If you asked my family and friends what I’m known for, they’d probably tell you it’s my cookies. Not just brown butter sea salt chocolate chip cookies, but big, bakery-style cookies of all kinds.
I’ve been baking cookies for my family since the early 1980s, and about 25 years ago, that love of baking grew into a cookie business. Through the years, I’ve baked thousands and thousands of cookies while creating, testing, and perfecting my own drop cookie recipes.
Sharing those recipes was a decision a long time in coming, but I’m finally putting them together here as The Cookie Collection, where the cookies are connected not only to flavors, but to the people, stories, and memories behind them.
And there’s really no better place to start than with the recipe that started it all.
These brown butter sea salt chocolate chip cookies were the cookies that launched my business about 25 years ago, and they’re still one of my family’s all-time favorites.
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My hope is that these recipes help create sweet memories in your own kitchen, and bring a little extra warmth and coziness into your home.
And there’s no better place to start than with the recipe that started it all. This is the cookie that launched my business 25 years ago, and it’s still one of my family’s all time favorites.
Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup browned butter
- ½ cup melted margarine
- 3 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste [link: vanilla bean paste]
- 5 large eggs
- 2 tsp. salt
- 3 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 6 to 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 to 4 cups chocolate chips (milk, dark, semi-sweet, mini… your choice!)
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling after baking
Directions
- For brown butter, brown the butter over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the bubbling slows and the butter turns a rich golden brown with a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat immediately (keep stirring so it doesn’t burn).
- Add the melted margarine to the browned butter and let the mixture cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Once the butter mixture has cooled enough that it won’t cook the eggs, pour it into the bowl. Add the eggs and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in the salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add 6 cups of flour, then continue adding more as needed until the dough is soft but no longer sticky.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. I like a lot of chocolate chips, but honestly, measure with your heart.
- I make large 6-ounce bakery style cookies. After portioning the dough, I like to press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops before baking.
Baking Instructions
Above 4,000 feet elevation (where I live): Bake at 325°F for 18 to 20 minutes.
Below 2,000 feet elevation: Bake at 350°F for 18 to 20 minutes.
For standard 2-ounce cookies: Bake for 14 to 15 minutes.
As soon as the brown butter chocolate chip cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them lightly with flaky sea salt.
Enjoy! ❤️
Cozy Cookie Tip
I use a combination of butter and margarine in this recipe because each one brings something different to the table.
Butter adds incredible flavor and gives the cookies those delicious browned butter notes. Margarine helps create a softer, chewier cookie and keeps it moist for days.
Together, they make what I think is the perfect cookie.
Additional Tips & Tricks
Want even more cookie baking tips? I’ve gathered everything I’ve learned after years of baking into one helpful guide. Be sure to check out my blog post, Tips for the Perfect Cookie: Everything I’ve Learned After Years of Baking.
Another Chocolate Chip Cookie to Try
If you love a classic chocolate chip cookie but want to change things up, try my Biscoff Chocolate Chip Cookies next. They take that familiar chocolate chip cookie flavor in a completely different direction with the warm, caramelized flavor of Biscoff cookie butter.
One More Thing
The vanilla bean paste I use is one of my favorite baking ingredients. It gives these brown butter cookies amazing flavor along with those beautiful little vanilla bean specks running through the dough.
I’ve linked it below if you’d like to check it out.
Explore The Cookie Collection
These brown butter sea salt chocolate chip cookies may be the recipe that started it all, but they’re only the beginning. You can browse all of my bakery-style cookie recipes in The Cookie Collection, including giant cookies, stuffed cookies, seasonal favorites, chocolate-loaded creations, and plenty of recipes with a story behind them.
Every cookie has a name. Every name has a story.
