The Best Browned Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft and delightfully chewy with the most incredible flavor! A rich and deep flavor from the molasses in our homemade brown sugar and loaded with melty chocolate chips. These cookies are dangerous!
You know you just made an amazing cookie when your visiting Italian cousin sweetly asks if she should put aside a couple for breakfast the next day. She’s afraid there may not be any left the next morning for breakfast. I think I may never have to try another chocolate chip cookie recipe again.
Browned Butter and Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
This cookie recipe invokes both happiness and fear. You’re overwhelmed with feelings of pure happiness with that first bite. A happiness like you haven’t felt in a while. Soon the happiness starts to fade away and you’re overcome with a little fear.
What is the secret to make these the best cookies?
I’ve made quite a few chocolate chip cookies in my life. I experienced with so many different recipes. I still haven’t found a cookie that is quite as delightful as these!
These are the tips for these lovely cookies:
- Add Bread Flour: To get that nice and chewy cookie dough, bread flour is the key! It does really change the texture of the cookie. Tested and approved!
- Use Dark Brown Sugar: So we made our own brown sugar here with molasses. Truly added a wonderful flavor difference! But you could use store-bought brown sugar. Just make sure you use brown sugar!
- Cool the brown butter: If you set aside the browned butter to cool, it will give you a little crispier texture. If you cool the butter in the fridge after you brown it (and then bring to room temperature) it will be like baking with softened butter. If you don’t cool the browned butter, you’re chocolate chips will melt a bit and you’ll get lovely chocolate swirls. You could add more chocolate chips on top of the cookies just before baking.
- Add an egg yolk: That extra egg yolk does make a difference! It makes the dough just bit more chewy.
- Chill the dough: Don’t forget the last step before baking. I promise it makes a difference. The dough has to be firm and cold. It really helps to hold the shape of the cookie. If you don’t chill, you’ll get a flatter cookie…not that there’s any thing wrong with that!
Or it could have been the browned butter? That was a good idea. Our cousin Stefania asked me about how many calories are there in each cookie? She giggled and asked if there are a lot. I told her to relax because she is on vacation and just enjoy the calories. I didn’t mention that two sticks of butter.
I baked the cookies about 10 minutes. The cookies were chewy and a little crisp around the edges. That is my idea of a perfect cookie. This is a recipe you must try soon.
recipe slightly adapted from Alton Brown and Joy the Baker
What’s needed for chocolate chip cookies?
Here is what you need to have on hand to bake the most addictive chocolate chip cookies. If you’re missing something, make sure you pick it up to bake these as soon as possible:
- unsalted butter
- bread flour
- kosher salt
- baking soda
- granulated sugar
- dark molasses, not blackstrap
- egg
- egg yolk
- dark chocolate chips or chunks
More cookie recipes:
- Italian Rainbow Cookies
- Sicilian S Cookies
- Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Einkorn Cookies
- My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Best Browned Butter and Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon dark molasses not blackstrap
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Brown the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter has browned (about 3 minutes), set aside to cool. *If you don’t set the butter aside to cool, the chocolate chips will melt as you’re stirring them like mine did. And that is definitely not a problem. It just depends if you mind having chocolate swirls instead of chips in your cookies. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside the flour mixture.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix the granulated sugar and molasses until no large molasses clumps remain.
- Pour browned butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the homemade brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Add the yolk and mix until well combined. Slowly spoon in the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough for about 20 minutes, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
Hi Lora, These look fabulous. I love using molasses and browned butter but I've never used them in the same recipe. I was just curious, why do you specify not blackstrap?
These cookies look really delicious. I don't make cookies often but I know these would be a hit in my household. Yummy!
Really like the idea of molasses being in a cookie!
Now I want cookies for breakfast:)
These cookies look absolutely gorgeous. i thought I'd found my ultimate recipe but this might just tip the scales… love the inclusion of molasses and browned butter.
Definitely a yummy looking cookie! I'm sure they would not last very long at my house! 🙂
OH my goodness. I agree with your math, molasses + browned butter = amazing. I'm glad to see you in the swap again and as always, I love reading your posts. Fingers crossed for next swap!
I think you hit on just the right combination for those spectacular cookies! I would put these on your regular rotation of baked treats for your friends and family!
Glad you could make it to the swap this month, we missed you!
I absolutely have to make this! I have never used bread flour for cookies before either but I have a 25 pound bag of the stuff from Costco begging me to use it. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Lora! I'm opening this at a time akin to going grocery shopping when hungry. The first photo had me wondering how quickly I could make a trip to Florida! They look delicious! I love all the thoughtful information you included too. So glad you are back; we are lucky to have you as part of our swap.
I was looking for a recipe for blondies the other day, and came across one that uses bread flour – they said the higher gluten in the bread flour gives a chewiness that regular flour doesn't. I LOVE browned butter AND molasses, as soon as we finish the cookies my daughter just made, have to try this recipe.
As an aside…I *never* buy brown sugar. I always make mine "from scratch" with molasses. I think it gives a richer flavor to the brown sugar and the recipe as a whole 🙂
They looks spectacular. I could imagine the taste of molasses with the brown sugar….. delicious 🙂
These look so tasty Lora. I love cooking with browned butter. So good! I had an Italian Creme Cake last night that was AMAZING. Do you have a favorite recipe? And thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. This was perfect lunch-reading-material. I only wish I could have had a bite! I hope you have a lovely evening.
So great to make homemade brown sugar! And browned butter probably adds such a nice richness. I started getting stressed out just thinking I need to make them…!
My mom makes chocolate chip cookies with molasses and I love her cookies! And to use browned butter- yum! Glad to be part of the Swap!
These look great! I have a choc. chip recipe that uses molasses, but not with browned butter too. It sounds like a winning combination! 🙂
Homemade brown sugar! So amazing to me!
I saw your tweet and am sorry I got her so late. I could use a good cookie or twelve. These are so up my alley…the browned butter, the molasses and oh yeah, the chocolate chips. Great job Lora, wish we could share a cookie and a huge. What a day. XOSO
Mmm, cookies. Never made me own brown sugar, who knew it was so easy. It sounds like your cousin is on smart cookie. Hope you are enjoying summer.
-Gina-
Unlike Stephanie, I don't care how many calories are in these cookies (vacation or not) I'm just wondering how many I can pile onto a plate and eat in one sitting! LOL They do look mighty good 🙂