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Lighter Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

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These lighter brown butter chocolate chip cookies deliver deep, nutty flavor with less butter and smart swaps like whole wheat pastry flour and coconut sugar. Topped with flaky sea salt, they’re crisp on the edges, soft in the center, and perfect for everyday indulgence.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

  1. Brown the butter: Place 5 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let it melt completely, then swirl the pan occasionally. The butter will foam up, then start to turn golden. When you see brown specks forming at the bottom and smell a nutty aroma, pull it off the heat immediately. Pour it into a heatproof bowl (including all those brown bits) and let it cool for 10 minutes.
  2. Mix the sugars and butter: In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter, coconut sugar, and granulated sugar until it looks like wet sand.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla: Crack the room-temperature egg into the sugar-butter mixture. Add the vanilla. Whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds until smooth and slightly lighter in color.
  4. Combine the dry ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, and salt until no lumps remain.
  5. Fold it all together: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold gently until just combined (a few streaks of flour are fine). Then fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
  6. Chill the dough (optional but recommended): Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This step firms up the butter and prevents the cookies from spreading too much.
  7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into 1.5-tablespoon balls and place them 2 inches apart on the sheet. You should get about 14 cookies.
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. At 10 minutes, the edges should be golden and the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. Pull them at 10 minutes for a softer center, or go to 12 for crunchier cookies.
  9. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt on each one. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes

Don’t walk away from the brown butter; it can burn quickly. Room temperature ingredients matter for best texture. Chilling the dough is recommended for thicker, chewier cookies. Use a cookie scoop for even baking. Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes to set the centers. These cookies taste even better the next day.

Nutrition

Keywords: brown butter chocolate chip cookies, lighter cookies, healthy cookies, sea salt cookies, whole wheat pastry flour cookies, coconut sugar cookies

Find it online: https://willarecipes.com/lighter-brown-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-sea-salt/