These Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies take the regular chocolate chip cookie, or a regular oatmeal cookie, to the next level. The brown butter adds a bit of nuttiness, and the chocolate chunks mean you get more bittersweet, delicious chocolate with each bite. Once you get the hang of making the brown butter, you may just be making these classic, delicious, chewy cookies all the time.
It’s surprising, for how many cookie recipes I have on this site, that this is only my second oatmeal cookie recipe (these Oatmeal Scotchies are the only other one from the very first year I started). It’s a shame, because oatmeal cookies are delicious and these Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies are no exception. Though the name may be a mouthful, every word is necessary to make you drool just at the thought of these.
These cookies start off with brown butter. This immediately takes them from a regular old chocolate chip cookie to something a little bit more intriguing. The brown butter adds a hint of nuttiness to these cookies that brings an extra layer of flavor to the table. Personally, I think brown butter makes any baked good taste better. And it just smells delicious. Note: this dough does require some chilling time. Because the brown butter just gets cooled enough to keep it from melting the sugar, the chilling time lets this butter firm up a bit which helps keep the cookies from spreading too fast once they’re in the oven.
From there, I swapped out the regular old chocolate chips for medium chocolate chunks. Yes, I am also a sucker for a chocolate chunk. You get larger pieces of chocolate throughout the batter that just look instantly more appealing than a small chocolate chip does. If you say you’re not going to grab the cookie with the largest visible chunk on top, you’re lying. If you don’t like such bittersweet chocolate–I usually stick around 70%–you can always something a bit less intense. I’m sure these would be delicious with milk chocolate chunks as well. I just never happen to have any of that on hand.
These are an ultimate pantry bake. If you don’t bake often, there might be a few ingredients you need to run to the store for, but oatmeal and dark chocolate–and obviously butter–are things I just always have around. That means these cookies are always just one craving away.
| Prep Time | 15-20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 17-18 minutes |
| Passive Time | 70-90 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 170 grams unsalted butter
- 150 grams light brown sugar
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 grams all purpose flour
- 100 grams rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150 grams bittersweet or dark chocolate chopped into medium chunks
- flaky salt if desired, for sprinkling
Ingredients
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- Brown the butter: Cut your butter evenly into cubes and line them on the bottom of a large saucepan. Over medium heat, melt the butter. The butter will bubble and splatter a bit, but as the water escapes, you'll see the bubbles get smaller and the butter will get foamy and start to darken in the middle. This should take about 5 minutes but depending on the butter it may take more or less time. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl for 15 seconds. It should start to smell a bit nutty and the color of the butter will be noticeably darker. Pour the butter into a small bowl or a glass dish. There will be brown grainy bits at the bottom, you want to scrape all of that out of the pot--that's where most of the flavor comes from. Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool down. You should have about 140 grams of brown butter.
- With a mixer, beat together the cooled brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium high until fully combined. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, salt, and cinnamon. Add 1/2 the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and beat on low until just combined. Repeat with the second half of the dry ingredients. Add in the chocolate chunks and mix on low until evenly distributed.
- Chill the dough for 60-90 minutes. These cookies spread a bit while they bake and chilling will keep them from spreading too much too fast.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a large scoop, scoop 4 rounds of dough (they should be about 60-65g each). Sprinkle with flaky salt if desired. Bake 17-18 minutes.* Let cool on the pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or cool baking pan.
*If you like a slightly flatter cookie with a crispier, more caramelized edge, bake at 350°F for 14-15 minutes.