The BEST Whiskey and Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!! Made with a combination of all-purpose and dark rye flour, brown butter, rye whiskey and bittersweet chocolate, these cookies will surely satisfy all your chocolate chip cookie cravings and more!
Y'all! These might just be my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and let me tell you, I have developed A LOT of cookie recipes! They're not too sweet, perfectly chewy, crispy on the edges, and gooey in the middle. The combination of dark rye flour, whiskey and brown butter are a delicious match made in heaven!
Be sure to check out some of our favorite cookie recipes, Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
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Ingredients Notes
- All-Purpose Flour – I love using King Arthur’s all-purpose flour.
- Rye Flour - I'm using Bob's Red Mill Dark Rye Flour.
- Baking Soda – Adds lightness and helps the cookie brown.
- Salt – Enhances flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Espresso (optional) - This is optional, but a bit of espresso enhances the chocolate.
- Unsalted Butter – We will be browning the butter. It adds a beautiful nutty aroma.
- Brown + White Sugar – A combination of the two types of sugar is key to a soft gooey center and crisp edges.
- Whiskey – I'm using Rye, but Bourbon and Scotch also works!
- Vanilla – You can use vanilla extract or vanilla paste.
- Egg + Yolk – The extra yolk also creates a chewy texture. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature. You can quickly bring them to temp by submerging into hot tap water for 15 minutes.
- Bittersweet Chocolate – I love using a combination of 62% and 70% chocolate.
- Flaky Sea Salt - Used as a garnish.
*See recipe card for quantities.
Step By Step Instructions
Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make these brown butter Whisky and Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies! Please find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1. Make your brown butter – Brown your butter in a light color, heavy bottomed skillet or saucepan.
Step 2 – Once your butter is a done, quickly transfer to a large glass bowl. Make sure to scrape all the tiny brown bits at the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then add your sugars, vanilla and whiskey and whisk until combined. You can use an electric mixer or hand whisk.
Hint: Using a light colored pan allows you to see the color of your butter as it browns. The butter can burn quickly, so being able to see the color progression is helpful.
Step 3 - Add egg and yolk. Whisk until combined.
Step 4 - Sift dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking soda & salt) into the wet ingredients.
Step 5. Incorporate until few flour streaks are left.
Step 6 - Add chopped chocolate and gently fold into the dough.
Hint: The cookie dough will be very loose. Therefore, it's important to chill the dough before scooping out, and then again, before baking!
Step 6 - Chill the dough for 45 minutes. This will make it easy to scoop out your cookie dough.
Step 7 - Using a medium cookie scoop (#40), scoop out your cookie dough, transfer to a parchment-lined baking tray and top with extra chocolate chunks. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
Step 8 - Bake at least 2 inches apart for 10 minutes at 350ºF. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Top with flaky salt. Serve warm and enjoy!
Hint: For perfectly round cookies, try this hack! Right when you pull the cookies out of the oven, place a large round biscuit cutter, ramekin or bowl over the cookie (it should be a bit bigger than the cookie itself) and make several circular motions. As the edge of the cookie touches the inside of the biscuit cutter, it will round out any irregular edges.
Substitutions & Variations
- For the Rye Flour - I'm using a dark rye flour, but you can also use a medium rye flour.
- For the Whiskey – Can easily substitute for any whiskey such as Rye, Bourbon or Scotch. You can even use Rum! If you don’t consume alcohol, you can leave it out too.
- For the Chocolate – You can use any chocolate such as, milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, caramelized white chocolate, white chocolate. You can also add butterscotch chips or toffee bits!
- For the Espresso – If you don't have any on hand, you can omit it.
Storage
- Baked Cookies. Baked cookies are best eaten right away or the same day. However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container and leave on the counter for about 3 days.
- Raw Cookie Dough in the Fridge – Can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Portion them out as instructed and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 10 minutes.
- Raw Cookie Dough in the Freezer – Freeze for up to 2 months. Portion them out as instructed and freeze on a cookie sheet uncovered for an hour. Then transfer to freezer bags or an airtight container. Bake in a preheated oven at 350ºF (180ºC) for 10 to 11 minutes.
Expert Tips!
Use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. When it comes to baked goods, it’s really important to measure your ingredients correctly. Having too much flour or not enough can greatly affect the outcome of the final product. I use a $15 (usd) digital kitchen scale from Amazon and I love it!
