Next Post
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Crinkly, Wrinkly, and oh so delicious…these Brown Butter Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies will have you hooked after just one bite. Made with browned butter and malted milk powder, then lightly sweetened for a cookie that’s rich in flavor and heavy on the chocolate. Every bite is slightly crisp on the edges, but soft and chewy in the center…so DELICIOUS! Absolutely nothing not to love about these crinkly, wrinkly, sweet malted cookies. Bonus? These cookies are easy to make and so yummy to eat!
Happiest Friday everyone!!
Kicking off Valentine’s Day weekend with the sweetest extra special cookies. Originally I had a whole different recipe planned for today. It’s a good one, but it still needs some work. So I’ll save it for another day, and instead, we have cookies! Maybe not exactly your typical Valentine’s Day dessert, but trust me these need to be made. Every last cookie is pretty much perfect.
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, do you celebrate? I’ll be honest, it’s never a holiday I got very much into. But I do love any excuse to get dressed up, make a good dinner, and eat a rich chocolate dessert. In years past I’ve shared a lot of v-day desserts, but I’m switching things up with these cookies. They’re not a molten cake, but they’re just as warm, gooey, and delicious.
I’ve actually been wanting to share these cookies for months. I had the idea back in December to make a malted milk cookie with browned butter and chocolate chunks. It’s not the most genius idea out there, but the combination of malted milk powder, browned butter, and melty chocolate chunks just sound way too good to me. I knew I needed to test them out.
It took a while to finally make these, but man, I am so happy I finally did. Because they’re GOOD…they’re that cookie that everyone wants.
Two secrets to these cookies…
Browned butter and malted milk powder.
I feel like the browned butter is obvious, it’s key within these cookies. I like to brown half of the butter, but leave the other half at room temp. This gives you the flavor of browned butter but leaves you with a cookie that has a great texture too. It also highlights the malted flavors. I know it’s an extra step, but the browned butter really does add so much to these cookies. In my view, it’s the extra step worth taking.
Now, the malted milk powder. It’s not a usual cookie ingredient but it’s what really sets these cookies apart. For those of you unfamiliar with malted milk powder, it’s the best kept secret ingredient in the baking world. Malted milk is what is typically used to make malted milkshakes, among other things. It’s made from barley wheat and gives off a nutty flavor with a natural sweetness. It reminds me of the flavors in a toasted caramel sauce with undertones of browned butter and vanilla.
It’s very subtle but DELICIOUS. It adds a layer of flavor that keeps everyone wanting more. Asher described it so perfectly, the cookies taste like death by chocolate, with notes of vanilla and an almost boozy flavor.
The details…
Like most cookies, these are EASY. Brown the butter, let that cool, then simply mix everything together, bake, eat, and enjoy.
As I do with almost all my cookies, these need a tap on the counter to create that crinkly type of cookie.
Just tap the baking sheet on your counter midway through baking, then finish cooking. When the cookies have completely finished baking, remove them from the oven and tap the baking sheet once more. This step is KEY. It will ensure you have the least cakey chocolate chunk cookie. You’ll get a cookie with crisp edges and a gooey center. Tapping the baking pan on the counter deflates the center of the cookie, pushing the edges out.
I like to do this with almost all of my cookies because it really does create that perfect crinkly, wrinkly cookie. It’s a method I learned from the New York Times and it’s genius.
Aside from browning the butter and tapping the baking sheet, the rest is is easy. When the cookies come out of the oven, the puddles of melted chocolate will be bubbling up and the kitchen will smell, nutty, buttery, and oh so delicious.
I of course love to eat these warm, right off the pan. But first, I let them set up for five or so minutes. Then I serve them up while still warm with a sprinkle of sea salt atop.
And oh my gosh, every last bite is delicious. It’s truly hard to beat a good chocolate chip cookie, but these certainly give the others some stiff competition. It’s the crinkly edges, deep vanilla flavor, and pockets of melted chocolate. Pretty hard to beat.
I’m looking forward to making these cookies tonight. They make for the perfect Friday night cookie, but honestly, they’re great anytime.
Oh but a quick question? Are you a milk and cookies person or do you just like the cookies? Me…I am a milk and cookies girl all the way!
