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December 9, 2021

Salted Brown Butter Coffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Cozy salted brown butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies make the ultimate holiday treat. Old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookies get a beautiful makeover with nutty brown butter, hints of coffee, and rich dark chocolate chunks in every bite. Don’t forget a little sprinkle of sea salt on top!

Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
50 mins

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Jump to Recipe
brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with a bite taken out

For Day 4 of AK Cookie Week, I’m bringing you a true classic. One of those cookies that have a warming, nostalgic flavor that just tastes like home.

These brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are the twin sister of my famous brown butter chocolate chip cookies, but you know I had to add a couple of surprises to make them extra special.

I took the wonderful flavor of old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and went next level with gorgeous brown butter, dark chocolate chunks to create puddles of chocolate in every bite, and a hint of coffee to make each flavor even bolder.

The result is that chewy oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie you crave with an even more crave-able taste. Bring on the nostalgia, and maybe a glass of almond milk on the side.

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oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie with a bite taken out

What you’ll need to make these oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies

If you couldn’t tell, these aren’t your average oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. We’re taking them to the next level with a few secret ingredients that make them absolutely drool-worthy. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:

  • Butter: we’re adding a rich, nutty flavor to the cookies by adding brown butter!
  • Sugar: brown sugar gives these cookies a wonderful molasses flavor. Learn how to make your own brown sugar here!
  • Egg: you’ll need one egg to give them the right consistency.
  • Flour: we’re using regular, all purpose flour to bake them up.
  • Rolled oats: because they’re oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies we can’t forget the old fashioned rolled oats! Do not use steel cut oats as the texture will be much different.
  • Baking staples: you’ll also need vanilla extract, baking soda and salt.
  • Coffee flavor: truly obsessed with the addition of instant coffee or espresso powder. It brings out the richness of the brown butter and the dark chocolate.
  • Chocolate: I like to chop up a 70% dark chocolate bar to give the cookies nice puddles of dark chocolate, but feel free to use chocolate chips.
  • Sea salt: sprinkle a little fancy sea salt on top right when they come out of the oven for an extra sweet and salty treat!

brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough in a bowl

Looking for vegan or gluten free options?

I haven’t tested these chewy brown butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies with a gluten free flour or a flax egg, so I suggest trying my:

  1. Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (V, GF) that uses gluten free oat flour, gluten free rolled oats and a flax egg.
  2. Blow Ya Mind Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (V, GF) that use almond flour, gluten free oat flour and a flax egg.
  3. Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF) that just use gluten free rolled oats.

oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough balls on parchment paper

Make them extra thick & delicious

Try adding 1/2 cup more rolled oats to the recipe! The oatmeal chocolate chink cookies will come out oat-ier, heartier and deliciously thick while still having a nice chew to them.

How to brown butter

Brown butter is truly my love language. Use it in these oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies for the best flavor ever! Learn exactly how to brown butter with our tutorial here.

coffee oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies on a baking sheet

How to make the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

  1. Brown your butter. You’ll start by browning your butter until it’s golden and fragrant. Set it aside to cool, preheat your oven and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a stand mixer (or with a whisk) mix together all of your wet ingredients until smooth.
  3. Add the dry. Slowly add the dry ingredients to your stand mixer, or mix them in with a wooden spoon. Fold in the chocolate chunks as well.
  4. Scoop & bake. Use a medium cookie scoop to grab the dough and roll it into balls. Place it on your cookie sheet and bake until the cookies are just barely golden brown
  5. Cool & eat. Let the coffee oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies cool on your baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. This is when you can sprinkle them with sea salt and then devour!

chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on a wooden board

Tips for perfect oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

You’ll find all of my best tips & tricks for making perfect cookies in the Ultimate Guide to Cookie Baking e-book! A few key takeaways for these cookies:

