We all have those friends or family members who say they are not a fan of chocolate. As a chocolate lover, these Chocolate Chipless Cookies are also wonderful for a little variety and to satisfy that sweet tooth!
I tested a bunch of Chocolate Chipless Cookies so you didn't have to. And I have made this recipe many times with rave reviews from those who do not like chocolate in their cookies and those who do, so that you can feel confident that these are the best chocolate chip-less cookies.
A word of caution: these cookies are divisive; some of your family and friends will not want to eat cookies without chocolate and others will be utterly thrilled you created a cookie without chocolate chips just for them to enjoy. You have been warned!
The good news is these are absolutely delicious cookies with soft centers, crisp edges, and no chill time required. This recipe comes from Bon Appetit, so you can trust it's the best there is!
Looking for more chocolate chip-less cookies? Try Brown Sugar Cookies, Soft & Chewy Sugar Cookies, and Soft Brown Sugar Cookies (no butter).
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Why chocolate chipless cookies?
Well, because they are, as Bon Appetit describes them and I can 100% confirm, "the perfect distillation of buttery, butterscotch-y cookie essence!” Aren't they just sugar cookies then? Nope, these cookies are in a category of their own.
Yes, you can, of course, try your go-to recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies and simply omit the chocolate chips. I have found that for best results, however, this recipe produces the best cookies.
The reason is that your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes are made to have chocolate chips in the batter. When removed, even the best chocolate chip cookies recipe may fall flat or not taste as good as you had hoped.
This recipe is meant to be made without chips for the perfect chipless chocolate chip cookies. Because there is no chocolate, the flour, butter, and sugar are the main ingredients. And this recipe makes each of these flavors stand out in their own way.
The butter is browned, some of the flour is "toasted" with the brown butter to bring a layer of toastiness to these cookies, and dark brown sugar is used to bring out the caramel flavor of the added molasses in dark brown sugar.
Perhaps the best news is that these chewy cookies come together in under an hour and no stand mixer needed. This recipe makes a small batch of 10-12 large cookies.
Ingredients needed to make Chocolate Chip Cookies without Chocolate Chips
Here is what you will need to make these cookies. (For measurements of these ingredients, see the recipe card below.)
- All-purpose flour: To make the flour taste more flavorful, a small portion of it is toasted. Don't worry, this is very easy and simple to do! Once the butter has been browned in a skillet, we add a portion of the flour to add a layer of toffee-like goodness. I have not tried this recipe using gluten free flour, so I cannot say how they will turn out.
- Salt: I typically use fine salt for my baking recipes. If you only have kosher salt, you may want to consider adding less salt to the cookie dough than called for in the recipe.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Brown butter: Use unsalted butter cut into small pieces to ensure even melting and browning. Instead of creaming the butter or using melted butter like in many traditional chocolate chip cookie recipes, the butter is browned, bringing a layer of nuttiness to these buttery cookies.
- Dark brown sugar: We use dark brown sugar in lieu of light brown sugar or white sugar to maximize the molasses notes, creating more caramel flavor in these cookies. These cookies might as well be called brown sugar cookies because of the amount of brown sugar in them. Of course, if you only have light brown sugar, this can be substituted. (I realize the photo below shows light brown sugar - I am sorry for any confusion this causes!)
- Egg: this recipe uses one large whole egg plus one egg yolk for added richness. Be sure to remove your eggs from the fridge at least 30 minutes prior to baking to bring the eggs to room temperature. Room temperature ingredients blend much more easily into other ingredients than do cold ingredients.
- Egg yolk
- Vanilla extract: As always, I recommend using pure vanilla extract instead of imitation vanilla extract. You can substitute with vanilla bean paste instead.
How to make your new favorite chocolate chip cookies without chocolate
Step 1
Place oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Reserve the remaining ¼ cup of flour for later. Set dry ingredients aside.
