Brown Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Name: Brown Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Ingredients: 1 c reduced fat sweet cream butter ((like Land O Lakes)); ⅔ c granulated sugar; ⅔ c light or dark brown sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 1½ tsp vanilla extract; 2½ c all-purpose or white whole wheat flour; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; ½ c butterscotch chips; ½ c dark chocolate baking chips; ¼ c chopped pecans

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

With delicate, melt in your mouth texture and rich, nutty brown butter flavor, these brown butter butterscotch chocolate chip cookies are sure to be your new favorite holiday bake. These cookies have perfectly crispy edges with delectably soft centers, punctuated by melty dark chocolate and butterscotch chips.

The real showstopper in these cookies is the brown butter. It adds a unique nutty, toasty flavor to these cookies that compliments the butterscotch perfectly. The combination of taste, texture, and thickness is top notch. You’re really going to enjoy these cookies!

Close up of brown butter butterscotch chocolate chip cookies on cooling rack.

Why You’ll Love These Cookies

We’re obviously head over heels in love with these cookies, but here are just a few simple reasons why you’ll be falling for these brown butter butterscotch chocolate chip cookies too!

Deliciously crispy and golden brown edges
Delightfully tender centers
One-of-a-kind nutty, toasty, sweet toffee-like flavor (bless your heart, brown butter) 💕
Bake super thick despite using melted (browned) butter (thanks to chilling)
Perfect balance of sweetness with brown and granulated sugar
Mixture of dark chocolate and butterscotch chips keeps these cookies from being supremely sweet, while providing melty morsels in every bite

Ingredients

Butter – while we usually use plant butter in our cookie recipes, we needed to use real butter in order to properly brown it. Brown butter is made by heating melted butter long enough to toast the milk solids, so vegan butter will not yield the desired results. We use sweet cream butter with olive oil to keep the saturated fat content down while still getting deliciously nutty brown butter. Regular unsalted butter works too.
Brown and granulated sugar – equal parts granulated and light (or dark) brown sugar result in perfectly sweet cookies with the right thickness and chewiness.
All purpose flour – for structure.
Vanilla extract – enhances the flavors of the cookies.
Eggs – binding agent.
Baking soda and baking powder – leavening agents to help these cookies rise.
Salt – flavor enhancer.
Butterscotch and dark chocolate chips – butterscotch chips are super sweet, so we paired them with dark chocolate chips to keep these cookies from being overly sweet.
Pecans – pair perfectly with the nutty flavor of the browned butter.

Brown butter butterscotch cookies layered on a cooling rack.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I only share links to companies and products I truly use and stand behind.

What is Brown Butter

Brown butter, or beurre noisette (hazelnut butter), is made by cooking unsalted butter long enough for the water to evaporate and the milk solids to separate out and toast (brown) in the bottom of the pan. The result is a reduced, dark brown mixture with a nutty aroma and slightly sweet toffee-like taste that is deeper, richer, and more complex than simple clarified butter.

Tips for Making Brown Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Use a light colored pan – when you’re browning the butter, it is best to use a light colored pan. It will make it easier for your to see the butter change from yellow to amber brown so you know when to remove it from heat to prevent burning.
Stir butter continuously – to prevent burning and to ensure the milk solids brown evenly, whisk/stir the butter constantly as it browns in the pan.
Move browned butter to a bowl – as soon as the butter turns amber in color and gives off a toasty, nutty aroma, remove it from heat and transfer it and all the browned goodies in the bottom of the pan to a bowl. This will prevent burning the butter and will allow it to cool to room temperature quickly.
Room temperature ingredients – after browning the butter, transfer it and any browned bits to a bowl and set it aside for 10-15 minutes to cool. Also, make sure your eggs are room temperature too. Cold eggs will coagulate and clump with the warm butter. You can quickly bring eggs to room temperature by submerging them in warm water for 1-2 minutes.
Use a baking mat – baking mats are a great way to keep your cookies from overspreading. They also help cookies bake more evenly and they eliminate the greasy residue that cooking spray tends to leave behind.
Chill the dough – browning the butter will result in runnier cookie dough, so chilling is required for this recipe. We recommend chilling dough at least 1-2 hours before shaping and baking. As an added bonus, chilling dough gives all those rich brown butter flavors time to seep into every corner of the dough, giving these cookies a super robust nutty flavor.
Don’t rely on time – since no ovens bake identically, use the baking time as a guideline. Instead keep an eye on your cookies as they bake. They should be golden with set edges and soft centers. We recommend to slightly under bake cookies so that when they cool and set they are super chewy, so you can adjust your bake time accordingly.

