I love oatmeal cookies. Actually, I think I love oatmeal. Period. Oatmeal raisin cookies are like, in my top three. The other two cookies are Oreos (duh), and sprinkle cookies. Probably. Only the ones from the bakery, though. You know, the crumbly, buttery ones with a million sprinkles? Those are the jam. Oatmeal raisin would be at the top because homemade, but either way, I needed to have an oatmeal cookie in my life soon.
When I was brainstorming aloud to my friends on what I should make next, I mentioned an oatmeal cookie. I have already done my favorite, but with the mention of “oatmeal” alone was enough to cause a mini stir. I couldn’t finish my sentence before I heard “I HATE OATMEAL COOKIES.” Emphasis on hate. Mostly because oatmeal cookies always seemed to equal oatmeal raisin. While my little oatmeal raisin lovin’ heart broke, I reasoned with them. I also got the whole “raisins are deceiving” line, too. Although, that reaction is a lot funnier.
So, I settled on oatmeal chocolate chip. I get to eat my oatmeal cookie and everyone else gets to enjoy them raisin free. While I’m still a tad offended at the fact that there are so many raisin haters out there, I figured this was a good compromise.
Now, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are basically a chocolate chip cookie but with oats. Sounds basic, to be honest. The last thing I want is a basic cookie. I sat there with my browser open and thought “how can I make these unbasic? How can I take them up a level?” And then it hit me.
In my time baking, well before this blog, I have only attempted to make brown butter once. Let’s just say, I took it too far. I had light black butter. Not appealing, and definitely not tasty. With the help of some instructional GIFs, from one of the last places I’d look to on the internet for kitchen advice, I tried to make brown butter again.
I was cautious of it going too brown, so my brown butter might actually be tan butter. Or light brown butter. Or maybe taupe butter. I don’t know! What I do know is that when I was making this, my house smelled heavenly. I could not believe that melting butter, and taking it a little further than just melting, could make my house smell that good. It smelled like warm, toasty, buttery, and nutty all at the same time. I was amazed, and then I got excited because if it smelled that good, I already knew my cookies were going to come out poppin’.
Ideally for cookies, you have softened butter. After browning mine, I let it sit room temp so it can harden a bit. It’s funny that I had to reverse the technique here and go from melted to softened; never thought I’d have to do that! I stirred it before it got too hard to evenly distribute all that golden brown deliciousness. Granted, I could’ve let it get a tad stiffer but I was short on time.
Anyway, the cookies came out unbelievably good. The brown butter was PERFECT in these cookies. Like, I can’t even at how great this came out. I’m still stunned. It added a hint of nuttiness to the cookies that I just couldn’t believe. I had a (ahem, or two) cookie while it was still warm, and I wanted to melt just like the chocolate chips. Super chocolatey, with that nutty hint from the brown butter, and then with the crispy but chewy addition of the oats. OMG. IT. WAS. CRAZY. I took them with me to work and they were gone in minutes. Even the oatmeal haters became oatmeal lovers after these cookies.
So, if you have an (or several) oatmeal skeptic(s) in your life but need to fill that oatmeal void with something everyone can enjoy, try this cookie. Oatmeal haters will see what they’ve been missing.
- 2 sticks of butter, browned and cooled
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg (fresh, if you can)
- 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (spoiler alert: a whole 12oz bag)
- Make the brown butter: in a small pot or sauce pan, melt both sticks of butter over medium heat. Once completely melted, begin stirring. You’ll see the butter foam up as the milk solids rise to the top and begin to pop. KEEP STIRRING. While you’re stirring, pay attention to the butter’s color. A good way to see what’s happening, if the foam is all in the way, is on the sides of the pan. For me, it got brown as well, which is how I knew I was close. Once you see the butter is a nice light brown color, GET IT OFF THE HEAT ASAP. Pour your brown gold into a heatproof vessel and let it hang out. It’ll continue to get browner (allegedly) as it cools. Cool until it’s hard but soft enough to cream with butter.
- Cookies: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line your baking pans with parchment paper and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the cooled but softened brown butter and both sugars until creamy, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, and mix until blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter and egg mix; making sure to incorporate the dry ingredients well. Stir in the oats, and finally fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using a disher or tablespoon, scoop out the dough onto the prepared sheets, leaving a couple inches of space between each cookie. Bake the cookies for 10 to 13 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
- Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. (try them warm!)
Adapted from Joy the Baker
