Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies? Nope! These are Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies, chocolate chip cookies’ more sophisticated cousin. Crispy on the edges, chewy in the middle, and everything you want in a cookie—plus bourbon, for good measure.

Remember when every food blogger used to include the phrase, “I am obsessed with this recipe” in every blog post? Would it be a total cliché if I said it…

I am obsessed with this recipe.

We all need these Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies in our lives right now. I don’t even know you, but I know you need them. Times are stressful, friends, and stressful times call for boozy cookies studded with big chunks of dark chocolate. You might even need to take two of these cookies and sandwich a generous scoop of double chocolate brownie ice cream between them. 

You’re the boss of you! Go for it!

I don’t know if there’s more anything to say about this recipe because the ingredients speak for themselves. Brown butter, the best butter of all. Two full teaspoons of vanilla extract to complement the two tablespoons of bourbon. And chocolate chunks to maximize your chocolate-to-cookie ratio.

What You’ll Need

Speaking of ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need to make Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies at home:

• Unsalted butter
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt – The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the cookie dough, but you can also sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the tops.
• Brown sugar
• White sugar
• Eggs – Let them sit on the counter at room temperature for an hour or so before you start baking.
• Vanilla extract – I highly recommend investing in a quality one because it’s an important part of this recipe.
• Bourbon – If you were going to ask, yes, you can leave it out, but it’s kind of the whole point of this recipe?
• Chocolate chunks – I use dark chocolate, but semisweet or milk chocolate are fine if that’s what you prefer.

Recipe Variations

Here are some ideas for changing up these Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

• Add chopped walnuts, almonds, pecans, or macadamia nuts.
• Swap half the chocolate chunks or chocolate chips for chopped Heath bar.
• Go wild and add crushed pretzels or potato chips.
• Go hog wild and add chopped, cooked bacon.

What Kind of Bourbon Should I Use?

Let’s talk a little bit about the bourbon. Bourbon can be expensive, and if you’re not an amateur mixologist, you might not have it on hand. Don’t feel like you have to buy a $100 bottle to make Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies! I suggest going to a liquor store and talking to someone who works there to ask for suggestions. Even the people who run the liquor department at most grocery stores are super knowledgeable when it comes to selecting the right bottle for the job at hand.

How to Make Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This recipe is a cinch to make. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Make the brown butter. Place the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it has a nutty aroma and you notice the milk solids starting to brown. You’ll need to swirl it occasionally to keep it cooking evenly, and keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove the skillet from heat and set aside.

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the dry and wet ingredients. Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, then in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment), beat together the brown butter and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, then pour in the vanilla extract and bourbon.

Finish the dough. Reduce the mixer speed to low, then add the flour in slowly. Once the ingredients are juuuust combined (don’t overmix!), fold in the chocolate chunks.

Bake the cookies. Scoop and roll the dough into 1 1/2- to 2-inch balls, then place them on the prepared baking sheet, pressing any chocolate chunks that fall out back into the dough. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, then allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Tips for Success

These Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies are pretty straight-forward, but these tips will ensure they turn out perfect every time:

• Chill the cookie dough. If you have time, you can chill the cookie dough for a few hours before baking. This makes the cookies thicker and chewier. If you’re partial to cookies with thinner, crispier edges, stick to the recipe as-is.
• Err on the side of under-baked. Because the cookies cool on the baking sheet, they’ll continue baking a bit even after you remove them from the oven.
• Know your oven. Cookies bake for such a short time, even an oven that’s just a few degrees off can spell disaster. If your oven seems to cook hot, check your cookies after 10 minutes. If you think it’s cooler than it should be, you might need to leave your cookies in longer.
• No Brown Sugar? – If you find yourself out of brown sugar, you can blend together 1 cup of white sugar to 1 Tablespoon of molasses to create a light brown sugar. Double the molasses to create dark brown sugar.

How to Store Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Store these Bourbon Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll last up to a week on the counter, or you can freeze them before or after baking.

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