Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Brown butter is one of the best smells in the world & this recipe is worth making because of that alone. Melty chocolate chunks always make a cookie feel more chocolatey. There is so much texture in these cookies because of the oats. They are chewy, crunchy, crispy on the bottom, absolutely delicious.
These cookies are what I call, the sleeper cookie of the holiday season. My family takes their Christmas cookies very seriously. Their Italian parents & grandparents made hundreds of cookies every year of their lives, so they are picky about their classics. This cookie here, is the only cookie I have completely made up on my own that is requested every year and is a season favorite. And even if it is a feat in my small family of four, I am proud of it.
Brown Butter
First, let’s talk the brown butter. It is a life changing ingredient. You literally turn butter into the most delicious tasting, toffee-smelling ingredient with the simple act of heating. I am amazed by it. And as an ingredient in cookies? It will make anything better. I always put highlights & videos of these processes on my Instagram for a better visual.
Melt your butter in a skillet, but let it continue working. It will bubble & get foamy, and then all of the milk solids will fall to the bottom and caramelize. When you see a bunch of golden flecks, pour into a bowl to stop cooking & set aside. And smell, if it smells like toffee, butterscotch perfection then you are set. By browning the butter, we take out some of the water in butter. I added that in with the extra egg white below.
Nuts, Optional
I know there are a lot of nut haters out there. But I think that nuts are meant to enhance cookies – they balance out some of the sweetness, and add crunch and texture. There is only about 1/2 cup toasted walnuts in these cookies so I promise they only enhance this perfect cookie. BUT, for extra sweet chocolatey goodness, feel free to omit.
Fold in the walnuts with chocolate chunks. You can use chips as well, but I love the variation that cutting up a chocolate bar adds to the cookie (plus huge pockets of melty chocolate when the cookies are warm).
Do you bake Christmas Cookies with your family or for your family? Baking the cookies pretty much runs my life the second half of December. And while I love to complain about it, it is part of the joy of Christmas to me. I love to box them as gifts or snacking on them while watching movies and sitting next to my Christmas tree. I hope in the coming years as I grow this blog, we can do our baking together.
If you make these cookies, tag me on Instagram or comment below. I really love to hear from you.
Have you always wanted the chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips? Try my Chocolate Chip-less Cookie. One of my favorites to make.
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer or Hand Mixer
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 8 oz Salted Butter* 2 sticks
- 1 & 1/4 cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 2 eggs + 1 egg white room temp
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 & 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour spooned & leveled
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 3 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1 & 1/4 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar cut into chunks*
- 1/2 cup Walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Toast Walnuts Dump walnuts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Toast in oven 8-10 minutes (if there are very small pieces, check after 5), until the nuts are very toasted and smell fragrant. Next, brown your butter. While ovens are toasting, brown your butter.
- Brown Butter: Melt your butter in a small skillet on medium-low heat. Keep heating until it bubbles & then foams. Keep an eye on the butter, brown flecks will start popping up. Stir often. Remove from heat once lots of golden flecks are formed. Pour into a bowl to stop cooking process. Let butter come to room temp*
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl add flour, oats, & baking soda and whisk to combine. Mix Wet Ingredients: In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or large bowl with hand mixer, add room temperature brown butter & beat for 1-2 minutes on high. Add sugars & beat on high another 2 mins. On low, add eggs, egg white & vanilla extract. Beat on low or medium low until combined. Combine: Add dry ingredients to wet on low.
- Add Chunks & Chill : Continue folding in any leftover flour with a rubber spatula. Add chocolate chunks & walnuts and fold in. Dough will be sticky. Chill dough for 30 minutes (you can leave it in the bowl).*
- Bake: Make large balls (3ish tablespoons) and place them on parchment lined baking sheet. Very lightly press down the top. Bake 12 minutes until edges are golden & the center will not feel done if you tap the center. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then place on wire rack to cool completely.
Home Cook’s Notes
- You can use unsalted butter. Add about 1tsp kosher salt to butter while browning & stir it in.
- Your chocolate bar will splinter and have tons of varying sizes. I make sure to chop up any huge ones and add all of the chocolate dust that’s left on the cutting board. You can also buy chocolate chunks or use chocolate chips.
- Room Temp Brown Butter: Speed up the process – by adding to fridge or freezer and checking every 5-10 minutes. We don’t want it to be rock solid, it should still be malleable. You can also make overnight or just let sit out on counter for an hour or two until it is cooled & set.
- If you chill the dough overnight and it is too hard, let it sit out of the fridge until soft enough to scoop (30mins to an hour).
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