Looking for other chocolate desserts? Here are a few to try:
Healthier Baked Hot Chocolate Doughnuts
Lastly, if you make these Brown Butter Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 214 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup malted milk powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate chunks or chips
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (if desired)
Instructions
- 1. Add 1 stick of butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stick in the freezer to chill, 10-15 minutes, but no longer.2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the remaining stick of butter, the cooled browned butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the vanilla, beating until creamy. Add the flour, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the chocolate chunks.4. Roll the dough into rounded 1 tablespoon size balls and place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. 5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 2 times to flatten them down. Return to the oven and bake another 1-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges, but still doughy in the center. Remove from the oven and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten them down again. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt (if desired). Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
Freezing: the cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw, then bake as directed.
Pan Bagging Method: adapted from New York Times by Sarah Kieffer.
This post was originally published on February 12, 2021
These are delicious and smell soo good. I thought I saw 1.5 c flour and .5 cup malted milk when you made them on instagram so I made them that way ?. They flattened (like a lot) and were huge but tasted delicious. Based on others saying theirs didn’t fatten I wonder if the recipe has to much flour/dry ingredients or if their brown butter had set up too much. Usually if butter is a still little melted it tends to spread and flatten the cookies more. Regardless I would make these again and probably use a little more flour next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Meg,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Made these for the fam for V-tines day. SOOOO GOOOD! The brown butter/malt made them specatular.
Hey Beth,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
Can I use sweetened condensed milk in place of the malted milk powder?
Hey Nick,
I would not recommend that, you can use flour or Ovaltine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Such an easy recipe and incredibly delicious! I love malt flavor so these are right up my alley 🙂 Go and make these right now! The cookies really do spread so make sure to give enough room like she says in the recipe.
Hey Kelly,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan
For anyone who is struggling with the pan banging method, you should check out this video of the original baker Sarah Kieffer explaining it: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/food/story/viral-pan-banging-method-explained-make-perfect-crinkle-66290252
Thanks!
Thank you for gone kind reply but sadly no, I didn’t make any adjustments, I followed the recipe meticulously and the cookies stayed as balls which no amount of banging would change. I can see how the technique worked perfectly in your Instagram stories but mine just didn’t spread much at all from their balls, so stayed cake, so not sure what went wrong, nevermind! 🙂
Hey Mary Ann,
Again so sorry about this! I hope you give them another try:) xTieghan
Mine came out puffy, not flat and I followed the directions step by step… what could it be?
Hey Pam,
So sorry about this! Next time try gently flattening the dough balls with your hands before baking. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Yes I agree mine didn’t flatten out either and came out cakey even when I baked them a second time as discs instead of balls!! Such a shame as I normally have great success with your lovely baking recipes
Hey Mary Ann,
So sorry to hear this! Was there anything you may have adjusted? Let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
Omg these cookies are SO good! Made them today and I’ve eaten at least five. Very hard to not eat more tonight. My fiancé says the sprinkle of salt takes these cookies from an 8/10 to a 10/10!
I too found it hard to get the cookies flat even with just slamming the tray. I ended up pressing the cookie dough with the back of a spoon, baking for 5 minutes, slamming the tray, then baking for 4 minutes. I use a gas convection oven.
Hey there,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Happy Valentine’s Day❤️ xTieghan
They looked nothing like yours and didn’t flatten out! They tasted okay but won’t make again, sorry!
Hey Chesley,
So sorry about this! Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Try using 1 teaspoon of baking soda and gently flatten the dough ball down with your hand before baking. xTieghan
Ugh I’m not sure why my cookies are not not flattening? help!
Hey Olivia,
So sorry about this, is there anything you are adjusting? Try using 1 teaspoon of baking soda and gently flatten the dough ball down with your hand before baking. I hope this helps! xTieghan
I was so excited for a malted chocolate chip cookie but these left a lot to be desired. There was no flavor and they came out cakes even when using the pan banging/tapping technique.
I highly doubt I’ll make again. I love the concept but I’ll probably try adding the malted milk powder to my favorite CCC recipe next time.
Hey Mishka,
So sorry you did not enjoy the recipe. Was there anything you may have adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Love these easy cookies that surprise the eater with a nutty browned butter flavor and the spike of Maldon salt on top! Delicious!
Hey Julie,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Happy Valentine’s Day❤️ xTieghan
Hey Tieghan
After 7 minutes my cookies were still in balls … 🙁
Did not flatten at all… I don’t know what I’m doing wrong
Help!!!!
Hey Lisa,
So sorry about this!! Did you bang them on the counter? Was there anything in the recipe that you may have adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
How did you get yours do flat? I banged the pan as instructed! Still delicious though!!
Hey Michaela,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, the tapping trick is my only tip to flattening the cookie:) xTieghan