Meet my favourite cookie in the whole world – Brown Butter Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies. Buttery. Nutty and caramel-y undertones. Melty pockets of chocolate, crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. Unbelievably quick and easy – no electric beater, no waiting around for butter to soften.
Rundown: Brown butter oatmeal choc chip cookies
Taste: Nutty buttery-ness from the brown butter with big melty chunks of chocolate
Texture: Crispy on the edges and base, and chewy inside from the oatmeal.
Difficulty: Effortless. No creaming butter. No appliances. Easy to handle dough.
Speed: Faster than usual cookie recipes. No chilling dough. No waiting for butter to soften.
Return for effort: Extremely high. Punches way above its weight!!
I know there are more “perfect” cookies out there in this world. But for effort vs results, these cookies leave them in the dust. It’s one of those rare gems where the end result is not compromised by speed and ease. In the world of baking, this is so rare, I am confident that you, like me, will try these once and know that it’s a Keeper!
They are everything you dream of a chocolate chip cookie to be. Chewy inside (thanks to the oats), crispy edges, very buttery flavour (from the browned butter!) and big melty pockets of chocolate from chunks of chocolates rather than using chocolate chips.
They are perfect. And they are fast and easy!
Ingredients in brown butter choc chip cookies
When I’m making to impress, I prefer to chop up good dark chocolate myself. Lindt is my choice – not cheap, so I stock up when discounted! For everyday purposes, I’ll just use good ole’ choc chips. Bakers’ choice!
Chocolate or chocolate chips – See notes above photo.
Unsalted butter – This recipe calls for the butter to be browned which intensifies the buttery flavour. It’s really easy – just melt the butter then simmer for a few minutes until it turns brown and smells beautifully nutty. That’s it!
Oats – Just ordinary rolled oats. This is what gives these cookies a great chewiness! Recipe should work with quick oats, but not sure about steel cut oats.
Sugar – Brown sugar for caramely flavour and to make the cookies a bit chewy rather than crisp.
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. Please don’t substitute with self raising flour as it doesn’t have enough rising agent in it.
Baking soda (bi-carb) – This is the leavening agent used in these cookies (ie to make them rise a bit). It is stronger than baking powder and has slightly different leavening effect depending on what you are making. Baking powder makes these cookies dome slightly whereas baking soda makes them rise more evenly which is better.
Vanilla – Just a bit, for flavour.
Salt – It’s generally good practice to add a bit of salt into sweet baking recipes as it brings out the flavours in other ingredients. It doesn’t make these cookies salty. But there’s certainly the option to finish them with a sprinkle of salt flakes!
PRO TIP – Don’t use the chocolate “dust”. It melts and smears in the cookie dough and makes it look a bit messy. Save the dust for your cappuccino and just use the chunks for your cookies!
How to make brown butter chocolate chip cookies
Are you ready to see how shockingly and dangerously easy these are to make?
1. Brown the butter
Browning butter is as simple as melting butter then letting it simmer until it changes from yellow to golden brown which only takes a few minutes. This intensifies the buttery flavour and adds nuttiness. Both good things!
Melt butter in a silver or other non-black saucepan or small pan. Why does the colour of the cooking vessel matter? Because it’s impossible to see when the butter changes from yellow to golden in a black pan. You’ll need to rely on your smell or using a spoon to scoop the butter up to check the colour!
Brown butter! Simmer the melted butter on medium to medium high for 3 to 5 minutes or until you see little golden bits (which are the dairy bits that go toasty) and you can smell the nuttiness. The butter will also change from yellow to golden brown in colour.
Remove from the stove immediately to prevent it from going too brown / burnt. Pour the browned butter into a large mixing bowl (including all the little brown bits – extra flavour!). Then let it cool for 5 minutes.
2. Cookie dough – just mix by hand
Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl – the flour, oatmeal, salt and baking soda.
Whisk wet – Add sugar into the still warm brown butter and whisk. It will look a bit split, that’s ok, it will come together when you add the egg. Add egg and vanilla then whisk.
Combine wet and dry – Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is mostly incorporated.
Then add the chocolate chips and mix through until you can no longer see flour.
5 minutes rest – Set the cookie dough aside for 5 minutes to let it firm up slightly so it’s scoop able into mounds.
3. Use a cookie scoop for speed!
Scoop mounds of cookie dough onto lined trays, 5 cm / 2″ apart. I use a size 40 cookie scoop which is 1 1/2 tablespoons (a heaped tablespoon measure). You should get 22 cookies.
I use 3 trays – 8 cookies on 2 trays and 6 cookies on a 3rd tray.
Press the mounds down to 0.8 cm / 1/3″ thick rounds, reshaping as needed if they split or go wonky.
4. Bake 11 minutes
Bake – Bake 2 trays for 11 minutes, switching and rotating the trays at the the 7 minute mark until light golden. Remove, then bake the 3rd tray for 10 minutes, rotating at the 6 minute mark.
Cool cookies on the tray for 10 minutes – they will continue to cook and go a bit more golden. Then transfer to a cooling rack to fully cool. They will crisp up on the edges and base, but be chewy in the middle – best of both worlds! 🙌🏻
You know the hardest part about these cookies? Picking that point in the cooling time when the cookies have firmed up enough so they aren’t too soft, but the chocolate is still (very!) melty. The window of opportunity is actually wider than you think – around 25 minutes to 50 minutes after pulling them out of the oven.
