Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You’re going to fall in love with these crisp, chewy Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse sea salt and enjoy!

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Who wants a cookie?! I do, I do! These are seriously some of the best cookies everrrr! I’ve been wanting to share this recipe with you guys for about a month now, but I’ve been holding back. Cruel, I know. I had originally photographed these on a really dark day and I just wasn’t happy with how they turned out, so we made them again and now here they are, in all of their glory!

I’ve only used browned butter a few times… like in this skillet cookie and on occasion, these butter garlic noodles. I don’t know why I don’t do it more often, it basically makes anything and everything 100x better. No joke. So I thought I’d experiment a little with our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and add a bit of browned butter goodness to it!

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

For these particular cookies I turned one stick into browned butter and used one stick of regular butter. I found that pouring the hot browned butter over the top of a cold stick of butter created the perfect crisp/chewy texture that I was going for. Plus the flavor really worked well with the walnuts I tossed in!

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

If you’re new to browned butter, don’t be intimidated. It’s super easy. Like so easy you’ve probably done it at least once in your lifetime without even realizing it. This post has a few nice pictures of what it should look like. I promise you can do it! Just whisk, whisk, whisk and pay attention!

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Because these cookies have melted butter in them, I prefer making the dough and chilling it. The overall taste/texture of the cookie improves with rest time and it’s less messy to scoop or roll it.

You can always make the dough before you go to bed and then bake it in the morning… I do that all of the time!

When the dough is firm, use a standard size cookie scoop to portion it out. Press a few extra semisweet or bittersweet chunks of chocolate into them before tossing them into the oven to bake.

When the edges are golden brown, take them out and sprinkle a bit of coarse sea salt over top. It really helps round out the flavors!

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Enjoy these cookies while they’re still warm & gooey! I find them best when served alongside a big glass of milk!!

But let’s be honest, I’d eat them with just about anything…like a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream in between 😉

Enjoy & happy baking!

Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Browned Butter Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies Recipe

You're going to fall in love with these crisp, chewy browned butter walnut chocolate chunk cookies. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse sea salt and enjoy!
5 from 4 votes
Pin Rate
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 180kcal
Author: Andrea
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar - packed
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour - +2 tbsp
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks - OR bittersweet, chopped
  • 1/2 cup walnuts - heaping
  • coarse sea salt - for sprinkling, optional

Instructions

  • Place 1 stick of butter in a small saucepan, set over medium heat. Heat butter until it melts, then bubbles and eventually begins to smell nutty. Whisk and swirl every few seconds until you start to see browned bits (or flecks) at the bottom, remove immediately.
  • In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the remaining stick of butter, pour the hot browned butter over top. Add the sugars and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and smooth. With mixing speed on low, add the eggs one at a time until incorporated, then the vanilla.
  • In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add in the dry ingredients. Beat until just combined or until a soft dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts with a spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
  • To bake the cookies, using a standard size cookie scoop (approximately 1.5 tbsp.) to form balls of dough. Place onto the prepared sheets, leaving at least 2 inches in between. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
  • Place in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the sheet half way through the baking process. Remove from oven when cookies are golden brown in color around the edges. Let cookies cool on pan for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTES

-You can easily replace the walnuts with pecans or hazelnuts. Or add toffee bits or white chocolate!

Nutrition

Serving: 36serving | Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

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About the Author

Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

  1. 5 stars
    I accidentally melted a lot of butter so I turned to this recipe. The cookies were amazing!! Such the perfect mixture of crispy, chewy and gooey.

    Wanted to ask if you’d be able to share your weight measurements? Some of the measurements here are a little funky (e.g., 2 3/4 + 2 tbsp) and I think I’d go a lot faster if I could simply weigh. Thanks so much!

    1. I am glad you liked them! I do not have the weighted measurements, I am sorry. I am sure there are conversion tables you can find online, though.

  2. My mouth was watering and all i had going was the butter! They smell and taste amazing! It was a great hit for my SO’s birthday.

    I did have one small problem though. When preparing the cookies I originally read that total prep time is 20 min only to find out later that the dough needed a 2 hr chill time. Fortunately I mixed the dough with plenty of time to spare, but you may want to edit the total prep time on your recipe. Thank you!