Soft, delicious & super easy brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
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brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
I don’t know about you but oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my FAVORITE flavor of cookie. Regular chocolate chip cookies are great and all but the texture of an oatmeal cookie is truly undefeated for me. But we’re taking these cookies to the next level by adding in some delicious brown butter. If you haven’t heard of brown butter, it’s basically made from melting your butter on the stove for longer than you need to. Doing so allows some of the water to evaporate from the butter, which allows the milk solids in the butter to be toasted. So you get this nutty, toasty flavor just from regular old butter! They’re thick and chewy with crisp edges, filled with delicious brown butter flavor, and jam-packed with chocolate.
why you’ll love these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
- They’re small batch. Like most of the other cookies you’ll find around here, these are small batch, yielding 8 large cookies.
- They use brown butter. As most cookies should because the flavor is *delicious*
- They’re super easy to make. These cookies come together in one bowl (+ one saucepan), don’t require a mixer, and require just 30 minutes of chill time.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Mix the dough carefully:
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies:
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
The secret to perfectly round cookies:
Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
- Rolled oats: I recommend rolled oats for the best texture.
- Baking powder: for helping the cookies puff up.
- Baking soda: for helping the cookies rise and giving them crisp edges.
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
- Granulated sugar & light brown sugar: a combination of both gives us cookies with crispy edges and soft and chewy centers.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
- Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
- Chocolate: put your favorite chocolate here. I used Valrhona baking discs (these ones here) and can’t recommend them enough. Just look at those puddles! But they are definitely on the pricier side. If not using the discs, I recommend using a chocolate baking bar. You can also of course use chocolate chips here, just note that the cookies will most likely end up a little thicker. In terms of using milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate, use your favorite!
how to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Here’s the basic rundown on making these cookies. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.
- Brown the butter.
- Mix in both sugars.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla.
- Add in the dry ingredients and fold until combined. Chill the dough for 30 minutes, then bake, serve and enjoy!
brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies recipe q&a
What is brown butter?
Brown butter is super simple to make so don’t worry! It’s just regular butter that is cooked on the stove until some of the moisture evaporates, allowing the milk solids in the butter to be toasted. The result is this butter with an amber hue and little speckles that has a toasted and slightly nutty aroma.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again.
How to store oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 5 days, but will taste the best 1-3 days after baking.
oatmeal cookies troubleshooting
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.)
- 100 g light brown sugar (½ c.)
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 130 g all purpose flour (1 c. + 1 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 60 g rolled oats (⅔ c.)
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 130 g semi-sweet chocolate (discs, bar, chips) (¾ c.)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks. At this point, weigh your brown butter to make sure you have at least 90g. If you have a little less, mix in some water until you reach 90g.
- Transfer the brown butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. In the meantime, chop up your chocolate bar if using one.
- Once the butter has cooled, whisk in both sugars.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Add in the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together until a few flour streaks remain.
- Add in the chopped chocolate and fold just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, and up to 48 hours.*
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone mat.
- Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of dough, setting them on the cookie sheet at least 2" apart to allow room for spreading.
- Top each cookie with additional chocolate (optional – but recommended!)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges of the cookies turn golden brown.
- Immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, ake a bowl that is slightly larger than the cookies and swirl it around over them to make them a little more uniform and circular.
- Allow the cookies to rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
These cookies are insanely good! I’ve baked them according to the recipe so many times and they always turn out perfectly. I was feeling experimental today so I added half a tsp of cinnamon powder and a quarter tsp of chilli powder and they are next level – I highly recommend trying this if you fancy a different variation with a bit of warmth
These are spectacular! And so easy!
Amazing recipe!
I make these and the banana variation weekly.
I add milk chocolate chunks and mini semi sweet chips to the dough before chilling and then add more chocolate chunks on top before baking. While they’re still hot out of the oven I garnish with salt flakes.