But I always fret, not wanting to miss the chance – because once the chocolate has hardened, you cannot re-melt it without compromising the cookie itself – and I find myself hovering over the cookies, prodding them every 5 minutes or so wondering if I should go in for the kill.
The Kill being THIS moment:
Now you understand, right?
25 to 50 minutes out of the oven. Set your timer, my friends. Don’t miss it.
Or, if you do, just make them again. They’re so easy, why not! 😈 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Brown butter oatmeal choc chip cookies
Ingredients
- 150g/10 tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1cm / 1/2″ cubes
- 1 cup flour , plain/all-purpose
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick or steel cut)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bi-carb) , sifted if lumpy
- 1/8 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
- 1 large egg , at room temperature (~55g/2oz)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200g/ 7 oz 70% dark chocolate block, I use Lindt (Note 1, sub 1 cup / 200g chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Lightly grease then line three baking trays with paper.
- Brown butter – Melt butter in a small silver pan or saucepan over medium heat (Note 2). Leave to simmer on medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until (when you push foam aside) you see little golden-brown bits. Immediately pour into a bowl (including the golden bits) and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Chop choc – Cut the chocolate into 1cm /1/4" pieces. Transfer the chunks into a bowl and leave the fine chocolate dust behind for another purpose (makes cookies speckled, Note 1).
- Mix dough – Whisk flour, oats, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add sugar to the brown butter and whisk (it might not combine fully). Add egg and vanilla, whisk until smooth.
- Finish dough – Add dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is almost mixed in. Add chocolate, and stir until mixed through and you can no longer see flour. Set aside for 5 minutes to let the mixture firm up a bit.
- Cookies – Scoop a heaped tablespoon of dough onto the tray, 5 cm / 2 " apart. (I use a size 40 cookie scoop, makes 22 cookies) Flatten to 8 mm / 1/3" thick, reshaping sides if needed if they split/go wonky.
- Bake – Bake 2 trays for 11 minutes, switching shelves and rotating the tray at the 7 minute mark, or until the surface is light golden. For 1 tray, bake 10 minutes, rotating the tray at the 6 minute mark.
- Cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack to fully cool. (A sprinkle of salt flakes wouldn't go astray!)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Dozer, no amount of hovering is going to get you any chocolate! It’s bad for you!
Family and friends favourite. Have substituted plain dark with raspberry dark or orange dark. Absolutely delicious.
I made these and as someone suggested used half dried cherries. The problem with these cookies is that people will politely accept one, and then, poof!, the whole batch is gone. I’ve already been asked to include these in holiday baking!!
Made these today. Very delicious. We’re all about sweet and salty, so we gave them a sprinkle of Maldon flaky sea salt while the chocolate was still warm. Yum !!
Do these freeze well ?
Hi Nagi, could you refrigerate the cookie dough? These are absolutely delicious
I am a loyal follower and recipe-tin cook, and rarely leave comments. This one! Woah, this one, is a ripper! Straight to the recipe book. Salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy… basically everything that is good in a biscuit, you can find it in this recipe.
The kids are going to go mad when they find this in their lunch boxes tomorrow – Bloody ripper!
Absolutely loved these. Gooey and chewy and delicious. The oats really make it! Also the raw dough is to die for. I did use the chocolate dust though as I don’t mind a bit of speckle and don’t drink cappuccinos.
Delicious Bickies! I swapped half the chocolate chips with plump dried cranberries. Winner! Thanks Nagi 🙂
These cookies are to die 4! So easy to make and sooo in incredibly delicious!
AMAZING cookies! Make them! Such a quick and easy to follow recipe too, just can’t go wrong! I only look here for recipes these days because every single recipe is a hit!
OHHH MYYY GOOODDDD!!! These are so good! I added dark, milk and white choc chips.
I also forgot to flatten the dough balls, so they were more of a thick soft cookie with a crispy edge, which as still so delicious!
I’ve frozen half of the batch!
Excelent cookies and very easy to make!
My cookie dough was very dry and crumbly- Tried to smash together, successful for some but ended up w/ a bunch of uncooked crumbles. Any suggestions
Doubled the recipe and got 45 large cookies. Did not brown the butter sufficiently as I was too impatient but nevertheless they were AWESOME. Substituted a quarter of the oats with desiccated coconut. Even my husband who does not have a sweetened tooth has been sneaking a few. My go to cookie recipe from now on.
Can I sub some of the oats for coconut? Just have a lot of coconut I want to use up.
Scrumptious!
I love this recipe. These cookies are delicious! The recipe was easy to follow. Thanks so much!
The brown butter oatmeal choc chip cookies were amazing. Easy to make and beautifully crisp. As usual with your recipes, did not disappoint.
My first time baking cookies and they turned out just like Nagi describes them. The smell of the brown sugar, butter and vanilla is simply amazing. Will definitely be making these again. I was thinking of trying them with the Lindt Raspberry Intense dark chocolate.
Im not a big fan of choc chip cookies but this recipe is amazing. The smell of that burnt butter – mmmmm!!! Will definitely be making these on a regular basis.