Hand holding a cookie that has been broken in half.

How to Make Brown Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to Brown Butter

Cut the butter into roughly tablespoon sized portions and add to a light colored frying pan. Lighter pans allow you to see the butter darken and brown more easily, so you won’t burn it.

Melt the butter over medium heat. As the butter melts, it will begin to crackle. Stir continuously as it cooks.

You should begin to see small bubbles forming and the color may begin to turn a richer yellow. Continue to cook the butter about 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly, as it begins to froth and sizzle more vigorously. Bits of solids will begin to brown in the bottom of the pan. Scrape them up with the spoon/whisk.

Keep stirring and watch carefully for the mixture to deepen to a dark amber color and give off a nutty aroma. Once this happens, immediately remove the butter from heat, scraping up all the browned bits, and transfer to a bowl to prevent burning and to allow the butter to cool. Cool at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, or until no longer hot to the touch.

Cookie with a bite out of it next to butterscotch and chocolate chips.

Make the Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

In a stand mixer, combine browned butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Fold in the butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.

The dough will be fairly runny due to the melted browned butter, so chilling is necessary. Refrigerate the dough 1-2 hours before shaping.

When you’re ready to shape dough, preheat the oven to 350℉. Spoon about 1½ tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Repeat until the cookie sheet is full. Spoon about 1½ tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet, spacing 3 inches apart. Repeat until the cookie sheet is full.

Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden but still soft. Allow cookies to cool partially on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or wax paper to finish cooling.

How to Store

Room temperature – store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Freezer – form cookies into dough balls and flash freeze for 1 hour on a cookie sheet. Transfer the dough balls to a large freezer safe Ziploc baggie for up to 3 months. You can also roll into a cookie dough log and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and tin foil to freeze. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before baking. For dough log, slice and bake.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does brown butter do to cookies?

Brown butter has a slightly sweet toasted, nutty flavor and aroma similar to butterscotch. It adds depth, richness, and a more intense flavor to these cookies.

Why are my brown butter cookies greasy?

Hot, melted butter will cause your dough to be greasy. Give the brown butter time to cool before adding it to the cookie dough. And chill the dough before baking, as skipping this step will also yield greasy, overspread cookies.

What happens if you use melted butter instead of softened butter for chocolate chip cookies?

Softened butter creates airier, thicker cookies since air is incorporated into the dough as you cream the butter and sugar together. The trapped air works together with raising agents, like baking soda and powder, to lift the cookie and create a more cake-like texture. Using melted butter will yield denser cookies, since the butter is unable to retain air bubbles. If cooked immediately, they will also be thinner and crispier on the edge. If you chill the dough before baking, then cookies made with melted butter will be soft and chewy with slightly crispy edges.

Why is my cookie dough so runny/sticky?

Using browned butter will cause the cookie dough to be stickier than traditional chocolate chip cookie dough made from softened butter. Therefore, you’ll want to chill the cookie dough before baking. We recommend chilling at least 1 hour before shaping and baking.

Why are my cookies so runny/spreading so much?

Most likely, you skipped the chilling time. Due to using melted and browned butter, this dough requires 1 hour of chilling in order to prevent cookies from overspreading when baked. Also make sure you wait until your oven is fully preheated to 350F. Baking cookies at lower temperatures will cause the edges to set more slowly, resulting in thin, overspread cookies.

Check out our other cookie recipes