Step 3
Brown the butter
In a large skillet, add the unsalted butter and cook over medium heat, swirling often and scraping bottom of pan with a heatproof rubber spatula, until butter foams, then turns dark brown and smells nutty, about 6–8 minutes.
Step 4
Add the remaining ¼ cup all-purpose flour to the brown butter. The butter will foam immediately, but don’t worry; just keep stirring. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is deep golden brown (the shade of a chai latte), about 2 minutes.
Scrape the brown butter mixture, including any browned bits at the bottom of the pan, into a medium heat proof mixing bowl.
Step 5
To the brown butter flour mixture, add the dark brown sugar and whisk until no large lumps remain.
Step 6
Add the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and whisk vigorously until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth and paler in color, about 1 minute.
Step 7
Using a rubber spatula, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold in until no dry spots remain. The dough will be thick and maybe even look a little greasy.
Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Allowing the dough to rest ensures thicker cookies.
Step 8
If making medium cookies, using a #16 cookie scoop (medium cookie scoop, about ¼ cup), portion out 12 balls of dough (if using a kitchen scale, the cookie dough balls should weigh about 56 g each). If making large cookies, using a #10 cookie scoop (about 6 heaping Tbsp.), portion out 8 balls of cookie dough (about 85 g each).
Divide the dough balls between the two prepared sheet pans.
Step 9
Bake one baking sheet of cookies at a time until firm and golden brown around the edges, 9–11 minutes for medium cookies, 10–12 minutes for large cookies. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Like this recipe? Follow me on Pinterest for lots more recipes just like this one! And don’t forget to pin this recipe for later by clicking on one of the images below the recipe. Or, click on any of the images in this post to save to Pinterest.
How to Store Chocolate Chipless Cookies
If you want to make these ahead of time, bake the cookies up to 3 days ahead. Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
To freeze, place the cookies in a single layer on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze for at least one hour then transfer the frozen cookies to a freezer-safe bag. store in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost at room temperature.
Tip: Keep a stash of these cookies on hand in the freezer for when your friends who are not chocolate lovers come over.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- brown butter from 14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
- 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set dry ingredients aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- Brown the butter: In a large saucepan, add unsalted butter and cook over medium heat, swirling often and scraping bottom of pan with a heatproof rubber spatula, until butter foams, then turns dark brown and smells nutty, about 6–8 minutes.brown butter
- Add the remaining ¼ cup all-purpose flour to the brown butter. The butter will foam immediately, but don’t worry; just keep stirring. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is deep golden brown (the shade of a chai latte), about 2 minutes.
- Scrape the brown butter mixture, including any browned bits at the bottom of the pan, into a medium heat proof mixing bowl.
- To the brown butter flour mixture, add the dark brown sugar and whisk until no large lumps remain.1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
- Add the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and whisk vigorously until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth and paler in color, about 1 minute.1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Using a rubber spatula, add the dry ingredients and fold in until no dry spots remain. The dough will be thick and maybe even look a little greasy.
- Cover the dough and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Allowing the dough to rest ensures thicker cookies.
- If making medium cookies, using a #16 cookie scoop (about ¼ cup), portion out 12 balls of dough (about 56 g each).If making large cookies, using a #10 cookie scoop (about 6 heaping Tbsp.), portion out 8 balls of dough (about 85 g each).
- Divide the dough balls between the two prepared baking sheets. Bake one tray of cookies at a time until firm and golden brown around the edges, 9–11 minutes for medium cookies, 10–12 minutes for large cookies. Let the cookies cool on baking sheets.
Notes
- Make ahead: Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead. Store cooled cookies in an airtight at room temperature.
- To freeze: Place cooled cookies on a parchment paper lined baking tray in a single layer. Freeze for at least one hour then transfer to a freezer safe storage bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Recipe from Bon Appetit.
Comments
Maria
How do I triple it? I tried multiplying by 3 but dough turned out really greasy and crispy uneven cookies came out 😭😭😭
Kimberlee Ho
Hmmm... I wonder why they came out greasy. I don't know what else to tell you other than to make one batch at a time!