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Caramel-Kissed Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chewy, soft chocolate chip cookies get an irresistible toffee-like depth from brown butter and a bright pop from flaky sea salt—no chilling required!
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 30 to 36 cookies
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 187
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup 227 g salted butter
  • 1¼ cups 265 g packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup 106 g granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups 426 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon table salt
  • 2 cups 340 g semisweet chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt for sprinkling optional

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Brown the butter: cut butter into chunks and melt over medium in a light-colored skillet, stirring constantly until foam subsides and solids turn golden (5–8 minutes). Transfer immediately to a large bowl.
  3. Stir in both sugars until the mixture cools just to lukewarm, about 5 minutes. Whisk in eggs, yolk, and vanilla until smooth and pale.
  4. Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just streaks of flour remain. Gently mix in chocolate chips.
  5. Let dough rest 10 minutes (this hydrates the flour and limits spread). Meanwhile, line up cookie sheets.
  6. Portion dough into 2-tablespoon mounds (a #40 scoop works well). Space them 2 inches apart.
  7. Bake for 10–11 minutes until edges set but centers stay soft. Remove from oven and, if using, top each cookie with a few flaky salt crystals.
  8. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.