Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Toasty brown butter, rolled oats, and chocolate, these brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies might be might new favorite.

What kind of chocolate should you use for Chocolate chip cookies?

I’ve made these cookies, once with hazelnut milk chocolate, and once with dark chocolate and I love them both so I’ll leave it up to you. The one thing I will say is, please if you can, chop up a bar of chocolate instead of chocolate chips because they just melt better and there’s simply no way around it.

How to freeze cookie dough?

Simply put, chocolate chip cookies will always taste best straight from the oven. The best way to ensure this is always the case? Freeze your cookie dough in little balls and then bake from (mostly) frozen. I scoop the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet or plate and place it in the fridge first to firm up for 30 minutes. Put the cookie dough balls into a freezer bag, press out all the air, seal it shut, and pop it in the freezer. Whenever you want a freshly baked cookie, take out however many you want right before preheating the oven. Then bake according to the instructions below (aka 10 minutes, rotate, 4 minutes @ 350 F).

How to make chewy chocolate oatmeal cookies?

To make chewy chocolate chip cookies, you need to be using brown sugar. However, only using brown sugar will give you an overly chewy, caramel type cookie. So this recipe combines brown and white sugar for the best texture and flavor.

How do you keep oatmeal cookies from going flat?

Flat cookies can happen for a variety of reasons but usually it comes down to the cookies being too warm before baking, over mixing (especially at a high speed), or too much sugar. If you follow this recipe, make sure you are creaming your eggs, butter, and sugar at medium speed not high speed and allow the cookies to chill for a MINIMUM of 1 hour or up to overnight.

Additional Recipes to try:

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Mousse
• Plum & Berry Crumble

Tips for making Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Use high quality chocolate and butter – this will make all the difference in a cookies. I grew up with my mom using chocolate chips and there’s definitely something nostalgic about actual chocolate chips but for these I prefer using baking chocolate bars because they melt more into the cookies.
• Additionally, chopping the chocolate will create the best variety in size of chocolate throughout the cookie!
• This is one of those recipes where it really does matter if your ingredients, specifically the butter and eggs are at room temperature. It will help create a smooth and creamy cookie that bakes evenly.
• Don’t over mix your batter. Once you don’t see any flour left, stop mixing otherwise you’ll end up with tough cookies. If you have the arm strength I recommend mixing the flour and oats in with a spatula rather than a mixer.
• The espresso powder in the cookies is instant and optional but you could also just add a little ground espresso or coffee extract or nothing at all.
• These cookies are great because they don’t need an overnight chill. They do however need about 30 minutes in the freezer or a couple hours in the fridge.
• If you’re going to bake them all at once, storing them in an airtight bag or container at room temperature is best.

Ingredients

• Chocolate: I recommend milk or dark chocolate for these cookies or a combo of the two. Ideally use chocolate bars or baking chocolate that needs to be chopped and will get nice and melty in the cookies.
• Butter: I recommend unsalted butter for these cookies since we are adding salt but you can also use salted and just omit the salt. The butter doesn’t need to be at room temperature because we will be browning it.
• Cinnamon & Espresso powder: The espresso powder is instant and the combo of it and the cinnamon gives that classic warm oatmeal cookie flavor.
• Sugar: Both white and dark brown (light brown works too!) sugar are used in these cookies for optimal flavor and texture.
• Salt: sea salt balances out the sweetness of the cookies and pairs perfectly with chocolate you can also add flaked salt after baking in addition to the salt in the cookie dough.
• Vanilla Extract: It may seem counterintuitive but vanilla extract enhances chocolate and other flavors in the cookies.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store; just be sure they are at room temperature.
• Flour: This recipe uses all purpose flour since we’re also adding oats but you could do a combination of whole wheat and regular ap flour if you prefer!
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: these help make the cookies get a little puffy and prevent them from spreading too much. Don’t forget to check the expiration dates!
• Rolled Oats: Be sure to use whole rolled oats for these cookies, quick cooking or steel cut oats won’t give the right texture.

How to make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Brown the butter

• Brown the butter by adding the butter into a medium sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir with a rubber spatula. Continue cooking until brown bits start to appear. We want all of those brown bits but we don’t want it to burn so turn down the heat if necessary. It will start to get quiet when ready.
• Once browned, remove from the heat and pour it into a heat safe mixing bowl. Add in the espresso powder and cinnamon and stir to combine.
• Once slightly cooled, place the bowl in the fridge to cool it down, stirring occasionally while it cools. You can also set it on a kitchen towel to protect the fridge and bowl from the heat.

Cookie Dough

• Chop the chocolate and pour 200 grams into one bowl and 75 grams into another.
• Once the butter has cooled to a stiff but spreadable texture, add in both sugars, vanilla, and salt.
• Use the paddle attachment or a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar mixture on medium speed for about 3 minutes until it becomes a few shades lighter. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Crack in the egg and egg yolk and mix again until smooth and fluffy.
• Dump in the flours and then the baking soda and baking powder.
• Use the mixer to mix on low until just combined. It’s ok if some flour is still visible.
• Add in the oats and 200 grams of the chocolate and mix them in just briefly.
• I like big cookies so I used a quarter cup ice cream scoop. You can do any size you want, you’ll simply need to adjust the baking time accordingly.
• Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and scoop the cookie dough on.
• Once all the dough has been scooped, working with one cookie dough ball at a time, gently flatten the cookie so that it’s still at least 1″ thick.
• Press the top of the cookie into the remaining 75 grams of chopped chocolate. Bring the edges up around it so that you are almost making a well of chocolate in the center of the cookie.
• Place the shaped cookies back on the lined tray and pop them in the fridge for a couple hours or the freezer for at least 30 minutes. for 10 minutes or the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you’re leaving them in the fridge overnight, cover with a lid in a container or wrap with plastic.

Bake the cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Once chilled place 6 of the cookies onto a lined baking sheet, leaving at least 3″ of space between each cookie.
• Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, then rotate the pan and bake for another 3-4 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
• The centers will look very soft but they are baked.
• Take the tray out of the oven and leave the cookies on the sheet for 5 minutes. Bake the next tray while this one cools.
• Optionally sprinkle with a bit of flaked sea salt.
• After 5 minutes, use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool fully.

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