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Best Brown Butter Cookies – Soft, Chewy & Melt-In-Your-Mouth

Few desserts deliver warmth, richness, and gourmet flavor as beautifully as brown butter cookies. These cookies are soft, chewy, and irresistibly fragrant because brown butter transforms ordinary dough into something extraordinary. When melted butter is cooked until golden and nutty, it develops a deep, toasty aroma that infuses every bite with caramel-like flavor. This recipe combines brown butter, vanilla, and three different sugars to create ultra-soft centers, slightly crisp edges, and that signature bakery-style chew. The addition of cornstarch keeps the dough tender and thick, while flaky sea salt on top enhances the buttery sweetness. Every bite tastes warm, nutty, cozy, and luxurious. These cookies are: Perfect for Christmas cookie boxes Ideal for Pinterest baking posts Great for gifting A comforting everyday treat Easy enough for beginners but elegant enough for professionals Let’s create the softest, most flavorful brown butter cookies ever — rich, golden, toasty, and deeply delicious.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 22 cookies
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Your exact ingredient list, perfectly structured.
Fresh Ingredients
  • 1 Large egg
Dry Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups All-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon Baking soda
  • ⅔ cup Light brown sugar packed
  • ⅓ cup Confectioners’ sugar
  • ¼ cup Granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • Flaky sea salt for topping
Flavoring
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla extract
  • 3 drops additional vanilla extract
Dairy
  • 10 tablespoons Unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Half-and-half or milk
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Reserved brown butter

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Mixing bowls
  • Whisk
  • Silicone spatula
  • Hand mixer or stand mixer
  • Baking trays
  • Parchment paper
  • Cooling rack

Method
 

Step 1: Brown the Butter (The MOST important step!)
  1. Place 10 tablespoons butter in a saucepan.
  2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until:
  3. Butter melts
  4. Foam forms
  5. Milk solids turn golden brown
  6. Aroma becomes nutty and caramel-like
  7. This takes 5–7 minutes.
  8. Pour into a bowl immediately to prevent burning.
  9. Reserve 1½ tablespoons for later.
  10. Let the butter cool 15 minutes until just warm.
Step 2: Mix the Sugars & Brown Butter
  1. In a bowl combine:
  2. Brown butter
  3. Brown sugar
  4. Granulated sugar
  5. Confectioners’ sugar
  6. Whisk until smooth and glossy.
Step 3: Add Egg, Milk & Vanilla
  1. Add:
  2. Egg
  3. Half-and-half or milk
  4. 1 ½ tsp vanilla
  5. 3 drops extra vanilla
  6. Mix until thick, creamy, and fragrant.
Step 4: Add Dry Ingredients
  1. Whisk together:
  2. Flour
  3. Baking soda
  4. Salt
  5. Cornstarch
  6. Add dry mixture to wet mixture.
  7. Fold gently with a spatula until dough forms.
  8. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
Step 5: Chill the Dough
  1. Refrigerate dough 30–45 minutes.
  2. This makes cookies:
  3. Thicker
  4. Chewier
  5. More flavorful
Step 6: Shape the Cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Line trays with parchment.
  3. Scoop dough into balls (1 ½ tablespoons each).
  4. Optional:
  5. Press the tops gently
  6. Add a piece of flaky sea salt
  7. Brush top lightly with reserved brown butter.
Step 7: Bake
  1. Bake for 9–11 minutes, or until:
  2. Edges are lightly golden
  3. Centers look soft and underbaked
  4. Brown butter cookies continue baking on the tray.
  5. Let rest for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

🧊 Storage & Reheating
Room Temperature
Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Fridge
Keeps up to 1 week.
Freezer
Freeze dough balls or baked cookies up to 2 months.
Reheat
Microwave 5 seconds for warm brown-butter centers.
🥄 Variations
1. Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Add 1 cup chocolate chips.
2. Maple Brown Butter Cookies
Add 1 tsp maple extract.
3. Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Roll dough in cinnamon sugar.
4. Nutty Brown Butter Cookies
Add chopped pecans or walnuts.
5. Brown Butter White Chocolate Cookies
Fold in white chocolate chunks.
6. Brown Butter Espresso Cookies
Add ½ tsp instant espresso for a café-style twist.
❓ 10 FAQs
1. Why brown butter instead of using melted butter?
It gives nutty, caramelized flavor unmatched by regular butter.
2. Why is my dough crumbly?
Add ½ tablespoon milk until it comes together.
3. Why do my cookies spread too much?
Dough was not chilled long enough.
4. Can I skip the cornstarch?
It’s needed for soft, thick cookies.
5. Can I use salted butter?
Yes — reduce added salt.
6. Do I have to use flaky sea salt?
Optional, but enhances flavor beautifully.
7. Can I add mix-ins?
Yes — chocolate, nuts, caramel bits, etc.
8. Why are my cookies dry?
Overbaked — remove when the centers look soft.
9. Can I freeze the dough?
Yes — freeze balls and bake later.
10. Are these good for gifting?
Yes — they stay soft for days.
🏁 Conclusion
These Best Brown Butter Cookies combine the rich warmth of browned butter with soft, chewy cookie texture to create a luxurious bakery-style treat that melts in your mouth. The nutty aroma of the brown butter, the sweetness from three sugars, the depth of vanilla, and the touch of flaky sea salt come together to create one of the most decadent cookies you’ll ever taste.
Perfect for holiday boxes, dessert trays, Pinterest content, or cozy evenings at home, these cookies are incredibly easy yet taste like something straight from a gourmet bakery. Once you try them, they’ll become part of your permanent cookie collection.
Warm, nutty, buttery, soft — absolute perfection.