These egg-white chocolate chip cookies are perfect for using up leftover egg whites! They’re chewy with great texture and flavor, made with brown butter, and packed with chocolate chunks.

chocolate chip cookies with egg whites baked

I always have so many little containers of egg whites in the freezer! Lots of my recipes on the blog use mainly yolks, like custard or lemon curd, so I love recipes in which I can use the whites. These egg-white chocolate chip cookies are a great option. Egg whites bring a delicate structure to cookies that differs from those made with whole eggs. They add protein and moisture without the additional fat from the yolk, resulting in cookies with a slightly lighter and chewier texture. Egg yolks in cookies bring richness, so to combat them not being in the dough, I add brown butter enriched with some added milk powder instead to bring an elevated rich flavor.

Here’s what you need

You can find the full amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Egg Whites: Adds a great texture to the cookies.
Granulated Sugar: Provides a crisp edge and balanced sweetness.
Brown Butter + milk powder: Adds depth and a hint of caramel.
All-Purpose Flour, baking soda and salt: For structure and rise.
Brown Sugar: For a chewy center and a hint of molasses flavor.
Chocolate chips and vanilla. Use chocolate chips, or chunks.

Here’s how it’s done

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook, stirring the pan occasionally, until the butter turns golden brown and has a nutty aroma. Once it starts to foam, add milk powder if using, and whisk until it browns into a deep amber color and smells nutty and caramel-like. Pour the melted butter, including all the caramelized bits, from the bottom of the pan into a heat-proof bowl.
To the cooled butter, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Whisk in the egg whites and vanilla.

Brown butter and an image of a hand holding a ramekin of egg whites. — When using brown butter, make sure you collect all the caramalized bits from the bottom of the pan!

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl, then gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, along with the chocolate chips. Save a few for topping each dough ball which will give you lovely little pools of melted chocolate on top.

cookie dough being mixed. — I love using chopped chunks of chocolate so there are big pools of melted chocolate in the baked cookies.

For the best texture, chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This step helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking. If you want to chill for longer, I recommend rolling the balls are the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, so that it doesn’t get too hard to roll. Then you can let the rolled balls chill in the fridge, covered for up to 36 hours, or freeze them.

cookies being scooped and added to tray. — Space them out so they have room to spread.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out dough balls, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the centers are set. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Tips for Perfect Cookies:

Chill them: Chilling the dough not only helps with the shape but also allows the flavors to meld.
Watch the browning of the butter: It can go from perfect to burnt quickly, so keep an eye on it. At the same time, make sure you brown it enough, or you’ll miss out on the best flavor!

Variations

You can add chopped, toasted nuts like pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds for extra crunch.
Use white chocolate chips instead (and maybe also macadamia nuts!)
Add a tablespoon of orange zest to the sugar and rub to release the oils before using in the recipe.
Stir in a teaspoon of instant espresso powder.

Related recipes

Check out all my brown butter recipes and cookie recipes! Here are a few of my favorites.