These Chocolate Chipless Cookies prove you don’t need chocolate to make an irresistible treat. Made with just 8 simple ingredients, they’re packed with rich, nutty brown butter flavor and deep caramel notes from brown sugar. Every bite is buttery, golden, and perfectly chewy!
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My husband thought I was out of my mind! He couldn’t understand why I would leave out chocolate in a chocolate chip cookie. Crazy, I know. But hear me out. This isn’t just a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that omits the chocolate. Instead, test over test, I tweaked the recipe so you wouldn’t miss the chocolate because we are adding flavor and an irresistible chewy texture!
I do love bakery-style chewy chocolate chip cookies, but there have been times when I’ve run out of chocolate, or when my daughter’s friend (who doesn’t like chocolate) comes over, so these are the perfect alternative.
What Makes These the BEST Chocolate Chipless Cookies
You can’t just take out chocolate without losing flavor. So instead, here’s what I did to give you the best cookies without chocolate chips:
- Brown butter for a nutty flavor: Taking the extra time to brown butter is a game changer. I even browned my butter so that it was super dark to add a TON of flavor (and specks throughout the cookies). I promise you, it might look burned, but it will not taste burned (just nutty deliciousness).
- Only uses brown sugar: I tried various ratios of brown sugar to granulated sugar, but found that using only brown sugar gave these cookies a chewy texture and a flavor that enhances caramel-like notes (SO GOOD!).
- The addition of an egg yolk: Instead of two whole eggs, we’re replacing one of the eggs with a yolk. This makes your cookies chewier and helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- Increased vanilla extract: Normally, I’ll add 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla to my cookie recipes, but for these cookies, we’re adding 1 tablespoon of PURE vanilla extract. If there’s any time you are going to splurge on vanilla, these are the cookies to do so!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Butter: We’re using unsalted butter for this recipe. If you prefer a richer flavor, you can substitute European butter, which has a higher fat content.
- Brown sugar: You can use either light or dark brown sugar. The darker sugar will give you an even more caramelized flavor and darker looking cookies.
- Vanilla: If you love seeing those vanilla bean specks throughout your cookies, feel free to swap the extract for 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste!
Please see the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make These Cookies
Brown the butter: Add your butter to a light-colored pan (so you can see it change color). Heat the butter over medium-high heat. You’ll see bubbles and foam, but continue cooking until the butter turns a dark brown. I like using a rubber spatula to swirl the butter so it cooks evenly.
Combine the dry ingredients. Either sift or whisk the dry ingredients to distribute them evenly.
Add the wet ingredients. First, whisk the sugar into the cooled butter. It’ll be a runny consistency. Then add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix well. You will even see that the mixture lightens slightly in color.
Mix in the dry ingredients. You can add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. I always use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together, just until you no longer see any visible streaks of flour. Do not overmix, otherwise you will get dense cookies.
Chill the dough. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The dough just needs a quick chill since you are using brown butter. This will prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
Bake. Use a cookie scoop to get perfectly portioned cookies (a 1 ½-ounce scoop gives the perfect-sized cookies —generous but not too big or too small!). Space your cookies out 2 inches apart so they don’t spread into each other, and bake one sheet at a time in the middle rack of your oven for 12 to 13 minutes.
Cool. Let your cookies cool for 5 minutes on the hot sheet pan before transferring to a cooling rack. I do love a warm cookie, but letting these cool down will let the centers set up for the perfect bite!
Tips For Success
- Measure ingredients by weight. For the most consistent results, grab your kitchen scale. Measuring by weight (especially the flour and sugar) will ensure you get the perfect cookies every time–no guessing, no dense cookies.
- Bang the pan for perfect thickness. Although not necessary, I like to give my cookie sheet a few firm taps on the counter while still hot from the oven. This little trick helps the centers fall slightly.
- Don’t skip the chill (if you can). This short 30-minute chill helps the flavors deepen and the dough firm up. If you chill them for longer, let the dough come to room temperature before scooping.
FAQs
Not at all! Sugar cookies are made with granulated sugar (like these fun frosted sugar cookies), whereas these cookies aim to replicate the flavor and texture of chocolate chip cookies.
Yes, you could, but you will miss the opportunity to enhance the flavor and texture to make up for the missing chocolate.
Yes, you can. You can use softened butter or regular melted butter instead. If using softened butter, beat it with the brown sugar until light and creamy, then add the eggs and vanilla. In this case, you don’t have to refrigerate the dough before baking.
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Chocolate Chipless Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes (includes chill time)
Description
These Chocolate Chipless Cookies prove you don’t need chocolate to make an irresistible treat. Made with just 8 simple ingredients, they’re packed with rich, nutty brown butter flavor and deep caramel notes from brown sugar. Every bite is buttery, golden, and perfectly chewy!
Ingredients
- 226 g (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 260 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 200g (1 cup) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter has brown specks through. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- To the cooled butter, add the sugar and whisk together.
- Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and, using a rubber spatula, combine until no more streaks of flour are visible. Be careful not to overmix the cookie dough. Cover the dough and chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and using a 1 ½ ounce cookie scoop, portion out the dough. Arrange the dough on the cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12 to 13 minutes or until the cookies are light golden brown around the edges and look slightly underbaked in the centers. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the sea salt. Allow to cool 5 minutes on the hot sheet pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
Brown Butter: Use a light-colored pan or skillet so you can more clearly see the butter change color.
Storage: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Store leftover cookies in a freezer-safe bag and freeze up for to 3 months.
Make ahead: Place scooped cookie dough onto a small baking sheet and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding an extra 1-2 minutes to the bake time.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
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