Brown Butter & Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
These chewy brown butter & molasses chocolate chip cookies are super crisp, insanely fudgy & are jam packed full of milk chocolate chunks.
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Classic chocolate chip cookies but with the flavour turned up to the max!
We’re making these chocolate chip cookies with brown butter for a caramelised, nutty flavour & there’s a spoonful of treacle in the dough as well, for an extra molasses/brown sugar flavour. These cookies aren’t just about the flavour though! The texture is spot on as well, in fact they have incredibly fudgy middles & super crisp edges.
These brown butter & molasses chocolate chip cookies are absolutely jam packed full of chocolate chunks & have a pleasant chewiness (thanks to a spoonful or two of cornflour!). They’re super easy to make, are mixed in just one bowl & this recipe yields 12 jumbo sized cookies, so there’s plenty to go round!
For more cookie flavours, check out our ever growing collection of cookie recipes! There’s a whole load of flavours here, from miso banana bread, to brown butter s’more & black sesame cheesecake. If there’s a cookie that you’d like to see on the blog, leave us a comment at the bottom of this post!
Ingredient Notes
- Chocolate – I used a 32% milk chocolate for these cookies but feel free to use whatever type of chocolate you like. A chopped up chocolate bar is best (chips won’t melt properly)!
- Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter for this recipe, as this allows us to control the salt content of our cookies.
- Black Treacle/Molasses – I used black treacle as it is more readily available where I live but either treacle or molasses will work. Molasses have a slightly more bitter flavour compared to black treacle.
- Sugar – You’ll need caster sugar & dark brown sugar for these cookies, to give them the best flavour & amount of spread in the oven.
- Eggs – We’re using 1 large egg plus 2 extra yolks, for a fudgier texture.
- Flour – These cookies use plain/all purpose flour.
- Cornflour – Adding a small amount of cornflour to cookie dough makes the cookies extra chewy. Feel free to leave this out though if you’d prefer.
- Raising Agents – This cookie dough contains equal amounts of baking powder & bicarbonate of soda. Make sure to measure this accurately as it is what gives these cookies their soft, fudgy texture.
- Sea Salt – A light sprinkle of sea salt over the baked cookies, enhances the flavour from the chocolate! I use Maldon sea salt to finish my chocolate chip cookies.
How To Make Brown Butter Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
The full, printable recipe card for these chocolate chip cookies can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick breakdown of the recipe…
- Brown Butter
First, we place unsalted butter into a saucepan & brown over a medium heat. Once cooked, we pour the brown butter into a bowl then leave to cool.
Check out our how to make brown butter guide for more info on brown butter. Or for more info on toasted milk powder, check out our how to make toasted milk powder guide. - Making The Dough
To make the cookie dough, we mix brown butter, softened butter, dark brown sugar, caster sugar & black treacle until well combined then beat in an egg, 2 yolks & a teaspoon of vanilla paste. Next, we add in plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & table salt then fold together until just incorporated. - Add Mix Ins
To our cookie dough, we add roughly chopped milk chocolate (a bar is best!) then stir, to combine. We then refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, to firm it up slightly, which makes it easier to scoop. - Shaping
To shape our cookies, we use a large cookie scoop to scoop the dough into 12 equal portions. Each portion of cookie dough should weigh around 85 grams. We then roll the cookies into balls & press a chunk of milk chocolate on top. - Overnight Chill
Now that our cookies are shaped, they need to be chilled in the fridge overnight. This step is key, so don’t be tempted to skip it! This is what makes sure that our cookies don’t spread out too much in the oven. - Baking
We bake the cookies for 13 minutes (@ 180°c/356°f), until the edges are crisp & set but the centres are still soft. We then “scoot” the cookies into uniform circles with a large cookie cutter, sprinkle with sea salt then leave to cool completely, on the tray. We’re using the “Pan Banging” technique when baking the cookies but more on that below.
The Pan Banging Technique
If you’ve ever searched for a cookie recipe on Google, chances are you’ve come across the pan banging technique by Sarah Kieffer from The Vanilla Bean Blog. This technique involves banging the tray of cookies onto your oven rack towards the end of the cooking process. This causes the cookies to deflate, spreading the chocolate out & giving the cookies crinkly edges.
Here’s how we bake these cookies using the pan banging technique…
- Bake the cookies for 9 minutes (undisturbed).
- Next, open your oven door, lift up the baking tray inside the oven by a few inches then let it drop down against the oven rack. Use enough force so that the cookie starts to deflate.
- Bake for another 2 minutes then repeat the pan banging process.
- Bake for another 2 minutes (bringing the total bake time to 13 minutes) then take the cookies out of the oven.
