolate chips just for color. They look puffy while they’re baking, but flatten out some as they cool. They were crispy around the edges and softer and chewier in the middle. If in doubt, make these cookies. Someone asked how many cookies the recipe made. I got two dozen very large cookies and I added no extra flour.
Can I put dough in refrigerator once I’m done making dough? I would like to have dough done a day or two before I need it. These cookies look so amazing.
Yes!
Just made these and they’re fantastic! I used dark chocolate chunks and white chocolate chips (at my sons request) and it was actually a great combination. I always add a dash of cinnamon to my chocolate chips cookies and it really added a great depth of flavor to this recipe. Definitely recommend!!!
These are the most beautiful cookies I’ve ever seen. Drooling over that chocolate!
I just made but they are for Saturday (it’s Thursday). How should I keep them ? In refrigerator or in container not in refrigerator ?
And they are yummy
Can the dough be pressed into a pan to make a pan cookie?
Hi,
Do I have to use white sugar or can I just use brown?
Thanks,
Viviane
Made these and they were amazing! Made the balls a bit smaller so as not to crowd the baking sheet. Adding salt at the end and pressing extra chocolate into them once they came out of the oven made them perfect. Will definitely make again and again!
I made these cookies tonight for the very first time. I love them!! As a matter of fact, my son who doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies said he really liked these cookies. He liked the addition of the salt because it gave it a balance. I followed your advice and used Lindt bars and my whole family loved them. Thank you for the recipe!