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My vegan brown butter cookies have crisp edges, a warm caramelized flavor, and gooey half-melted chocolate chips. You’d never believe they’re made with no eggs OR dairy!
Need more vegan cookie recipes? Try my vegan Levain cookies, vegan shortbread cookies, and vegan chocolate chip cookies next.
As much as I love a good vegan chocolate chip cookie, sometimes I need a more elevated version.
Que, my vegan brown ‘butter’ cookies. The vegan brown butter adds a slightly nutty and toffee-like flavor, and the chocolate chips take them to another level.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Real butter flavor. It’s amazing what you can do with plant-based butter nowadays!
- Simple ingredients. If you love baking vegan cookies, then you probably have everything on hand right now.
- The perfect texture. They’re soft yet chewy, with crispy edges and pools of half-melted chocolate chips. Sign me up!
Ingredients needed
- Vegan butter. Use good quality vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s Creamery), preferably from a block. Vegan butter from a spread often contains added water, which can make the cookies more firm than soft.
- Brown sugar. I tried this recipe with white granulated sugar, brown sugar, and a mix of both. I preferred using all brown sugar as it gave the cookies a deeper buttery flavor while keeping the centers soft and gooey.
- Dairy-free milk. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any plant-based milk works.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any good cookie recipe!
- All-purpose flour. Sifted to remove any clumps. Use gluten-free AP flour (with xanthan gum) if desired.
- Baking soda. To keep them from overspreading.
- Salt. Brings out the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Chocolate. I like to use a chopped-up chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips. It helps ensure there are pools of chocolate. Luckily my vegan chocolate chips can be made into bars, then broken into chunks.
How to make vegan brown butter chocolate chip cookies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Brown the butter. Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it simmer until bubbling, then reduce the heat to low. Mix the butter with a rubber spatula until it thickens and turns golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool in a bowl for 5-10 minutes.
Step 2- Mix the wet and dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, add the brown sugar. Pour the butter over the sugar, whisk to combine, then add the milk and vanilla.
Step 3- Combine. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Let the dough mixture sit for 10 minutes, then fold in the chocolate. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes.
Step 4- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, form 24 cookie dough balls.
Step 5- Bake. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges lift from the baking sheet. Let them cool completely.
Arman’s recipe tips and variations
- Be patient with the butter. I tested a few different brands, and some took longer to caramelize. Keep an eye on it and stir often so the butter doesn’t burn.
- Top the cookies with more chocolate. For even gooier cookies, carefully remove the baking sheets from the oven 5 minutes before they’re done, top each cookie with a square of chocolate, and return them to the oven to finish baking.
- Switch up the mix-ins. Swap the chocolate for chopped walnuts, pecans, or vegan white chocolate chips.
Storage instructions
To store: Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. If you want to keep them fresher for longer, refrigerate them for up to one month.
To freeze: Place the cookies in a freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to six months.
More vegan desserts and treats
Vegan Brown Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour gluten free, if needed
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan butter chopped
- 2 1/2 cups brown sugar or use a mix of white and brown
- 1/2 cup milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chopped
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients and mix well.
- In a small saucepan, add the chopped butter. On medium heat, melt it, until it begins to bubble. When it bubbles, reduce to low. Using a rubber spatula, mix the butter around until it thickens and goes a golden color. Remove from the heat and transfer into a glass bowl. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
- In a separate large mixing bowl, add your brown sugar. Add the browned butter and beat together, until combined. Add the milk and vanilla extract and beat together, until smooth.
- Gently fold through your dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes, to cool slightly. Add the chopped chocolate. Cover the dough and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Form 24 balls of dough and place on the two baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to look cooked.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
THANK YOU for this DELECTABLE vegan cookie recipe! I’ve made it several times now just as you recommend but have also added walnuts to it as well. Family and friend rave about how yummy these cookies taste!
The cookies spread out more than you’d think, make sure to give a lot of space.
Made these this past weekend and while I had my doubts, these came out amazing! Some tips: I used miyokos butter and it browned perfectly (although it took way longer than normal butter), but to add more flavor I let it cool over some walnuts which I added it at the end. For the sugar I did half light brown sugar and half white sugar but I would probably put a little less in next time since they were pretty sweet. I also didn’t have any alternative milk so I quickly blended up some water with a little bit of oats, flax, and cashews which turned out perfectly for this recipe. I then formed the dough and let them sit in the freezer for a few days to let the flavors come together. I tried baking them straight away and they came out very round and vegan butter forward rather than like a good cookie. So I would definitely recommend letting them chill for a bit and then flattening them down 1/2 before baking, then at the 5 min mark give them a few taps in the oven. I would 10000% recommend this recipe to anyone looking for an awesome and impressive vegan cookie or just cookie recipe in general.
These are honestly the best cookies i’ve ever had. Even better than David Lebovitz’s recipe. Just follow exactly, including letting things sit. They turn out crispy yet soft, chocolatey, and delightful.