Malted Milk Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These are *the best* Chocolate Chunk Cookies you’ll ever have! Got a craving for a sensational chocolate chip cookie? Look no further than these cookies that are infused with nutty brown butter, malted milk powder, and fresh chopped chocolate. They’re extra rich in taste with a toasty, caramelized flavor and peak indulgence to satisfy that cookie craving! Step-by-step photos and freezing instructions, too!

I’m finding it hard to believe that we’re on the cusp of the summer season, y’all. Like dang, the month of May has flown in and is just about ready to fly its ass out, ha! Anywho, I’ve been working on a series of cookie recipes to share with you this year. These brown butter chocolate chunk cookies have been in my arsenal for some time and I’m ready to unload the proverbial clip! Real talk, I need these cookies in my life at least once a week like I need air for survival. Okay, a little dramatic, I agree but you catch my drift…let’s discuss!

Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies! 🍪

Whew, this is one of those recipes that I have been itching to share with you. I love a nice, memorable, bakery-style cookie and that’s exactly the vibe I was aiming to develop. A deeply flavorful, chocolate-studded cookie that’s extra rich and insanely delicious, yes indeed. These here are my forever go-to.

Browned butter because, to me, you don’t have a solid ccc without the flavor it adds. Freshly chopped chocolate is superior to chocolate chips, idc idc fight me! I’ve added a touch of malted milk powder to the party to kick up the overall flavor profile, too. These chocolate chunk cookies are a recipe that’s been heavily tested with me being absurdly confident that you’ll enjoy them!

Why Are These The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies?

• FLAVOR-LOADED: Yes. Some think that flavor-packed eats don’t translate to cookies and to that, I say, nah. A really good chocolate chip cookie should have your eyes rolling to the back of ya head as soon as you take a bite. It should have you doing a little two-step with glee because of the flavor packed in it. These cookies have plenty of flavorful depth to check that box.
• TEXTURE PERFECTION: These cookies are slightly soft, chewy, and a little crisp. A dope trifecta if you will. They also have that signature bakery-style size in that they’re a good size and thick.
• EXPLODING WITH CHOCOLATE: That’s right. Every bite is ooey gooey with puddles of chocolate that ooze out of the cookie crevices, mmm.
• A SUPERB BALANCE: Have you ever had a cookie that was overly sweet or had an odd ratio of ingredients? You won’t find that here. The sugar content is perfectly balanced and these aren’t cloyingly sweet. There’s also an ideal amount of chocolate going on in these chocolate chunk cookies with a clutch, buttery finish. A harmonious blend of ingredients that work!

Ingredients You’ll Need For This Recipe:

(Note: the full ingredients list, including measurements, is provided in the recipe card directly below.)

• Butter: We can’t have brown butter chocolate chunk cookies without dat butter, y’all. Haha. I encourage you to use good-quality butter for these cookies, too. When it comes to butter, there’s American-style butter and European-style butter. American butter typically has a lower butterfat content compared to European butter. The richness in a higher butterfat percentage that European style brings only makes your cookies taste even better. We love Kerrygold and Plugra butter!
• Granulated sugar: Traditional granulated sugar we’re all familiar with.
• Brown sugar: A combination of granulated and brown sugar in these Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies really sings. Brown sugar draws in moisture within the cookies because of the molasses and also makes them very rich and flavorful; dark brown sugar 👌🏾.
• Vanilla essence: I use vanilla bean paste.
• Eggs: They’re critical for texture, chewiness, and a baseline cookie dough.
• Flour: No fancy flour is needed, I use standard all-purpose flour.
• Malted milk powder: This is a powdered mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and milk powder. I use Nestle Carnation Malted Milk, and it compliments the brown butter cookies by giving them a slightly toasted and umami-laced note. It’s used in my brown butter crispy treats, too!
• Baking soda & baking powder: The leavening agents for the proper cookie texture, structure, and taste. Fresh is best!
• Salt: To bring all the flavors together.
• Dark chocolate: Freshly chopped chocolate, amen.
• Flaky salt, for garnish- optional but highly recommended.

Freshly Chopped Chocolate 🍫

When it comes to the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever have, one of the components to produce said result is chopped chocolate. Don’t get me wrong, chocolate chips are fun and they’re great in many things but not in my ccc’s!

