Everyone has opinions about chocolate chip cookies. For me, it’s always been about the dough. If I’m going to the effort to make cookies, the cookie dough itself should be full of flavor and well-seasoned, worth eating with or without chocolate. I don’t like cookies that are more chocolate than cookie — if I want that much chocolate, I’ll just eat a chocolate bar.
My go-to base is in my cookbook, Baked to Order. I use brown butter, a mix of flours (including rye), and a hit of espresso powder for an extra flavorful cookie. I still make that recipe often, but lately I’ve been tinkering with it a little to really focus on one particular element: brown butter.
Brown butter has been the darling of the culinary world for…I don’t know, decades now? I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Browning butter is the process of heating butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids (which make up about 3-5% of the butter content) brown. In French, brown butter is called beurre noisette, or “hazelnut butter”, because the aroma resembles toasted hazelnuts. It’s a beautiful thing.
But what if you want to add more brown butter flavor? You can’t just add more brown butter, or the ratio of fat to everything else will result in a very different end product. Enter: toasted milk powder.
Milk powder is essentially a concentrated powder of milk solids, made by preheating, evaporating, and reheating milk. It’s a staple in my baking kit; I use it most often in my enriched sourdoughs to make extra tall and soft loaves (by increasing the protein and lactose without adding extra liquid). I first came across the concept of toasting milk powder on Francisco Migoya’s blog, where he talks about adding it to financier batter. It’s brilliant — by toasting the milk powder, you’re adding more of the tasty brown bits that give brown butter its flavor and aroma!
There are a number of ways to toast milk powder. If you want to make a large batch to have on hand, try the microwave method or the pressure cooker method. For these cookies, I decided to just toast the milk powder directly in the browning butter.
Baker’s notes:
- When toasting the milk powder, keep the heat down and whisk constantly to avoid clumping. Normally I crank the heat up once the butter has melted, but I got more consistent results with the milk powder keeping the temp around medium-low. If your milk powder is clumpy, definitely sift it / break up any lumps before adding to the butter.
- You can make these cookies straight from the melted butter stage, but these days I prefer the texture of the final cookies when the butter is brought back to a spreadable consistency. Creaming the butter also helps break up any bits of clumpy toasted milk powder that may have formed during the browning process.
- I’ve added in a touch of liquid (usually coffee) to make up for the moisture loss from browning the butter. It helps the cookies spread more predictably, especially if you’re refrigerating/freezing the dough for more than a day.
- To get perfectly round cookies, you can scoot them with a round cookie cutter just larger than the baked cookie or use an offset spatula or spoon to nudge them into shape IMMEDIATELY after the cookies come out of the oven. Totally optional; it’s just for looks.
Toasted milk powder (extra-strength brown butter) chocolate chunk cookies
Makes 12-14 cookies | Adapted from Baked to Order
Ingredients:
- 113g unsalted butter, cubed
- 45g nonfat milk powder
- 100g light brown sugar
- 65g granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3g (3/4 tsp) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
- 1 large egg, cold
- 1 large egg yolk, cold
- 18g coffee or milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 175g all purpose flour
- 140g good quality dark chocolate, chopped (I like a mix of 55% and 70%)
- Flaky sea salt, for garnish (optional)
Method:
Make the extra-strength brown butter: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the milk powder. Continue cooking on medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the milk solids darken and the butter takes on a toasty, nutty smell. Remove from heat and scrape the butter and all the toasty bits into a heatproof container. Refrigerate until spreadable, about 45 minutes. (You can speed up the process by stirring the butter over an ice bath or sticking it in the freezer, stirring every 5-10 minutes.) You can make the extra-strength brown butter up to a week in advance; bring to room temperature before mixing cookie dough.
Make the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, combine the softened extra-strength brown butter, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Using an electric hand-held mixer, mix on medium speed until well combined, 2-3 minutes (the mixture will be a bit crumbly). Scrape down the beaters and sides of the bowl. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until smooth, then add the coffee or milk and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is mostly mixed in, then add the chopped chocolate. Switch to a spatula and mix just until the chocolate is evenly distributed and no streaks of flour remain. Cover and refrigerate for BARE MINIMUM 1 hour, but preferably at least four hours (or up to 3 days).
Bake the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Portion the dough into golf-ball sized portions (weigh them if you want perfectly even cookies — I usually make mine around 55g each, which gives me a baker’s dozen). Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 2½ inches apart and sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are set and the centers no longer look wet, about 12 to 14 minutes. Rotate the sheet in the oven halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Hello there,
The notion of browning milk powder certainly sounds intriguing and now I do have to try this variation on your excellent chocolate chip cookie recipe.
I was interesting in the microwave and pressure cooker methods. At first I thought perhaps there might be InstantPot directions but no such luck. The procedure is sorely lacking in detail. Similarly for the microwave method with no wattage given and comments on immediate scorching when tried.
