Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies

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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

Cook Time 8 minutes

Chilling Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 33 minutes

Servings cookies

Calories 246kcal

Cost $4.27

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks; 8 ounces; 225g) unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 cups (295g) 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 (257g) white all-purpose flour
1 and 3/4 cups (165g) old-fashioned oats (do not use quick or steel-cut oats)
1 and 3/4 cups (283g) 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)

Instructions

BROWN 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.

Notes

Note 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