
There are so many great chocolate chip cookie recipes to choose from. Where do you even start? We’ve taken two of our favorites and hybrided them into one delightfully rich, sweet and salty mashup. These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Coconut and Macadamias are so addictive, you’ll have a hard time sharing.
Why This Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe is so Good

We’ve taken two of our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes and combined the technique from America’s Test Kitchen and the mix-ins from Mrs. Fields, and adjusted the amounts to fit.
- There is no mixer required. You will need a few bowls for mixing the ingredients however.
- This is a no chill recipe. The cookie dough is ready to go after mixing.
What do these brown butter chocolate chip cookies taste like? The best of both worlds.
- Browned butter and toasted coconut adds a caramelized toffee-like flavor dimension to the cookies.
- The macadamia nuts give the cookie a bit of crunch and a salty component that heightens the sweetness of the chocolate chips and savouriness of the browned butter.

Does Browning Butter Make a Difference?
What would a brown butter chocolate chip cookie be without the browned butter? The French call it “beurre noisette”, and we just call it “Mmmmm.” It adds a toasted nutty flavor to both sweet and savory recipes and enhances the other flavors of the mix-in ingredients.
Check out our post How To Tell If You’ve Burned Brown Butter (How To Prevent It) to get all the details about how to successfully brown butter for this recipe.

Mix-in Ingredients for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Macadamia Nuts
Macadamia nuts really add a luxurious butteriness to this browned butter chocolate chip cookie, but can be expensive. This is because they aren’t as widely cultivated as other nuts and their growing cycle takes up to 7 years. Fortunately, you don’t need a lot of macadamias to make this cookie.
We suggest placing the macadamias in a plastic resealable bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. We found this works better than chopping with a knife. Knife chopping tends to make the nuts crumble into tiny bits, and you want larger chunks of nuts in the cookie.

Toasted Coconut
Toasting the coconut is optional, but like browning the butter, it brings out more flavor in the rest of the ingredients. There are several ways you can toast coconut. For this recipe, we’re only using a half cup of shredded coconut, so we prefer to do it in a pan on the stove.
Basic Steps
- Place shredded coconut in a cold non-stick 12-inch skillet and shake it so that all of the coconut is evenly distributed in one layer.
- Place it over medium heat on the stove, and let it heat up for 2-3 minutes.
- When you start to hear the oil from the coconut start to sizzle and become fragrant, flip and toss the coconut in the pan.
- Continue doing this until the coconut is browned throughout and remove it from the heat to cool.

Check out our post How To Tell If You’ve Burned Brown Butter (How To Prevent It) to get all the details about how to successfully brown butter for this recipe.
PrintBrowned Butter Coconut Macadamia Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toasted Coconut and Macadamias are so addictive, you’ll have a hard time sharing.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 10 to 14 min
- Total Time: 35 to 40 minutes
- Yield: 18–20 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large whole egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts**
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes, toasted
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Place coconut flakes in a cold 12-inch nonstick skillet. Shake the skillet to distribute the coconut in an even layer. Warm the coconut flakes over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. When you start to hear the oil from the coconut sizzle and become fragrant, flip and toss the coconut flakes in the pan. Continue doing this until the coconut is browned throughout. Then remove from heat and set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch skillet with a light surface over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Stir and swirl the butter constantly. Continue cooking until the butter is medium to medium-dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, about 2 minutes longer. Immediately remove from heat and transfer the browned butter to a large bowl. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and stir until completely melted. (Read our guide here for how to avoid burning the butter.)
- Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla to the melted butter. Whisk until fully incorporated. Add the whole egg and egg yolk. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and no sugar lumps are remaining, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds.
- Repeat the process of resting and whisking 2 more times until the mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in the chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and coconut flakes, giving the dough a final stir to make sure there is no remaining dry flour.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough*. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on the sheet.
- Bake one sheet at a time, rotating halfway through the baking time until cookies are golden brown, 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and then cool to room temperature.
Notes
- *If you don’t have a cookie scoop, use a heaping tablespoon.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart so that they don’t run into each other when baking.
- **We recommend putting the macadamia nuts in a sealed bag and then using a rolling pin to lightly break the macadamias into smaller pieces.
Keywords: Brown butter, macadamia nuts, chocolate chips, toasted coconut, cookie
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