Home > Desserts > Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies February 1, 2020 | 14 Comments SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Jump to Recipe This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy. These are the BEST Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies, with plenty of chocolate chips, flaky sea salt, and oats. These cookies are soft, chewy, and tender with crisp edges. Try our other popular cookie recipes like these Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies A few weeks ago, I asked for your favorite cookie recipes. After getting so many delicious submissions (and eating way too many cookies while testing them out), these Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies were voted the winner! Leisa from Texas submitted these cookies and everyone has been completely smitten by them. When asked why this is her favorite cookie recipe she said, “Brown butter baby! I love everything that starts with browning butter. I love the salty gorgeous flakes on top, too! OK – I guess I truly love it because it has chocolate in it–but isn’t that almost a given?” And I have to say, those aspects were the taste testers’ favorite things as well: the browned butter, chocolate, and the flaky salt on top. Not to mention the unforgettable texture of these cookies! If you haven’t browned butter before, it’s very simple to do and gives these cookies a great texture and depth of flavor. If you’re a visual learner, be sure to check out this video for how to brown butter. How to Brown Butter Start by melting the butter (1 cup unsalted butter for this recipe) over medium heat. If possible, use a wide pan with a light-colored bottom. This helps you see the color and keep track of it better. Once the butter is melted, swirl the pan occasionally, and stir constantly with a rubber spatula to ensure the butter is cooking evenly. As the butter melts, it will begin to foam a bit. It will first change to a lemon-yellow color, then a light tan color, and then a slightly deeper brown. When it gets to that deeper brown you should also smell a nutty aroma. As soon as you smell that nuttiness, remove the pan from the heat and immediately transfer the browned butter into a (heat-proof) bowl so it can cool. Once the butter is browned you don’t want it to sit in the pan because it will continue to cook and then burn. Watch the butter carefully near the end because it can go from perfectly browned to burned in a very short amount of time! Browned butter sediment You’ll notice you get a little bit of sediment in the browned butter, which is the milk solids that have settled. The sediment does have more of a “burned taste” so you can strain the browned butter through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of the sediment if you’d like. (I personally like browned butter best with that sediment, because I love the flavor and think it ends up enhancing the overall flavor). The top part–without the solids–is a browned version of ghee. And ghee (clarified butter) is a popular cooking ingredient, so keep that in mind! QUICK TIP Ghee? It sounds so fancy, but ghee is simply melted butter without the sediment. How to make Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies Before starting the process for these cookies, we brown the butter, which is described in detail above. The two photo collages in this post have numbers that describe what is happening in the text below: Add dark brown sugar to the base of a stand mixer or large bowl. Make sure to use dark brown sugar because it has more moisture in it; we need that to compensate for the loss of moisture in browning the butter. Pour in COOLED brown butter. It’s very important the butter has cooled before being poured into the sugar. If the butter is still hot, it will melt the sugar and make for greasy, flat cookies. Beat for two minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat some more. Mix in dry ingredients: baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour. Add dry ingredients to wet. Beat until just combined. Add in the old-fashioned oats. Make sure to use old-fashioned. Quick oats will act like flour and make these cookies dry and less flavorful Add in chocolate chips. We like a mix of milk chocolate and dark chocolate; use your favorite chocolate(s). Mix– and then the dough is finished! Since the butter was melted, it needs time to re-solidify, so the dough needs to chill for an hour. This also gives the dough a chance to intensify its flavor. Roll dough balls that are 30g or 1 and 1/2-tablespoons in size, and place 6 at a time on a sheet pan. Bake for 8-11 minutes at 350 degrees F, and remove. Let the cookies stand on the sheet pan for a few minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies Tips Use high-quality butter. A primary flavor in these brown butter chocolate chip cookies is butter — use a good brand and avoid margarine or buttery spreads; they won’t brown properly. Don’t skip the chilling time. Chilling is vital to the texture and flavor of these cookies; don’t rush this step or the cookies will spread and burn at the edges. Roll even-sized cookie dough balls. I like to weigh the cookie dough balls using a kitchen scale to ensure they’re all the same size. This process yields uniform cookies that bake evenly. We absolutely love these Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies and I can’t wait for you to try them! More amazing cookie recipes Caramel Chocolate Cookies Peanut Butter Cookies soft and chewy White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies Shortbread Cookies with a chocolate drizzle Mexican Wedding Cookies FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content. Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies 5 from 9 votes - Review this recipe The BEST Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies with plenty of chocolate chips, flaky sea salt, and oats! These cookies are soft, chewy, and tender with crisp edges. SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies 5 from 9 votes - Review this recipe SAVE TO RECIPE BOX Print Recipe The BEST Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies with plenty of chocolate chips, flaky sea salt, and oats! These cookies are soft, chewy, and tender with crisp edges. Course Dessert, Snack Cuisine American Keyword brown butter oatmeal cookies Prep Time 25 minutes minutes Cook Time 8 minutes minutes Chilling Time 1 hour hour Total Time 1 hour hour 33 minutes minutes Servings 24 cookies Chelsea Lords Calories 246kcal Author Chelsea Lords Cost $4.27 Ingredients▢ 1 cup (2 sticks; 16 tbsp) unsalted butter▢ 1 and 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed (Note 1)▢ 2 large eggs▢ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder▢ 2 cups white all-purpose flour▢ 1 and 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats (do not use quick or steel-cut oats)▢ 1 and 3/4 cups chocolate chips (use milk, semi-sweet, dark, or a combination of 2-3 different chips. We like half milk and half dark!)▢ Flaky salt, for topping (optional)US - Metric USMetric InstructionsBROWN BUTTER: When browning butter, it can go from perfectly browned to burnt in a second's time, so don't leave it unattended. Cut the 1 cup of butter into cubes and then add to a wide pan (light-colored bottom, if you have one). Turn the heat to medium (don't use a higher heat, even if it seems slow at first). Stir the butter constantly with a silicone spatula to keep it moving. Once it's melted, it will start to foam and sizzle a bit; just keep stirring. Stir for about 4-9 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown and the milk solids turn brown. It should smell very nutty, but not burned. As soon as those solids are brown and the butter is a brown shade, scrape every bit of butter (with the spatula) into a heat-proof bowl to stop the butter from cooking (don't leave it in the pan; it will burn). Allow the butter to stand in the heat-proof bowl for 10-15 minutes or until cooled to room temperature. Do not add hot butter to the sugar; it will melt the sugar and cause greasy, flat cookies.ADD SUGAR: In a stand mixer set with a paddle attachment, add the 1 and 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar (See Note 1). Add in the melted and cooled browned butter. Whisk for 2 minutes at medium high speed..EGGS/VANILLA: Add the 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla and mix until just combined.DRY: Add the 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 2 cups flour. Mix until JUST combined making sure to not over-mix the batter (or you'll get dense cookies!) Stir in the 1 and 3/4 cup old fashioned oats and 1 and 3/4 cups chocolate chips until incorporated. Tightly cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. It's very important to chill the dough since we started with melted butter and that butter needs to firm up again so these cookies don't burn and flatten when baking.BAKE PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner and set aside.BAKE: Scoop balls 1 and 1/2 tablespoons in size (30 grams) and place on the tray. Place only 6 cookies on the tray at a time, allowing plenty of space for the cookies to spread. Bake for 8-11 minutes or until the cookies turn golden brown color just slightly on the edges. Watch the cookies carefully so they are still soft and chewy in the middle (I like to slightly under-bake to ensure that-- around 8 or 9 minutes). Remove the cookies from the oven and if desired, add a few chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with some flaky salt if desired. Let cookies stand on tray for 3-4 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.STORAGE: Cookies are best eaten within 2-3 days and best stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Video Recipe NotesNote 1: Brown sugar: Make sure to use dark brown sugar, which has more moisture in it. This compensates for the loss of moisture in browning the butter. Nutrition FactsServing: 24cookies | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.6g | Protein: 3.1g | Fat: 1.1g | Cholesterol: 37.6mg | Sodium: 158.8mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 20.9g We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed. DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.
These look killer amazing! The first time I tried brown butter I flipped out so I know these cookies must be amazing! Reply
omigosh YES. This is exactly my kind of CCC and I love that they also have oats so I bet they’re extra chewy! Reply
This was my first time using browned butter in a cookie recipe! I enjoyed the nutty flavor it added to the cookies! Also loved the fluffiness. I left my first batch in a little too long. Oops! Second batch was perfect. Do take these cookies out when they look a little underdone, otherwise they will end up overdone. Thanks Chelsea! Reply
I started making homemade cookies to put in my sons(11&8) school lunches. I would always send extra so they could share. Well, after making these….the request for dad’s cookies have me making a couple of batches a week. I tell them what my dad always told me, ‘nothing says lovin, like something from the oven;and dad says it best!’ Thanks Chelsea! Reply
I absolutely love this! I think you should be in the running for Dad of the year! Thanks so much Aaron! 🙂 Reply
I made these cookies yesterday. I’ve never browned butter before and it was an experience. I love them. There’s not many left and it’s just me and my husband 😁. Question! Do you think they can be made gluten free? Just subbing out the oats and flour for GF versions. Have you ever tried them GF? Thank you! Vicki Reply
Sorry Vicki I haven’t tried them gluten-free and am not super experienced with gluten-free baking (with cookies). Wish I could be of more help! Reply
