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(Kind of like) Mom’s Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Homemade chocolate chip cookies made with browned butter, sweet brown sugar, and oats. A classic cookie made better with the addition of brown butter and, of course, plenty of melty chocolate. These cookies can be lightly sprinkled with sea salt for a salty-sweet cookie bite. Sometimes you just need to bite into the classic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie we all know and love.

I have so many memories of baking my mom’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. She’d make them once a week and even became a little famous for them. She certainly knew the recipe by heart! Oats, flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, canola oil, and a ton of chocolate chips.
Her recipe called for canola oil, which I prefer not to use. So basically what I’ve done with these cookies is replace the canola oil with browned butter.
I mean, brown butter? Canola oil? I’m going to pick brown butter 100% of the time!!

The details are simple
As with a lot of my cookie recipes, start with browning the butter.
I like to use a medium skillet and brown both sticks of butter over medium heat. Then simply let the butter cook until it bubbles up and foams on top. This is when I turn the heat off and continue to allow the butter to cook in the pan.
Little brown bits will form on the bottom of the pan. Those are the nutty little bits that will make your recipes extra delicious. Especially with the oats. I found the pairing to be really special.
When the butter has browned, the rest goes pretty much as you would think. I don’t use a mixer for these, just a good old-fashioned spatula will do the trick. Mix the butter with brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. The only difference from my mom’s recipe is that I nixed the granulated sugar completely.

I don’t think it’s needed for sweetness and I love the flavor brown sugar adds over granulated sugar. I will say that if you love a traditional really sweet cookie, you might want to add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. It’s up to you, but we think the cookies are sweet enough as written!
So after you’ve got your wet ingredients (+ brown sugar) together, then add the dry. Flour, oats, baking soda, and a small pinch of salt.
Mix in the chocolate chips. Or do it like me and mix chocolate chunks with chocolate chips. I usually use 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chunks and 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Either way, it will be delish!

We love a flatter cookie, so I gently press the dough balls down, then bake.
While the cookies bake, you’ll smell the wonderful scents of rich butter and vanilla. All the scents we love most. I highly recommend enjoying a cookie straight off the pan with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Holy freaking yummm! So simple, so delicious, and the classics never go out of style!

Looking for back-to-school recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Cookies n’ Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Healthier Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 279 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups chocolate chunks or chips
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Add the butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Let cool 5 minutes or so.3. To the brown butter, mix in the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Gently fold in the chocolate. 4. Roll the dough into rounded tablespoon size balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten the dough down. Bake 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, rotate and tap the baking sheet on the counter 1-2 times to flatten. Bake another 2-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges.5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with flaky salt (if desired). Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

This post was originally published on August 19, 2022
















This is my new go-to for big, freezer batch cookies! The brown butter really takes the cookie up a notch. These cookies freeze really well and are fantastic to send in school lunches or just toss a few in the oven just because. Thank you, Tieghan! 🙂
Hey McKenzie,
Happy Monday! I’m grateful you made this recipe and for your comment, so glad it was enjoyed!
tasty but super duper dry. if I were to make them again I’d probably do half a cup less flour.
Hey Emily,
Thanks so much for making these cookies and your feedback! Sorry to hear they were so dry! Let me know if you make them again!
Best cookie ever!
Hey Rosalie,
Perfect! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed!
These were perfect! So delicious!
Hey Nancy,
I’m grateful you tried this recipe and took the time to comment. Delighted it turned out!
These came out too dry for me like a bisquit. It was unbalanced like it had too much flour or oats. Granted I put in 1.5 cups of chips since it looked plenty. My kiddo still loved it.
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for trying these cookies and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you didn’t love them!
Finally! A brown butter cookie recipe that doesn’t require the butter to cool for long or refrigerate the dough overnight. Plus the cookies come out thick as opposed to paper thin (which is what I get from most brown butter cookie recipes). Thanks for sharing!
Hey Tori,
Wonderful! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was enjoyed!🎄
There’s no baking powder in the recipe? Is that correct?
Hi Karli,
Yes, that is correct:) Please let me know if you have any other questions!
The molasses in the brown sugar will react with the baking soda, causing the cookies to rise, so the baking powder is unnecessary.
Made for my husband and I using 1/2 the portions on this recipe. Used vanilla bean paste instead and let the brown butter cool for much longer until it was room temp! They turned out amazing to say the least! Thank you for sharing this simple but yummy recipe!
Thanks so much, Nicole! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it and your feedback!
The brown butter flavour was veryyyy subtle and there was a slight aluminum taste to my batch. I wonder if less baking soda may be the way to go? They were nice enough cookies that were eaten but nothing special.
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try and sharing your feedback, very sorry to hear they did not turn out for you!
Hi,
These didn’t turn out well for me. They were dry, not chewy at all. Obviously I did something wrong. Too much flour? Not enough butter? Wrong type of oats? Perhaps the type of brown sugar? … no idea.
Hi Andrew,
So sorry to hear this! Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Did you use old fashioned oats? Please let me know how I can help!
Hi,
I don’t know what “old fashioned oats” are. There seem to be too many names for the same thing depending on where you live. I live in Taiwan. I used “fine oat flakes” which I think are similar to rolled oats but finer and cook quicker. I also wonder if I lost some butter during the browning.
Gotcha, it could just be the difference in ingredients between countries:)
They were dry for me, too. I consulted similar recipes and they all used at least a half cup LESS flour for the same amount of butter. I think you would need to either reduce flour or increase butter by another 1/2 cup.
Agreed! Mine were dry and turned out more like a crumbly biscuit than a cookie. I added a cup of peanut butter too. Great flavors but texture isn’t there
I have been making these for over a year now for my husband’s Bible study. Actually making them early this morning! Everyone just loves them! Happy Wednesday!
Thanks so much, Kelly:) I love to hear these cookies are always enjoyed! I appreciate you sharing with others!
Made the version from the book (page 255). They did not come out at all like the picture so I researched on the website and noted that the book Amit’s the 2cups of oats.