Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups with Browned Butter
There’s only so many ways to re-invent chocolate chip cookies before it’s just another chocolate chip cookie. But it’s a new year and I’m not out of ways yet. Cute cookie cups and browned butter to the rescue. These cookie cups are the solution to your prayers if you’ve ever had issues with cookies spreading. Sometimes even doing everything right including chilling the dough before baking and baking cookies on a Silpat Non-Stick Mat is not a match for cookies that decide they’re going to spread on you regardless. The pesky spreading problem is solved by baking cookies in a muffin pan. They’re trapped with nowhere to go. In addition to the muffin pan trick, I jazzed these up with browned butter because it really does elevate everything to a higher status, including classic chocolate chip cookies. The depth of flavor, the nuttiness, the richness, and the comforting quality that food takes on when made with browned butter is why I use it every chance I get.
Normally, however, I don’t brown butter or use melted butter for cookies. In general, my cookies turn out much flatter and thinner when I use melted butter and instead I prefer to cream butter with sugars and eggs for cookie dough. But since I was baking these in a muffin pan and spreading is impossible, it was a perfect opportunity to use browned butter. Just because they’re muffin-shaped, they’re nothing like muffins. No cakeiness here. They’re dense, heavy, and rich. There’s nothing better than biting into a thick and puffy cookie that had no chance to spread and is full of sink-your-teeth-in density. They’re the perfect balance of chewy edges, squishy in the middle, and loaded with melted chocolate. I don’t think I ever want to use my muffin pan for muffins again.
Ingredients in Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
To make chocolate chip cookie cups with brown butter, you’ll need:
Unsalted butter Egg Brown sugar Granulated sugar Vanilla extract Bread flour Baking soda Salt Chocolate chips
How to Brown Butter for Cookies
Here’s how I like to brown butter for making cookies: If you’ve never browned butter before, the key points are to either stir the butter or swirl the pan almost continuously for the 3 to 4 minutes it takes to brown. And the minute you see brown specks and flecks in the butter, remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir for another minute so the carryover heat doesn’t burn the already browned butter.
How to Make Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
The beauty of using melted butter is that no mixer is required and this dough come together by hand in a matter of minutes! Tip: The chocolate chip cookies with brown butter will be a bit underbaked in the center, but as they cool in the pan for at least twenty minutes before removal, they’ll firm up some. I’ve made them in the past and inadvertently overbaked them and although they were okay, they’re best when they’re still soft, gooey, and melty in the middle.
Can I Use All-Purpose Flour Instead of Bread Flour?
I used bread flour and because it has a higher protein and gluten-content than all-purpose flour, and anything made with it has a stronger rise, greater structure, and is chewier. All-purpose flour may be used but the cookies just won’t be as chewy.
Can I Use a Mini Muffin Pan?
I don’t recommend using a mini muffin pan because the overall mass of dough effects how the cookies bake up. Just like these cookies should be baked larger to achieve that chewy edge-soft center quality, the same holds true for the cookie cups. I’m all for cute mini food, but not here.
Tips for the Best Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
I solely used chocolate chips even though I prefer cookies with both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks or with chopped chocolate truffles, but I was fresh out. Incorporating different types of chocolate, white chocolate, toffee or caramel bits, or diced peanut butter cups would be tasty twists. This is a recipe where you really have to trust your nonstick spray and nonstick pan. I use Pam for Baking floured cooking spray and it never lets me down from cookies to Bundt cakes. Although you may use muffin liners, cosmetically I wasn’t going for the ruffled potato chip look and didn’t want ridge impressions on the browned butter cookie cups. The only ridges I wanted in them were from teeth.
More Desserts with Browned Butter:
Sea Salt Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies – Super soft, perfectly chewy, SALTY-AND-SWEET chocolate chip pecan cookies that are AMAZING!! An EASY, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe!! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Bars — The tender dough with rich browned butter flavor, a crackly top almost like brownies have, and the melted chocolate chips is an irresistible combination.
Browned Butter Caramel and Butterscotch Bars – Browned butter, caramel, and butterscotch is the most heavenly combination! Super soft, chewy, with texture from the butterscotch chips!
Browned Butter Rice Krispies Treats – Jazz up classic Rice Krispies Treats with browned butter! Makes such a wonderful difference in the depth of flavor!
Browned Butter Chocolate Chunk Salted Caramel Blondies — The combination of browned butter, salted caramel, chocolate, and sea salt is INCREDIBLE!! A complex-tasting salty-sweet dessert that is EASY to make and a guaranteed FAVORITE!!
Browned Butter Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies – SALTY-AND-SWEET, soft, and chewy chocolate chip cookies that are PERFECT!! An EASY, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that’s just the BEST!!
