Vegan Brown Butter Cookies
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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!
Why I love vegan brown butter cookies
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, toffee-like flavor, and the chocolate chips take it to another level.
The trick is using the right vegan butter to replicate what traditional dairy butter does. Once you get that down pat, it tastes like any good cookie out there. Here’s why you should make them:
- The perfect texture. They’re soft yet chewy, with crispy edges and pools of half-melted chocolate chips. Sign me up!
- Brownbutter flavor- without the dairy. When I first developed this recipe, there were only a handful of vegan butters worth baking with. Nowadays, there are some fantastic options that make all the difference.
- Simple ingredients. If you bake vegan desserts regularly, there’s a good chance you already have everything you need.
Table of Contents
Ingredients needed
The full printable list with measurements is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Vegan butter. Use high-quality vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s Creamery or Country Crock plant sticks), preferably in block form. Vegan butter in spreads often contains added water, which can make the cookies firmer rather 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 chopped chocolate 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.
- Mix-ins (optional). Swap the chocolate for chopped walnuts, pecans, or vegan white chocolate chips.
How to make vegan brown butter chocolate chip cookies
Step 1- Brown the butter. Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Let it simmer until it begins to bubble, 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 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
- Be patient when browning the butter. I tested a few different brands, and some took longer to caramelize. Keep the heat low, stir often, and remove from the heat as soon as it smells nutty to prevent it from burning.
- Let the butter cool before mixing. For thick, bakery-style cookies, the browned butter should be cooled until it’s no longer hot and has started to thicken. If I’m in a hurry, I pop it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- Want even gooier cookies? Five minutes before they’re done baking, press an extra square or two of chocolate into the tops, then return the cookies to the oven to finish baking.
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 cookie recipes
- Vegan peanut butter cookies
- Vegan cookie dough
- Vegan Levain cookies
- Vegan shortbread cookies
- Vegan chocolate chip cookies
Vegan Brown Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour 245g
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan butter chopped, 225g
- 2 1/2 cups brown sugar or use a mix of white and brown, 500g
- 1/2 cup milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk, 120mL
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chopped, 170g
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 10 minutes. It should have the texture of softened butter. If not, chill in the fridge 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.
These were okay, but I used vegan margarine. Wasn’t great.
Hi Ally- I think that’s why they weren’t ideal- I don’t recommend vegan margarine as it has even more fillers than tub vegan butters, to keep it spreadable even after it’s been in the fridge. I do recommend using vegan butter (Country Crock or Miyoko’s are my go-to).
Can you please add the measurements in grams/ml? Helps in being exact. Thank you!
Yes, I’ll update it today, as I’ve just retested this recipe to get the metric measurements 🙂
Totally agree with you about metric measurements. I made this recipe and my cookies turned out completely flat and carmelized.
I needed a double batch so I used 590g brown sugar (3 unpacked cups) and 400g cane sugar (2 cups). I’m so sad that this didnt work. Currently freezing the batter to hopefully help with the spreading when I bake tomorrow.
Hi Jazelle- I’ve updated it to included tested metric measurements- I hope that helps. Freezing them to prevent them from spreading is a good idea. Also, ensuring the browned butter had solidified a little before mixing them in.
amazing recipe!! I swapped regular for gf flour and added pecans too. Absolutely delicious, will 100 percent be making these again!
Kaylee, thank you for your lovely comment and feedback. I’m SO glad it worked out well using GF flour. Did you use Bob’s Red Mill by any chance? That’s our go-to GF flour, but my team and I have slowly been testing out other blends too.
These cookies are SCRUMPTIOUS! I have made these a few times now for family and friends and they love them! I have added walnuts a few times and they are so good!
Thank you for sharing!🥰
That’s wonderful Poppy, thanks so much for sharing!
I followed the recipe to the T and they spread out so much, they were flat. They look nothing like the picture. Im thinking I should have refrigerated the dough. I have some leftover that I did refrigerate. Im going to make some more tomorrow and see how those come out.
Hi Ray Ray, if they spread out too much, I wonder if the brown butter was still liquid when added to the cookie dough? That’s what causes the cookies to overspread, or if the vegan butter brand was not from a stick/had too many fillers in it. If you let me know the brand, I can troubleshoot for you.
Add 1-2 tbsp of miso paste (i use white) to the butter while melting/browning– you won’t regret it! it’s been literal years of looking for a decent chocolate chip cookies recipe and this is THE BEST ONE! Other ones have always been too fluffy. Thank you thank you!
That is a very interesting tip Rebecca and I can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much 🙂