I would like to make a larger batch to keep on hand for experimenting in cookies, pie crusts and possibly quick breads. Have you attempted the microwave method and have any tips for success?
And yes, I agree bringing the browned butter back to a spreadable consistency seems to give a better texture. I think I first discovered this years ago thanks to a great white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe from the 1988 “The International Cookie Cook Book” by Nancy Baggett. I jumpstart that without negative consequences by putting my pan with the browned butter in the freezer for ten to fifteen minutes.
I love “Baked To Order” and your thoughtful posts with excellent recipes! I will always be looking for a next cookbook from you!
Hi! I have tried the microwave method and it worked fine for me; I just did it at normal strength but made sure to stir well at regular intervals (30-60 seconds). Hope that helps! I plan to try in the instant pot soon and will update the post if that works well.
Phenomenal cookies!!!
So glad you like them!
Hi Ruth, if I only have full-fat milk powder around, will that ruin/alter the recipe? Thank you!
I haven’t tried with full-fat, so I can’t say for sure. My feeling is that it should though!
Hello, I noticed this recipes calls for cold eggs. I was wondering what the reasoning for that was, since it’s unusual to see a cookie recipe with cold eggs?
It just helps cool the dough faster. Since cookies don’t have much liquid there’s not really an issue with curdling (which is usually why recipes call for room temp eggs). But it’s fine to use room temp eggs too, not a big deal!
Ok, thanks.
Hi, my dough was really wet and it stayed like that even after staying in the refrigerator over nigh. The dough spreaded into the size of the baking sheet when baked. Can you please tell me what did I do wrong? Thanks in advance
It’s hard to say exactly without having seen you make it, but my guess would be that there was a mismeasurement somewhere (maybe the flour?). The dough shouldn’t be overly wet and should definitely firm up after refrigeration.
The toasted milk powder cookies look amazing. I have *whole* milk powder left from another recipe, and since it’s not easy to find and expensive, I’d like to use it up. Would it be suitable for this cookie?
I’m thrilled to have stumbled across your site. I just ordered your cookbook. Ahh, e-books, instant gratification!
Happy baking and Happy Holidays,
Shari
Arg. I just noticed that you already answered the question about whole milk powder. Sorry for the repetition. I’ll post my results as to how they turn out.
Hi. Just curious I was wondering if you could share the difference in the final cookie texture when using “spreadable” butter vs melted please? Thank you!
Not sure what I did…doubled the butter/milk powder and I got an un-homogenized mess. 45g of milk power to 113g of butter seems like an awful lot of milk powder…am I missing something?
Hi! When you say unhomogenized do you mean clumpy? It is normal for the powder not to dissolve but if it is clumping badly I advise sifting the powder turning down the heat and whisking constantly during the browning process (see recipe notes). It is a lot of powder and you can decrease it if you want, but I found I preferred being aggressive with the amount so the flavor would really come through. Hope that helps!
Hi, mine came out spreading into one big “sheet” of cookie (the dough spreaded all over the sheet pan when baked). I refrigerated the dough over night and followed your recipe exactly. What did I do wrong?
Hi! Usually overspreading results from either too much fat, too little flour, or an oven temperature that’s too low. If you weighed everything out and are still having the spreading problem, I’d use a thermometer to check the oven temp and making sure your oven is fully preheated / doesn’t run low. Hope that helps!
Genuinely one of the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve found, the texture of the cookies is so delicious and it wasn’t too hard to make. The cookies themselves the dough before the chocolate chips has good flavor combined with the espresso powder. Overall 100% recommended
Y’all, please sift your milk powder. I didn’t, Of course, I didn’t whisk it in either. My butter/powder mixture was a pile of buttery granules (totally MY fault). And yet, this recipe did not disappoint! Fantastic flavor, and the cookies didn’t spread into flat discs, like many melted butter recipes do. Thank you for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it again & follow the instructions this time. 😛
Hi there
Wanting to make these. Just curious do you have a final weight of the butter after it is browned? Or is it 113g to start and whatever is left is left? I am going to brown the milk powder separately as I find that is easier for me then add it to the warm brown butter off the stove allow them to cool together till a soft consistency. Is European butter OK to use? I like to use kerrygold but I know the high fat can change recipes. Just curious about if you know how much butter you should end up with after it’s browned in grams (minus milk powder) if not ill just go ahead and try it out! Thank you I’ve wanted to make these for weeks and can’t wait!
Hi! I typically use North American butter and always end up with 91-92g of butter after browning. I haven’t tried this recipe with European style so can’t comment on how that would affect these cookies. Hope that helps!
I haven’t made this exact recipe, but I use this method every time I make brown butter. Ingenious. Thank you so much for sharing – this leveled up all my bakes. I will be grateful for this tip for the rest of my life.