These brown butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies have a deep caramelized, chewy texture and are packed with oats and plenty of chocolate chips. They’re sturdy, generous and so moreish! These cookies are the perfect balance of soft chewy texture, chocolate-caramel flavor, all wrapped together with the perfect richness of brown butter.
Why Use Brown Butter
Brown butter is an amazing ingredient. It adds a rich, nutty, caramelized flavor that you just can’t get with regular butter. Butter is composed or fat, milk solids and water. When butter is heated it separates into water and milk solids. The water evaporates (it’s about 22%) and the remaining solids 78% milk solids starts to caramelize which creates this beautiful golden dark brown butter. It is very similar to ghee.
This is perfect for baked goods like cookies to add deep, rich, caramelized flavor, intensifying the flavors of cookies, just the thing we need in this recipe.
Here’s how to make it. Add the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it starts to melt and foam. Continue to stir until you see the milk solids settle to the bottom and begin to turn a toasty brown. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of milk until combined. Take it off the heat and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool down.
You want the brown butter soft for this recipe. It should be soft like it normally is at room temperature before you use it!
Helpful Tips
- Make sure the egg is at room temprature.
- Take them out of the oven when they still look slightly underdone: This tip applies to any cookie recipe. There is enough residual heat in the pan that will continue cooking the cookie. As the cookie cools the cookie dough results crispy on the outside, but still tender in the center. So don’t bake your cookies too long!
- Bake cookies on the top rack of your oven: The bottom part of the oven is hotter and make risk burning the cookies. The tops brown quicker, giving you that golden cookie look out of the oven.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
- Small pan
- Baking Sheet and parchment paper
- whisk or mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp milk, whole preferably
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour or 1:1 gluten free flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup 60-70% dark chocolate chips or bar chopped
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Brown Butter: Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it starts to melt slightly and foam around. Continue to stir until you see the milk solids turn a toasty brown. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of milk until combined and pop this in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool down.
- When the brown butter is solid but soft, add the two kinds of sugar (granulated sugar and brown sugar) to the bowl of a stand mixer. or whisk until creamy, airy and fluffy, about 8-10 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again for 2-3 minutes.
- Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, cornstarch, sea salt salt, baking soda.
- Fold and mix the oats and chocolate chips to the dry ingredients, Add them to the wet ingredients in two batches, mixing on low until just combined. Scoop the cookie dough into balls.
- Chill these in the fridge. In the meanwhile preheat an oven to 375℉ And set the oven rack to the top.
- Line parchment paper on a baking sheet, bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes on the top rack. After 10 minutes, check a few times and take the cookies out when they are just about golden brown.
- They may still look slightly underdone in the center, that is totally fine. Allow them to cool for 20-30 minutes before serving.
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