Next-Level Chocolate Chip Cookies (Brown Butter + Dark Chocolate Magic)
This cookie recipe is the one. The one I reach for when I want to impress, when I want to bake something cozy, when I want a little midweek indulgence that tastes like it came from a bakery but didn’t take me all day to make. What makes these chocolate chip cookies “next level” is a mix of intentional, flavor-forward decisions: brown butter for depth, chopped dark chocolate for richness, and a final hit of flaky salt that ties it all together. They’re soft in the center, just crisp at the edges, and full of the kind of balance that makes you reach for a second one before you even finish the first.
Next Level Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 3/4 t salt
- 1 c brown sugar
- 1/3 c sugar
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 t vanilla extract or paste
- 296 g bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate*
- Flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Set out your 2 eggs!!
- Brown your butter in a small pot over medium low heat until it becomes a deep caramel color (5-8 minutes). Scrape into a bowl, let cool enough to re-solidify on your counter (~30 minutes)
- During this time, chop up your chocolate
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the sugars to the brown butter and beat until lightened and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Add your eggs and vanilla to this, and beat in until you can't see discernible bits of egg, it'll thicken slightly.
- Slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the chopped chocolate, then let the dough rest at room temp for 30 minutes*
- Preheat your oven to 375 with the rack in the middle. Scoop the dough (with a 1" cookie scoop) onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, spaced about 3 inches apart, do not flatten. You'll only be able to fit about 6 cookies per cookie sheet, so I like doing two cookie sheets and alternate them in the oven until I get through all of the dough!
- Bake for 8-11 minutes, top with flaky sea salt when fresh out of the oven
Notes
- I like to buy baker's chocolate for this, so I buy two semi-sweet and one bittersweet bar, use one of each, and 2/3 of the second semi-sweet bar
- You can even make the dough the day before and let it rest in the fridge overnight!
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You know when a chocolate chip cookie just hits different? That’s these. They’re deeply flavored, beautifully textured, and—despite being a total crowd-pleaser—they’re still a little indulgent and fancy-feeling. These are the cookies I bake for friends when I want to casually ruin all other cookies for them. Spoiler alert: it works.
The real foundation here is brown butter. If you’ve never made cookies with it, prepare to have your mind blown. I melt down two whole sticks of butter over medium-low heat and let them go until they’re deeply golden and smell like caramel. For the best texture, pour the butter into a bowl and let it cool to room temp for 30 minutes to an hour—this helps it cream better with the sugars and keeps your cookies from spreading too much. This is also the perfect time to bring your eggs to room temp.
Once the brown butter is cool, I beat it together with brown sugar and white sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and smooth. I highly recommend using a stand or hand mixer here—it’s possible to do it by hand, but you’ll definitely break a sweat. After that, in go two room-temp eggs and a generous scoop of vanilla bean paste. I almost exclusively use paste now because the flavor is more intense and it makes me feel like a very fancy cookie person.
Next up: dry ingredients. Flour, baking soda, and salt go in, and I mix until it’s just combined—no over-mixing allowed. This keeps your cookies soft and tender instead of tough or dry.
And now the best part: the chocolate. I chop up 2 and ¾ bars of baking chocolate for this recipe—my ideal combo is 1¾ bars of semi-sweet and 1 full bar of bittersweet. This gives you pools of rich, gooey chocolate with enough contrast against the sweet dough. If you’re not usually a dark chocolate person, trust me—this is the place to try it. The dough is sweet enough that the darker chocolate just works.
Fold in the chocolate, and then—yes, I know it’s hard—let the dough rest. Resting your dough overnight (or even just 30 minutes) helps the flour hydrate and the flavors deepen. It’s the secret step that makes these cookies truly next level.
Want a little life hack? If you’re not needing a whole batch of cookies, follow these same steps, but instead of scooping the dough and baking - scoop all of your cookies onto one or two pans, then freeze them for 2-3 hours. Then you take your frozen dough balls and store them in a ziplock bag in your freezer, and you can have a small batch of homemade cookies at your fingertips! Follow the same baking instructions, adding a few extra minutes if you need it, and you’ve got yourself the WAY better version of those school fundraiser cookies!
When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375°F and line two baking sheets with parchment. I use a 1-inch cookie scoop and space six balls of dough per sheet. Sprinkle a little flaky sea salt over each one before baking, and again when they come out. It makes a difference—don’t skip it.
Bake for 8–11 minutes, depending on your oven. You’re looking for golden edges and a slightly underbaked center. They’ll finish setting up as they cool. Let the first batch cool on the pan while the second bakes, then transfer to a wire rack. Rinse and repeat until you’re out of dough!
These cookies are rich without being cloying, chocolatey without being overwhelming, and the balance of sweet and salt is just chef’s kiss. Every time I make these for our friends, the batch disappears before the night is over. I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m not.
They’re everything I want in a cookie: easy enough to make on a whim, indulgent enough to feel special, and the kind of treat that makes people say “Wait—you made these?”