Thank you so much Stevie, I’m so happy you like these & the banana cookies!☺︎
This is my favorite recipe! i make a batch every week and i make 1 or 2 cookies at a time on a mini skillet i have (makes it even more fun!) in the air fryer i have. it comes out perfect! i have an air fryer/toaster oven combo and the temp is wonky so use the oven thermometer! i bake it for the same time and it’s perfect. i’m making my way through all of Erin’s recipes, im obsessed
Always looking for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe and this one is great. Easy to make and LOVE that it’s a small batch. The texture is perfect and chewy inside with a crisp edge. Will make these again! Thank you 🙂
Other than using chocolate chips and light brown sugar + molasses, I followed the recipe exactly. Weighing the ingredients precisely helped me get a result very close to the pictured cookies! They were 8 large, chewy and soft-in-the-center cookies with browned edges. Quite easy to make, with typical ingredients and simple methods that help elevate this one in a sea of chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Can i bake it in a air fryer? What celsius and how many minutes?
Hi! I’ve never tried my cookies in an air fryer but I would probably recommend setting it at 160C and start checking on them around 6-8 minutes since they will likely cook faster in there!
Hi! Love your recipes!! Do you have any replacements for eggs?
Thank you so much Kelli! I haven’t tried it but I’ve heard great things about flax eggs! You could also check out my banana bread chocolate chip cookies which are essentially this but with a banana instead of eggs – as long as you’re fine with the banana flavor of course!
I just baked these cookies and they came out amazing. The structure of the cookies came out thin and crisp which to me is beyond perfect! Overall they tasted delicious. I will definitely be recommending this recipe to others. Thank you so much. These are my new favorite kind!
Hi! First, Looooove your recipes. I remember making these but adding 1 egg with an egg yolk as well. Did you change the recipe? If so, is everything else the same?
Hello and thank you so much! This is a different recipe and I’ve replaced the other one with this one which I think is much better and easily scalable from small batch. The measurements are a little different but essentially you’re still left with a soft and chewy cookie with crisp edges. I hope this helps and thank you so much for making my recipes!
Super tasty recipe! Brown butter takes them to a different level. Will have to freeze some or I’ll eat them all… LOL
thank you.
Thank you so much Maria, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Hi Erin, I truly admire your baking skills, particularly when it comes to your delectable cookies. Regrettably, my family avoids eggs in our diet, which has posed a challenge in attempting to replicate your wonderful recipes. I was hoping you could provide some guidance or recommendations for modifying your brown butter oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies to suit our dietary preferences.
Hi Adi – thank you so much, that is so kind of you! Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of experience with eggless baking but I have heard great things about substituting in a flax egg or using bob’s red mill egg replacer. I hope one of those works for you and I’d love to know how it turns out if you try it! Happy Baking!
Hi! Would the recipe look the same for higher altitude?
Hi, I don’t have experience with baking at a high altitude, but King Arthur Baking has a great guide online called “High-Altitude Baking”!
Hi,
Can I replace the butter with vegetable oil instead?
Thank you!
Hi, unfortunately replacing the butter with vegetable oil would yield some undesirable results so I wouldn’t recommend it! If you’re looking for a dairy free butter you can brown, Miyoko’s creamery vegan butter works great. Otherwise, I’d recommend just using 90g of your favorite non-dairy butter stick and skipping the browning of the butter. Hope this helps!
Hi, haevn’t tried it out yet but I really love the idea of brown butter, although I don’t have oats at home and I’m trying to avoid buying anymore ingredients. So my questions are:
Hi, so sorry I just saw this comment! There’s really not an alternative for the rolled oats except using instant oats so I’d definitely recommend looking more towards the small batch chocolate chip cookies. I haven’t tried it, but if you want to try the small-batch ccc’s with brown butter, I’d recommend browning 62g of butter and waiting for it to cool to room temperature before using it. You should have 50g of butter left – if not, just add water to make it 50g. I hope this helps and I’d love to know how they turn out if you try it!
I followed exact measurements in grams. It turned out a little flakey. I couldn’t hold up one whole cookie; it falls apart. And it tastes a little like brown sugar. If I’d do it again, I’d use a whole egg instead of just yolk.
Hi, I’m sorry to hear that these turn out for you! The cookies definitely should be holding together. If it’s falling apart, it’s likely that too much water evaporated from the butter while browning it, you should be left with ~52g after browning.
Amazing recipe! But, are the cookies supposed to be flat? Mine came out thicker than the picture. I was anticipating flat, chewy cookies LOL.
Hi! They definitely are supposed to be flat & chewy. If you happened to use cup measurements rather than grams then accidentally using too much flour could make them end up thicker!