Chocolate Dipped Brown Butter Cookies
These Chocolate-Dipped Brown Butter Cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with rich, nutty flavor from the brown butter, then dipped in smooth melted chocolate for a festive, bakery-style finish. A drizzle of extra chocolate and a sprinkle of either Christmas nonpareils or flaky sea salt make them perfect for holiday gifting or dessert trays. Simple, elegant, and irresistibly delicious.
Servings: 20 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup salted butter browned
- ¼ cup salted butter cold butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed down
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp corn starch
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For the dip:
- 10 oz Ghirardelli Melting Wafers I prefer milk chocolate but you can use whatever chocolate you want!
- 3 tbsp non pareils or flaky sea salt
Instructions
For the cookies:
- First brown the butter. Add 1 cup salted butter to a saucepan and melt over medium heat. Continue cooking after it melts; the butter will foam, sizzle, and eventually turn golden brown with toasted brown specks on the bottom. Once it smells nutty and caramel-like, remove it from the heat and immediately stir in the ¼ cup cold salted butter until fully melted. Allow to cool for 10–15 minutes until warm, not hot.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl, combine the slightly cooled brown butter mixture, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Mix on low until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time while mixing on low. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low just until the dough forms and flour is incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the regular and mini M&M’s. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and scoop 20 dough balls (I use a large 3 tbsp cookie dough scoop) Cover and chill for 30–45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 4 dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11–12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers look slightly underbaked.
- These cookies will spread, so as soon as they come out of the oven, you can use a round cookie cutter to gently scoot them into a perfect circle to reshape. This step is totally optional, but I always do it! Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before dipping.
For decorating:
- Place wax or parchment paper down on a. flat surface. Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 20–30 second increments, stirring until smooth. Dip half of each cooled cookie into the chocolate, letting excess drip off.
- Place on wax or parchment paper and drizzle extra melted chocolate over the top. If using, sprinkle the cookies with nonpareils, sprinkles, flaky sea salt, or even nuts or crushed candy canes. Let chocolate set completely before storing or packaging.