Description
These Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are delightfully chewy in the center thanks to hearty rolled oats, with crispy golden edges and a rich, nutty flavor from perfectly browned butter. This recipe skips creaming and chilling to make a quick yet decadent batch of soft, buttery cookies studded with chunks of 70% dark chocolate. Perfect for those who crave a classic cookie with a sophisticated twist, these cookies are about 7cm (2.7″) wide and deliciously speckled with chocolate pieces.
Ingredients
Scale
Butter and Wet Ingredients
- 150g / 10 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1cm / 1/2″ cubes
- 1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 large egg, at room temperature (~55g / 2oz)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup plain/all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick or steel cut)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bi-carb), sifted if lumpy
- 1/8 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Chocolate
- 200g / 7 oz 70% dark chocolate block (Lindt recommended), chopped into 1cm / 1/4″ pieces (or sub 1 cup / 200g chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Trays: Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Lightly grease and then line three baking trays with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Brown the Butter: Melt butter in a small silver pan or saucepan over medium heat. Let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until foam subsides and you see golden-brown bits forming—this imparts a nutty, rich flavor. Immediately pour the butter and the browned bits into a large mixing bowl. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Chop the Chocolate: Cut the dark chocolate into 1cm / 1/4″ pieces using a sharp knife. Transfer the chunks to a bowl, leaving any fine chocolate dust behind for another use if desired. This chopping creates speckled cookies with chunks of chocolate.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
- Combine Butter and Sugar: Add the brown sugar to the browned butter. Whisk them together, noting that the mixture might not fully combine but that’s fine. Then whisk in the egg and vanilla extract until the batter is smooth.
- Form the Dough: Gradually add the dry mixture to the butter-egg mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is almost fully incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate pieces until well distributed and no flour is visible. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to firm up slightly.
- Shape the Cookies: Using a heaped tablespoon or size 40 cookie scoop, drop portions of dough onto the baking trays spaced 5cm / 2″ apart. Gently flatten each mound to about 8mm / 1/3″ thickness, reshaping edges if the dough splits or looks uneven.
- Bake the Cookies: Bake two trays simultaneously for 11 minutes, switching oven shelves and rotating trays halfway through (at about 7 minutes) until the tops are light golden. For a single tray, bake 10 minutes and rotate at the 6-minute mark.
- Cool the Cookies: Allow cookies to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes to set, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. For an optional savory touch, sprinkle a few salt flakes on top once baked.
Notes
- This recipe is extremely fast and easy, no creaming of butter or chilling dough needed.
- Browned butter adds a rich, nutty, and extra buttery flavor that elevates the cookies.
- Chopping your own chocolate chunks instead of using chips gives a rustic texture and intense chocolate flavor.
- The cookies come out chewy in the center due to oats with crisp golden edges for perfect texture contrast.
- Recipe yields about 22 cookies, each roughly 7cm (2.7″) wide.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 179 kcal
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 71 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 23 mg