Chill the dough overnight. Chilling the dough is important as it prevents the cookie from spreading too much and for flavor development.
Do not overmix. Over-mixing the dough will lead to excessive gluten development, which can result in a hard and dense cookie.
Don’t forget to add more chocolate on top! The extra chocolate will not only make them look prettier, they will make them extra chocolatey!
Give cookies space to bake. Be sure to space them at least 2 inches apart. I like to bake 6 cookies on a large baking sheet.
Do not Overbake. Your bake time can vary based on how hot your oven runs. Err on the side of underbaking your cookie. I found 11 minutes to be perfect!
Freeze Cookie Dough Balls Ahead. Nothing beats freshly baked cookies! I love keeping dough balls in the freezer so I can bake a few at a time whenever I’m craving cookies.
FAQ
A medium cookie scoop or a #40 cookie scoop, holds about 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough.
You don't have to, buuuuut I highly recommend it! If you decide not to, you'll need to reduce the butter from 16 tablespoons to 14 tablespoons. The reason why you'll need to adjust it is because the water evaporates from the butter when it's browned.
Rye flour is made from ground rye berries, which are also known as whole rye kernels. It's a close relative of both wheat and barley.
No, it is not.
This cookie dough can be made ahead and left in the fridge for up to 3 days. In fact, it tastes even better as it sit in the fridge because the flavors have time to meld and develop. Scoop out cookie balls onto a baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Bake straight from the fridge at 350ºF (180ºC) for 10 minutes. There is no need to thaw before.
In short, Rye whiskey contains at least 51% rye, where as Bourbon whiskey contains at least 51% corn. The taste of the two are noticeably different, in that the latter is much sweeter due to the corn. You can read more about the differences in this great article.
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📖 Recipe
Whiskey and Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Total Time: 30 Minutes + Chilling Overnight
- Yield: 24 Cookies
Description
The BEST Whiskey and Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!! Made with a combination of all-purpose and dark rye flour, brown butter, rye whiskey and bittersweet chocolate, these cookies will surely satisfy all your chocolate chip cookie cravings and more!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (227g | 2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter, browned
- 1 Cup (120g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup (120g) Rye Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Espresso Powder (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons Whiskey Rye or Bourbon
- ¾ Cup (150g) Dark or Light Brown Sugar, packed
- ½ Cup (100g) White Sugar
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Paste or Extract
- 1 Large Egg + 1 yolk, room temp
- 8 Ounces (227g | 1 ½ Cups) Bittersweet Chocolate, finely or roughly chopped
- Flaky Sea Salt as garnish
Instructions
- Make the Brown Butter - In a light colored saucepan and over medium heat, add unsalted butter. Swirl the pan and keep the butter moving around constantly. Once completely melted, the butter will foam and sizzle and gradually start to brown and deepen in color. You'll notice a nutty aroma and tiny brown specks at the bottom of the pan. The whole process should take about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.
- Make your Cookie Dough - Once the butter is a done, quickly transfer to a large glass bowl. Make sure to scrape all the tiny brown bits at the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then add your sugars, vanilla and whiskey and whisk until combined. You can use an electric mixer or hand whisk.
- Add 1 egg and 1 yolk and mix for another minute until emulsified.
- Sift in the all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking soda and salt. Combine until there are only a few streaks of flour left. Do not overmix!
- With a rubber spatula, gently fold in your chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Make sure to save some chunks to add on top of your cookie dough later.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for about 45 minutes. See note below.
- Remove dough from the fridge. Using a medium sized cookie scoop (#40), scoop out your cookie dough and transfer to a parchment-lined baking tray. Top with the reserved chocolate chunks, cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 72 hours.
- When you are ready to bake, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF (180ºC). Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. Do not overbake!
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Top with flaky salt. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- It's important to the chill the dough for 45 minutes before scooping them out as the dough will be loose.
- You can substitute chopped chocolate chunks with chocolate chips.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Bre says
Such a delicious recipe!
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Bre! It's seriously my favorite chocolate chip cookie!
Sophia says
These were so goooooood! One of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. The hardest part was letting it chill, but so worth the wait!
Lisa says
Yay! These are definitely my favorite cookie, so I'm happy to hear that you loved them! Thank you for your review!☺️