These Brown Butter Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies are as close as I've come to making copycats of Trader Joe's Mini Chocolate Chips. The TJ's ones are my favorite. They're super light textured and very tiny. I could never get mine as light and airy until I tried this one simple trick. Just kidding.
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Cream of Tartar and Whipping Butter
Adding cream of tartar isn't a trick, but in my batch it made the most difference between these and some of my other minis. I'm not sure why, but the cookies were lighter and airer with it than with baking powder. I also used a different mixing technique. I whipped the butter, added a little water and vanilla, then dumped in all of the dry ingredients and stirred.
Half Batch Brown Butter Mini Chocolate Chip
The full recipe in the card makes a ton of little cookies, so I've included a half batch recipe below. Even the half batch version makes a lot of cookies, so you may want to start with it first Then again, the dough freezes well, and since you shape it into long rolls it's easy to store. Plus if you make the full batch version you won't have to use my annoying egg measurement of 2 tablespoons beaten egg. Sorry about that, but it's holding back some egg which helps make the cookies crispy.
Brown Butter Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cool room temp, cut softened (114 grams)
- 2 tablespoons egg
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar (75 grams)
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar, tightly packed (80 grams)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar or ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ap flour plus 2 tablespoons (150 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon water
- ½ of a 10 oz bag Miniature chocolate chips
Brown half (4 tablespoons) of the butter, pour into a custard cup and let cool and set. Meanwhile, mix all of the dry ingredient together (sugar through flour). Once butter has set, beat the brown butter and the un-browned butter until light and fluffy, then pour in the two tablespoons of egg and continue to beat for 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla and water. Add the dry ingredients and stir the best you can, then use the paddle attachment or your hands to form a dough. Work in the chocolate chips.
At this point you should have about 20 oz of dough. You can shape it into many tiny cookies or do what I do and divide it into 3 or even 6 (smaller) ropes. Chill or freeze the ropes, then chop off bits of dough for cookies.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 15 to 18 minutes. If the cookies are too brown, reduce heat to as low as 300F and bake longer. In my oven, 325 seems to work but it could vary.
Recipe
Brown Butter Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (228 grams)
- 1 large egg, bring to room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed (160 grams)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons water
- 10 oz miniature chocolate chips (may need more or less) (1 bag or a little less than 2 cups)
Instructions
- About an hour ahead of time, brown only 8 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan. Scrape it into a bowl and let cool at room temperature until it solidifies.
- While the butter is cooling, mix together the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda and salt Add both of the sugars to the flour mixture and whisk until evenly blended. Set aside until ready to use.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the cooled and set browned butter and the remaining stick of softened butter for 3 minutes or until light and airy. Add the room temperature egg and continue beating on high speed to beat in lots of little air bubbles.
- Beat in the water and vanilla.
- Add the dry mixture and stir with the paddle attachment until this very dry mixture comes together. Rather than use the paddle attachment, you can also mix by hand. Shape your hands into claws (!) and work the dough gently until is forms a dough.
- Stir mini chips into the dough and divide it into about 6 equal parts. This makes it easier to work with.
- Set one part on a large sheet of plastic wrap and roll it into a 14 inch rope. Wrap in plastic. Repeat to make 5 more ropes. Freeze the ropes.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment.
- Working one rope at a time, cut the rope into little half inch thick cylinders. If they fall apart, just do your best to reshape them into little rounds. That is, shape into balls, then flatten slightly.
- Arrange the little cut pieces about an inch apart and bake one sheet at a time for about 15 minutes or until cookies appear set and lightly browned around the edges.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to finish cooling.
Anna says
I know which ones you are talking about and wish I could try them!!!
Sue says
Sounds like a fun project! You could put them in a decorative bucket and call them State Fair Cookies.