Hamdi Saidani This Pioneer Woman Brown Butter Cookies recipe is a chewy and nutty recipe, which is made with rich brown butter and chunks of dark chocolate. It’s the ultimate comfort food cookie, a gourmet twist on a classic that’s ready in about an hour.
Pioneer Woman Brown Butter Cookies Ingredients
A classic combination for the ultimate rich and chewy cookie.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 220g (about 1 ½ cups) dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
How To Make Pioneer Woman Brown Butter Cookies
A step-by-step guide to these wonderfully rich, nutty, and chewy cookies.
- Brown the Butter: In a medium, light-colored saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling the pan and whisking, for 3-4 minutes after it has melted. The butter will foam, and then the foam will subside, revealing nutty-smelling, golden-brown milk solids at the bottom. Immediately pour the browned butter into a large, heatproof mixing bowl to stop the cooking and let it cool for 15-20 minutes.
- Prep Oven and Mix Dough: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. To the bowl with the cooled brown butter, add both the brown and granulated sugars and mix to combine.
- Combine the Dough: Add the egg and whisk well for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture has lightened in color and thickened. Stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until just a few streaks of flour remain.
- Add Chocolate and Bake: Fold in the chopped dark chocolate. Scoop 2-tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving space between them. For extra chocolatey tops, you can press a few more chocolate chunks into the top of each dough ball.
- Bake and Cool: Bake for 11-13 minutes, until the edges are set and golden. The centers will look soft. As soon as you remove the pan from the oven, you can bang it once on the counter to help the cookies deflate. Sprinkle the tops of the warm cookies with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips
For the perfect, chewy, and flavor-packed brown butter cookie.
- How to brown butter perfectly? The key is to use a light-colored pan so you can see the color change. Cook it over medium heat, swirling it frequently. When it foams up and you see golden-brown specks at the bottom and smell a nutty aroma, it’s done. Remove it from the heat immediately to prevent it from burning.
- Why use brown butter? This is the secret to an incredibly rich cookie! Browning the butter adds a deep, nutty, toffee-like flavor that elevates a standard chocolate chip cookie to something truly special.
- How do I get perfectly chewy cookies? The key is to not overbake them. Pull the cookies from the oven when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft and underdone. They will continue to firm up as they cool on the hot baking sheet.
- How to get perfectly round cookies? For a bakery-style look, as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, you can take a round cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie and “scoot” it around the edges of the hot cookie to nudge it into a perfect circle.
What To Serve With Brown Butter Cookies
The perfect accompaniment for this classic, hearty cookie.
These loaded cookies are a treat all on their own, especially when still warm from the oven. They are a classic pairing with:
- A tall, cold glass of milk
- A hot cup of black coffee
- A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for a decadent dessert
How To Store Brown Butter Cookies
Keeping your cookies soft and fresh.
- Room Temperature: Once completely cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will stay soft and chewy for up to 3 days.
Pioneer Woman Brown Butter Cookies Nutrition Facts
An estimated guide per cookie.
- Calories: 210 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Fat: 12 g
Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.
FAQs
What’s the difference between this and a regular chocolate chip cookie?
The main difference is the browned butter. This simple step transforms the butter, giving the entire cookie a much deeper, nuttier, and more complex flavor than a cookie made with standard creamed butter.
Do I have to chop my own chocolate?
It’s highly recommended. Chopping a good quality dark chocolate bar will give you a mix of different sized pieces, from small shards that speckle the dough to large, gooey puddles of melted chocolate. Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape and won’t create the same effect.
Why did my cookies turn out flat?
Flat cookies are often the result of the brown butter being too warm when you mixed it with the sugars. Ensure it has cooled for a full 15-20 minutes. If your kitchen is very warm, you can also chill the scooped dough balls for 20-30 minutes before baking to prevent spreading.
Try More Pioneer Woman Recipes:
- Pioneer Woman White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies Recipe
- Pioneer Woman Texas Sheet Cake Cookies Recipe
- Pioneer Woman S’mores Cookies Recipe
Pioneer Woman Brown Butter Cookies Recipe
Description
The ultimate chewy and gooey chocolate chunk cookies, made with a deep, nutty flavor from browned butter and loaded with big chunks of dark chocolate, finished with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brown the butter in a saucepan until golden and nutty; let it cool for 15-20 minutes in a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To the cooled brown butter, add both sugars and mix. Whisk in the egg until lightened and thick, then stir in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined.
- Stir in the chopped dark chocolate.
- Scoop 2-tablespoon balls of dough onto the prepared sheets. Press extra chocolate chunks into the tops if desired.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are set. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, then move to a wire rack.
Notes
- u003cliu003eBrowning the butter is the secret step that adds an incredible nutty, toffee-like depth of flavor to the cookies.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eDo not over-bake these cookies! They should look slightly soft in the center when you pull them from the oven for the perfect chewy result.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eChopping your own dark chocolate from a good quality bar will create delicious pools of melted chocolate.u003c/liu003eu003cliu003eThe unbaked cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to three months.u003c/liu003e