The Cookie Scoot
The cookie scoot is a technique used to shape cookies into a perfect circle as soon as they come out of the oven. To do this, take a large circular cutter & use it to move (or scoot) the edges of the cookies, to make a perfect a circle. This is the secret to making a batch of uniform cookies. I recently treated myself to a larger cookie cutter (to make it easier to “scoot” larger cookies like these ones) & I’ve linked this below…
Chocolate Chip Cookies Tips & Tricks
- Brown the butter, to give your cookies a nutty, caramelised flavour.
- Use a chopped up chocolate bar in the cookie dough, it will melt better than chocolate chips.
- Make sure to scrape the mixing bowl down with a rubber spatula regularly when mixing the dough, to avoid streaks of unmixed ingredients.
- Don’t over mix the cookie dough as this can affect the texture of the baked cookies.
- Chill the cookie dough overnight for the right amount of spread in the oven.
- Use a cookie cutter to “scoot” the cookies into a perfect circle once baked.
- Sprinkle Maldon salt on top of the cookies for extra flavour.
- Bake the cookies until the edges are set but the centres are still soft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whilst molasses & black treacle aren’t exactly the same thing, they can be used interchangeably in this cookie recipe. Molasses have a slightly more bitter flavour whilst black treacle is slightly sweeter.
Brown butter is made by cooking butter on the stove until it turns a deep golden brown & smells nutty. For a full guide on how to do this, check out our post on how to make brown butter!
Adding a small amount of cornflour to chocolate chip cookies, gives them a softer, more chewy texture.
As with most baked goods, chocolate chip cookies are best eaten on the day that they were baked. However, they will keep for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container.
A roughly chopped up bar of chocolate is best for these cookies, as it will melt better than chocolate chips. This is key to getting those molten pools of chocolate in your cookies. I used a bar of 32% milk chocolate.
I’d recommend sticking with caster sugar, dark brown sugar & black treacle when making these cookies as this will give them the best flavour, texture & the ideal amount of spread in the oven.
Adding an extra yolk or two to your cookie dough, adds extra fat, making these cookies extra fudgy!
How To Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…
Bake the cookies in the baking oven on the bottom set of runners. Use the boiling plate to brown the butter.
Equipment Used
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More Cookie Recipes To Try!
- Brown Butter Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Kettle Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Black Sesame Cheesecake Cookies
- Miso Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted Tahini & Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brown Butter S’more Cookies
If you have enjoyed this recipe for brown butter & molasses chocolate chip cookies, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok!
Brown Butter & Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Baking Trays
- Cookie Scoop
- Large Circular Cutter
Ingredients
- 200 g Unsalted Butter
- 125 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 100 g Caster Sugar
- 50 g Black Treacle
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1 tsp Vanilla Paste
- 300 g Plain Flour
- 2 tsp Cornflour
- ¾ tsp Baking Powder
- ¾ tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
- ½ tsp Table Salt
- 250 g Milk Chocolate
- Sea Salt – To Finish
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Start by browning 120g of the butter. To do this, chop the butter into evenly sized pieces then place into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat & allow to melt, stirring regularly with a spatula. Keep cooking, until the butter starts to foam, smell nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown.
- Once the butter has browned, transfer the butter to a bowl & leave to cool to room temperature. In the meantime, chop the remaining 80g of butter into small pieces & leave to soften at room temperature.The brown butter should take around 30 minutes to cool.
- Add both of the butters, the dark brown sugar, caster sugar & treacle into a mixing bowl then whisk until combined.
- Next, add in the egg, yolks & vanilla then whisk again, to combine.
- To the mixing bowl, add the flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & salt then fold together with a spatula until the flour is just incorporate.
- Roughly chop 200 grams of the milk chocolate, stir into the cookie dough then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.Chilling the cookie dough firms it up slightly, making it easier to scoop.
- Whilst the cookie dough is chilling, chop the remaining 50g of milk chocolate into 12 chunks.
- Using a cookie scoop (or a spoon), portion the chilled cookie dough into 12 equally sized portions. Each should weigh around 85 grams.
- With your hands, roll a portion of cookie dough into a ball then press a milk chocolate chunk into the top. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Place the balls of cookie dough into an airtight container & refrigerate overnight.
Baking The Cookies
- The next day, preheat an oven to 180°c/160°c fan (356°f/320°f).
- Place 3-4 balls of cookie dough onto a lined baking tray, making sure that there’s plenty of room between them.
- Bake the cookies for 9 minutes then open your oven door, lift up the baking tray inside the oven by a few inches then let it drop down against the oven rack. Use enough force so that the cookie starts to deflate. (This is the “Pan Banging” method).
- Bake for a further 2 minutes then repeat the pan banging process.
- Bake for another 2 minutes (bringing the total bake time to 13 minutes) then remove from the oven.
- Using a large, round cookie cutter, scoot each cookie into a perfect round shape.
- Sprinkle each cookie lightly with sea salt then leave on the tray, to cool completely.
- Repeat the cooking process with the remaining cookies, baking 3-4 cookies at a time.
