Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

straight on shot of chocolate chip cookie bars stacked up on each other with some scattered in the background and a bottle of milk in the right background.

Print Pin

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

4.96 from 23 votes

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 24

Refrigerating time 1

Total Time 1 49

Servings bars

Calories 237

These cookie bars are outrageously delicious and so easy to make.

Ingredients

227 grams unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch squares (16 Tablespoons or 2 sticks)
240 grams all purpose flour (2 cups)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
146 grams light brown sugar (⅔ cup, firmly packed)
133 grams granulated sugar (⅔ cup)
1 Tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoons vinegar (cider or white)
2 large eggs
340 grams semisweet and/or bittersweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
Flaky sea salt

Instructions

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once fully melted, increase the heat to low-medium to cook the butter, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The butter will start popping and crackling and then start foaming. The part of the butter that will start browning is the milk solids which will be on the bottom of the pan. This is why you need to keep stirring and lifting the spatula or spoon out of the pan to see what stage it is at. Once you have nicely browned specks on the bottom of the pan, remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour the butter into a heatproof bowl to stop it from cooking any further. (Be careful not to overcook the butter. It can go from brown to burnt very quickly.) Allow the butter to cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until hardened, at least an hour. (Brown butter can be made a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator.) Allow the brown butter to come to room temperature at least 30 minutes before mixing the dough.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the brown butter, sugar, brown sugar, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Add the eggs and beat until fully combined.
Add the dry ingredients and mix just until fully combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Spread the batter into a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. At this point, you can cover the pan and refrigerate it for up to 3 days before baking. Sprinkle sea salt on top and bake 24-26 minutes. The edges will be golden brown and start to pull from the sides of the pan.
Cool before slicing.

Notes

The brown butter can be made ahead of time, even by a few days. If you are new to making brown butter, use a lower flame so you have more control over the cooking process. It may take a few minutes longer, but the butter will be less likely to go from brown to burnt so quickly.
These can be made in one day, but plan ahead so your brown butter has time to solidify in the refrigerator.
You can freeze the fully baked cookie bars. They should come to room temperature in about 10 minutes.
Deeper, quality chocolate is best for these cookies. (Milk chocolate is good, but not great.) Semi-sweet is fabulous, and a combination of semi-sweet and bittersweet is truly wonderful. Can’t find bittersweet chips? Just chop up a quality bittersweet chocolate bar. I use these semi-sweet chips, these bittersweet chips, and these milk chocolate chips. Callebaut is one of my all time favorite chocolates to bake with. Their chocolate is slightly expensive, but it is what sets my cookies apart from everyone else’s. Use quality ingredients for a quality baked good!

Author: Rob Finkelstein

Calories: 237kcal

Course: Dessert, Snack, Tea Time

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Brown Butter

Nutrition