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Trust me, you’ve never had oatmeal cookies like these before. They’re rich, chewy, and baked with brown butter for extra rich flavor. These cookies are so simple and are made with basic ingredients, yet they taste gourmet. All the flavor is in the brown butter so need for extras!
Baking with Brown Butter
I have a separate post all about how to brown butter and ways to bake with it, but it’s especially delicious in these oatmeal cookies. It adds so much flavor to an otherwise basic cookie recipe, allowing the brown butter to stand out and let that richness shine through.
The process of making brown butter is very simple, the key is just knowing exactly when to take it off the heat.
To make it, add your butter to a saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to melt down and bubble (about 5-10 minutes). During this time you’ll be mixing occasionally.
The bubbles will slowly turn into a fine foam. Begin to stir constantly to prevent the milk solids from burning on the bottom of the pot. These are what separate from the butter to create the browned and toasty flavor.
Keep stirring until the butter turns a deep brown color and gives off a toffee-like aroma. Pour into a separate container and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. That’s where the flavor is.
For this oatmeal cookie recipe, the brown butter is solidified before use. It’s simply chilled in the refrigerator for about an hour, stirring halfway through. Once solid (but not too hard), it’s ready to mix with the sugar.
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookie Ingredients
Once the brown butter is solid and opaque, it’s time to prep the dough. The recipe itself is very simple and requires a few staple ingredients:
- Brown Butter – The star of the show. I like to use European-style butter which creates an incredibly flavorful brown butter.
- Dark Brown Sugar – Light brown also works, but dark brown will give you a deeper flavor and chew.
- Sugar – Just a little bit helps create chewy and crisp edges!
- Eggs – This extra hydration is needed to help dissolve the sugar, as we lost some water from browning the butter.
- Vanilla – For another layer of flavor.
- Flour – Just enough to allow these cookies to spread evenly while still remaining chewy.
- Quick Oats – These blend seamlessly into the dough, making each bite toothsome but not too clunky.
- Cinnamon – A little bit of warmth that pairs so well with the brown butter.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder – The right ratio allows these cookies to spread beautifully.
- Salt – Both in the dough and on top! This extra kick of salt helps bring out that brown butter flavor even more.
How to bake chewy oatmeal cookies
Since the butter is chilled from the start, the dough bakes right away! First, make sure to use a large baking sheet, preferably one that’s light aluminum. Avoid dark metal as this will over bake the outside of your cookies.
Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons worth), scoop 5 to 6 cookies onto the baking sheet. The general rule of thumb is to put at least 4-fingers space between each.
Bake until the edges are golden and the center is pale, puffed, and slightly underdone. Immediately nudge in any wonky sides using a fork and then sprinkle with sea salt. The cookies will appear somewhat cakey fresh from the oven, but they will settle into chewy cookies once cooled.
Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack, then continue with the rest of the batch. Once all the cookies have cooled, they’re ready to enjoy!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
Yes! Just swap the flour with a cup for cup gluten-free baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill (the blue bag) or King Arthur measure for measure. Also make sure to use certified gluten free oats.
The main culprit for this is the flour. Make sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off. Don’t pack it in or shake it down as this can lead to too much flour in the dough. And the longer the dough sits, the thicker it gets so try not to leave the dough for too long.
Keep these cookies in an air tight container at room temperature. They’ll keep for up to 5 days but they definitely won’t stick around for that long!
Yes! Scoop the cookie dough balls and press the tops flat, making chubby pucks of dough. Freeze in a ziplock bag and bake from frozen, adding a couple extra minutes to the bake time.
For more of the BEST cookie recipes, check out my:
- Ultimate Monster Cookies
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Maple Snickerdoodles
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and leave a review below if you make these Oatmeal Cookies. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
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Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
These are the ultimate oatmeal cookies made with brown butter! It adds so much rich flavor and once paired with extra salt and a touch of cinnamon, these cookies taste completely gourmet.
- Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time 12 minutes
- Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes
- Yield 18 cookies
Ingredients
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
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1 cup (224g) unsalted butter*, sliced
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3/4 cup (150g) packed dark brown sugar (light works, but dark is best)
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3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
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2 large eggs
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2 tsp vanilla extract
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3/4 tsp baking soda
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1/4 tsp baking powder
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1/2 tsp kosher salt
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1/2 tsp cinnamon
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1 1/2 cups (150g) quick oats, certified gluten-free if needed
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1 3/4 cups (225g) all-purpose flour or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour, spooned and leveled
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Flaky sea salt, for topping
Instructions
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Add the butter to a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir to melt, then continue to stir as it goes from loud and bubbly to quiet and foamy, about 5 minutes. At that stage, the browning process will happen quickly so keep stirring until it reaches a rich, deep brown color and gives off a nutty/toffee aroma, about 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and pour into a wide and shallow container, scraping in every last bit. Place in the refrigerator until opaque and soft, about 1 hour. Give it a stir about halfway through to ensure it’s chilling evenly – don’t let it get too firm or hard.
- Once chilled, preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a hand or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the chilled butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Then scrape down the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Mix again on medium speed until well combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, then mix in the oats until evenly distributed.
- Add the flour and mix until roughly combined, then use a spatula to fully bring the dough together by hand. It will be a very thick dough, so just keep working at it until it becomes one even consistency.
- Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons worth) place about 5 cookies on the baking sheet, spaced at least 4 fingers apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is pale, puffed, and slightly underdone. Sprinkle the cookies with a pinch of sea salt and transfer to a cooling rack while you continue baking the rest of the batch.
- Enjoy warm or completely cooled! They’re delicious either way.
Equipment
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Buy Now Notes
BUTTER – This recipe works with either basic unsalted butter or European-style unsalted butter.
FREEZE – Scoop the cookie dough balls and press the tops flat, making chubby pucks of dough. Freeze in a ziplock bag and bake from frozen, adding a couple extra minutes to the bake time.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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