These brown butter chocolate chunk cookies are seriously addictive. They are slightly crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and packed with chocolate chunks and walnuts. I have recently been loving the flavor of cardamom paired with chocolate so I added in some freshly ground cardamom–just enough to add a surprising and pleasant note that lingers after you’ve taken a bite. To stand up to the strong flavor of the cardamom, I also browned the butter in these cookies, adding an extra nuttiness.
This brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe was adapted from Kristin Johns’ Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. Kristin’s recipe is so good I wasn’t sure that it could be improved upon. But browning the butter and adding some fresh cardamom took these to the next level. After tweaking the recipe a couple of times, I could not stop eating the final test batch. There are so many chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but I implore you to give this cardamom brown butter variation a try. It has all of the perfect characteristics of a classic chocolate chip cookies but with a fresh twist that will keep you reaching for more.
Tips for success
- Measure out the ingredients by weight for the best results. If you don’t have a scale, make sure to scoop flour into a measuring cup and level it off to avoid using too much flour.
- Fresh cardamom really makes this recipe and I recommend you use it if you can. Remove the seeds from the pod and grind in a spice grinder. If you don’t have one, a mortar and pestle will work, or you can place them on a plate and use the base of a glass to gradually grind them. The last technique can take a little time but I have found it incredibly therapeutic and well worth it.
- For browning the butter, be sure to swirl the pan frequently and keep the heat low. This allows the excess water to boil off before the butter begins turning brown. Allow the butter to gradually brown and at the very end, you can continue swirling the pan off the heat until it turns into a deeper amber color.
- For the best results, cut chocolate into chunks instead of using chocolate chips.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Cuisine: CookiesDifficulty: Quick bake24
cookies30
minutes10
minutesThese brown butter chocolate chunk cookies with cardamom are seriously addictive. They are perfectly chewy on the inside and packed with chocolate chunks and walnuts.
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup (210g) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom (from green cardamom pods)
3/4 cup (160g) light brown sugar
1/4 granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
120g (generous 1/2 cup) bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Chop the chocolate and walnuts into small chunks and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, swirl the pan frequently until the butter has turned a medium to dark amber color. At first, the butter will sizzle loudly as the water evaporates and very cloudy, but as the butter gets closer to browning, it will grow quieter and clearer. Immediately take it off the heat when browned and pour into a large bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon of water to the butter and set the bowl aside.
- In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt.
- Add both sugars to the bowl with the butter and beat thoroughly with a hand mixer until lighter in color, well blended, and slightly fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla bean paste.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. Add in chopped chocolate and walnuts and mix until just combined. Avoid overmixing the dough.
- Place the bowl in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 365F. Once the cookies have rested in the fridge, use a spoon to scoop out the dough and use your hands to roughly press the dough together and shape into a ball. I made my cookies a bit smaller than the size of a golf ball, but you can choose whatever size you prefer.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Take out of the oven right when the edges begin to turn golden. The cookies will look under-baked but will continue to darken once they are out of the oven. Overbaking will result in a much crunchier cookie.
Notes
- If you use store-bought ground cardamom, you may want to slightly increase the quantity to 3/4 of a tsp, since it will likely be less potent than freshly ground cardamom.
- If you don’t want to bother with browning butter, simply melt one stick of butter in a pan and skip the step where you add 1 Tbsp of water back into the butter.
3 responses to “Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies”
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I made these tonight for the second time. They are amazing. I used chocolate chips because I did not have chunks and they were delicious. Will definitely make them again and maybe experiment with other mix ins.
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I made these last night for a work party. They came out great. I followed the recipe exactly as written but did add about two minutes of baking time. Everyone raved about the cookies. The cardamom and brown butter really make them stand out. I also like cutting up the chocolate into chunks as you can see some larger chunks in the cookies. Will definitely make again!
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