  • Do not use substitutes. Please be sure to follow the recipe as written unless substitutes are noted in the notes section of the recipe. Changing the flour or using steel cut oats, etc. will greatly affect the taste and texture of these cookies as will leaving ingredients out.
  • Make sure your ingredients are room temp. After you brown your butter you’ll want to make sure that it is cool so that it doesn’t coagulate the other ingredients. Be sure. your egg is at room temperature as well so that it doesn’t coagulate with the butter. Simply run it under warm water for about a minute or place it in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes before adding it to your dough.
  • Use fresh baking soda. Make sure your baking soda is fresh to ensure that these cookies bake up properly.
  • Measure your ingredients correctly. Do you know the best way to measure flour without a scale? Get my tips & tricks in this video! Be sure to also pack the brown sugar.

old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on parchment paper

Make them ahead of time

If you’d like to save a bit of time, feel free to make the oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie dough the day before! You can refrigerate the dough (well-covered so it doesn’t dry out) for up to 24 hours. Set out dough for 30 minutes at room temp before baking.

Freezer-friendly oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

These brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are perfect for baking up a big batch and freezing the dough OR the baked cookies for later. Check out our full post here to see exactly how to freeze them two different ways.

chewy oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies on parchment paper

More amazing cookies to try

Get all of our delicious cookie recipes here!

Want exclusive cookie recipes?

If you’ve been following AK for a while now you know that I’ve created tons of incredible cookie recipes over the years, especially for the holiday season. This year, we’re launching 5 brand new, exclusive cookie recipes on the Ambitious Kitchen TikTok page! If you’re not already, be sure to follow us to get all of the fun recipes.

I hope you love these salted brown butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!

Salted Brown Butter Coffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

4.80 from 24 votes
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brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with a bite taken out
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Serves16 cookies
Cozy salted brown butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies make the ultimate holiday treat. Old-fashioned oatmeal chocolate chip cookies get a beautiful makeover with nutty brown butter, hints of coffee, and rich dark chocolate chunks in every bite. Don't forget a little sprinkle of sea salt on top!

Ingredients

  • Wet ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup salted butter (1 ½ sticks), cut into pieces
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • For the dry ingredients:
  • 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules or espresso powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (3.5oz) 70% dark chocolate bar, coarsely chopped (or 3/4 cup chocolate chips)
  • Maldon sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

  • First, brown your butter: add butter to a medium saucepan or skillet and place over medium heat. The butter will begin to melt, crackle, and then eventually foam. Make sure you whisk constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown and turn a nice golden amber color on the bottom of the saucepan, this usually happens once it foams. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a medium bowl to prevent burning, making sure you scrape all the yummy brown bits from the pan with a rubber spatula; this is where the flavor is!
  • Set aside the brown butter to cool for 10-15 minutes, do not skip cooling the brown butter. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F while the brown butter cools. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Feel free to clean up your kitchen a bit here too if you want to pass the time.
  • Next add every last bit of brown butter to the bowl of an electric mixer, then add in brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract; mix on medium-high speed until well combined, about 1 minute. You can also mix these by hand using a whisk and wooden spoon -- no problem!
  • Add the dry ingredients: flour, oats, espresso powder/instant coffee, baking soda and salt. Beat on medium speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Next, fold the chocolate chunks into the dough.
  • Use a medium cookie scoop to grab a large heaping tablespoon or two of dough. Roll dough into balls and place on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until just BARELY golden brown on the edges. Do not overbake!
  • Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Sprinkle cookies with a little fancy sea salt and serve. Makes about 14-16 big cookies. Feel free to double the recipe to serve more!

Recipe Notes

If you like a more oat-ier, heartier, thicker cookie, you can add ½ cup more oats to the recipe.
FYI: you can refrigerate the dough (well-covered so it doesn’t dry out) for up to 24 hours. Set out dough for 30 minutes at room temp before baking.
Read our full post here to learn how to freeze cookie dough and baked cookies!

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats

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brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with a bite taken out

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