Chopped chocolate gives you a much greater amount of chocolate within the cookie as opposed to smaller chips. In addition to that, chocolate chips also contain a coating on them called “bloom.” It’s the powdery/chalky coating on them that’s safe to eat but does affect the flavor and texture. With a pure bar of chocolate, we avoid all that and are rewarded with nothing but puddles of fresh chocolate in abundance. Gahhh, it makes me weep.

⇢ BBR note: Chocolate bar brands recommended include Lindt, Ghirardelli, Theo, or any other whole chocolate bar that’s accessible to you. Now when it comes to the amount of pure cocoa, we prefer 70% dark chocolate for these Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies but feel free to use what you’d like.

How To Make These Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

(Note: please see the recipe card directly below for the complete written instructions.)

FIRST UP, BROWNING THE BUTTA, BABY! 🧈

• Brown the butter– ​​In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir the butter every so often, scraping up any bits as you stir, until it turns deep brown and has a nutty aroma with brown bits on the bottom, about 8-10 minutes. Once achieved, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

• Build the cookie dough batter– In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla essence, eggs, and reserved brown butter. Whisk the wet ingredients well to thoroughly combine. In another medium bowl, combine the flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients well to combine. Then add the flour mixture into the bowl and use a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
• Add the chocolate– Then add the chopped chocolate and use a rubber spatula to fold the chopped chocolate into the cookie dough batter until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

• Shape cookies– Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Use a large spring-loaded cookie scoop to form the cookie dough balls. Simply scoop and then pop the cookie dough ball out onto the prepared quarter sheet pan. Repeat this process until all cookie dough balls are formed. >> Pro tip: As you work through the dough, be sure to dot the top of the dough balls with pieces of chopped chocolate (as pictured above); this will give you sexy chocolate puddles on the surface of the cookie, too!
• Chill the cookie dough– Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap or foil and transfer the shaped cookie dough into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. More on chilling cookies further down below!
• Preheat the oven & bake– When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. Place the cookie dough balls onto the sheet with some space between each one. Bake the cookies at 350°F until golden brown, about 9-10 minutes.
• Finish & serve– As soon as the cookies exit the oven, gently drop/tap the baking sheet on the counter to deflate the cookies and encourage the chocolate to spread out and puddle. Then sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt, if desired. Let the cookies stand for at least 5-7 minutes to cool slightly. Then pour up a glass of milk and enjoy ya life 👅!

Why Chill The Cookie Dough?

Great question! Baking science is fun, let’s get into it. Chilling the cookie dough before baking ensures that a few different things take place. First, chilling dough helps to control spreading. After assembling the cookie dough, if you try and bake them off right away they’ll likely spread way too much. Giving the dough its chill time also helps to allow for the flour to fully hydrate, improving the texture and taste. Please don’t skip the chilling step, peeps!‼️

Freezing Homemade Cookie Dough

Listen, having a stash of cookies ready to go in the freezer is one of life’s greatest things. Freezing is also perfect if you don’t want to bake off all of your cookies at one time. Here’s how to do it: Prepare and shape the cookie dough as directed in the recipe card, below. Then refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes. Once chilled, place the cookie dough balls in a large resealable freezer bag (it’s okay if they’re touching since they’re shaped) and store them in the freezer, the dough will last for up to 3 months.

So whenever you have a craving for a warm, fresh baked cookie…your stash is waiting for you! You can bake the desired amount of cookies straight from the freezer as well- just add an extra 1-2 minutes to the baking time!

Reheating Your Chocolate Chunk Cookies

To capture that fresh outta the oven taste/texture with these brown butter chocolate chunk cookies, simply pop them in the microwave for 5-7 seconds. This will get ’em all warm and gooey all over again, yuh! 😏

Y’all, these Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are so good. I’d say we’re obsessed but that’s putting it mildly. Be sure to tag @butterbeready in your BBR recipe creations, I sure love to see it when you do. Until next time! 🤟🏾

More sweet treats you’d enjoy:

• Double Chocolate Bundt Cake
• Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
• Peanut Butter Banana Cake
• Dutch Apple Pie
• Lemon Sweet Rolls
• The Best Carrot Cake, Ever

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Recipe by: Quin Liburd- Butter Be Ready

Photography by: The Mindful Hapa