Brown Butter Cookie Cake

Yield: 9″ brown butter cookie cake // Total Time:1 hr. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.

Thick and chewy brown butter cookie cake, loaded with chocolate chips and topped with a brown butter buttercream.

Brown Butter Cookie Cake

If you are looking for a delicious twist on your standard cookie cake, you have come to the right place! This cookie cake is bursting with toasty brown butter flavor in both the cake and in the buttercream. It’s also thick, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips. Perfect for any celebration, or for a fun night in!

Brown butter cookie cake recipe tips

Weigh your ingredients

Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient. In a small batch recipe it is especially important to get those correct measurements because there is less room for error. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!

Mix the dough carefully

When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.

Room temperature ingredients

It is important for the ingredients to be at room temperature so that they properly incorporate with each other. If you have ever had your batter look curdled, it is most likely due to the ingredients separating from being at different temperatures. Take out the egg at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr 30 min. before starting the recipe OR follow this method for room temperature eggs FAST:

1. Fast room temperature eggs. Place the eggs in a bowl in the sink and continuously run hot water over it for one minute. And there you go – two room temperature eggs! Alternatively (and less waste-fully) fill a bowl with warm water and let the eggs sit in it for 5 minutes.

Keep an eye on that cookie cake!

Baked goods continue to bake even after they have been taken out of the oven. The cookie cake is ready to be taken out of the oven once the edges are golden brown and the middle has set.

How to make brown butter:

Add the butter to a saucepan and place it over medium heat. Occasionally swirl the butter while it is melting. Continue cooking and occasionally swirling the butter until it begins to bubble up and turn amber in color. Once the butter turns amber and you can see little brown bits in it, remove it from the heat, and now you have brown butter!

Ingredients and substitutions

For the brown butter cookie cake:

All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.

Baking powder: for helping the cookie cake rise.

Baking soda: for helping the cookie cake rise and to help give it that golden brown color.

Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies

Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. We will brown the butter for extra flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the dough.

Light brown sugar: for sweetness, flavor, and moisture.

Granulated sugar: for sweetness and to help lock in moisture in the dough.

Eggs: for binding and for moisture. We will use one egg plus one egg yolk for extra richness in the dough.

Milk: we will add just a little bit of milk to help bring back some of that moisture that was lost from browning the butter. I used whole milk but you can use 1%, 2%, or your favorite non-dairy milk here!

Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract

Chocolate chips: I use semi-sweet chocolate chips here, but feel free to use milk or dark chocolate chips, or a baking bar!

For the brown butter buttercream:

Unsalted butter: the base of the buttercream and all of it’s flavor. You can use salted butter in place of unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the buttercream.

Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness and flavor of the buttercream.

Powdered sugar: sweetens and thickens up the buttercream.

Heavy cream: to help thin out the buttercream so it’s able to be piped. You can also use your favorite milk here in place of the heavy cream.

How to make brown butter cookie cake:

1. Brown the butter. We’ll start off the recipe with browning the butter. Place the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, and occasionally stir until the butter turns amber in color and develops little specks. Immediately remove the butter from the heat and place it in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.

2. Whisk the wet ingredients. Once the brown butter has slightly cooled off, whisk in both sugars. Then, whisk in the egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla until the mixture is well combined.

3. Fold in the dry ingredients. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain.

4. Bake. Pat the dough into a 9″ cake pan and top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake at 350°F / 175°C for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie cake are golden brown.

5. Make the buttercream. Beat together the butter and salt for 1 minute, until the butter is light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until all of it has been combined, then add in the heavy cream and beat for an additional 2 minutes.

6. Frost, serve, and enjoy! Once the cookie cake has cooled, frost it with the buttercream, slice, serve, and enjoy!

Brown butter cookie cake Q & A

Can I double this brown butter cookie cake?

Definitely! Simply double all of the ingredients and distribute the dough evenly between two 9″ pans. I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.

Can I make this cookie cake ahead of time?

Definitely! Cookie dough only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days before baking. Alternatively, you can bake and frost this cookie cake one day in advance. I wouldn’t recommend any further in advance than that just for the optimal freshness.

How to store brown butter cookie cake

This cake will hold up in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Why do you measure in grams?

My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!

A note on oven temperature

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

Tools and ingredients

Cake pan: I use and love this cake pan. Nothing ever gets stuck to it!

Vanilla: I love using Rodelle vanilla extract. Not only is it a great quality product, but it’s on the lower end of the price that vanilla can be! This is the one I use.

For a full list of tools, equipment and ingredients that I use and love, you can check out this page here.

Did you make this brown butter cookie cake?

If you made this brown butter cookie cake I would love to see it and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!

Brown Butter Cookie Cake

Print Recipe

Loaded with chocolate chips and brown butter flavor in both the cake and the frosting!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brown butter, chocolate, cookie cake, swiss meringue buttercream

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Servings 1 9″ cake

Ingredients

Brown Butter

• 339 g unsalted butter (1 ½ c.)

Brown Butter Cookie Cake

• 220 g all purpose flour (1 ¾ c. + 1 tbsp.)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 180 g brown butter (¾ c.)
• 65 g granulated sugar (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
• 160 g light brown sugar (¾ c.)
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 210 g semi sweet chocolate chips (1 ¼ c.)

Brown Butter Buttercream

• 90 g brown butter (¼ c. + 3 tbsp.) solidified
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 150 g powdered sugar (1 ¼ c.)
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream

Instructions

Brown Butter

• In a medium sized saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks. Once you see the specks, immediately remove the butter from the heat. You should be left with ~270g (1 c. + 3 tbsp.) of butter. Place the brown butter in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes.

Brown Butter Cookie Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Coat a 9" cake pan with butter and sugar.
• Once the butter is no longer hot, but still slightly warm, pour 180g (~3/4 c.) of it in to a medium sized mixing bowl. Keep the remaining butter in the fridge until it solidifies, then take it out to be at room temperature.
• To the butter, whisk in both sugars, followed by the egg, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
• Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Use a rubber spatula to fold the cookie dough together just until no flour streaks remain.
• Pat the dough down into the 9" cake pan. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Brown Butter Buttercream

• Beat the remaining brown butter and salt with a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 1 minute.
• Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until all of it has been used. Add in the heavy cream, then beat for an additional 2 minutes.
• Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, transfer the buttercream to a piping bag. Frost the cake, serve, and enjoy!