Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, on Friday we switched cable providers. Well, technically we switched to satellite from cable, but whatever. The moral of the story is that we have premium channels again and there was some serious binge-watching going on over the weekend. Shane devoured season 3 of Game of Thrones, we caught up on Dexter (still not sure how I’m feeling about this season), and I started Ray Donovan (verdict is still out on this one too). Oh, and there were movies too. The Dark Knight Rises for about the 8th time – I’m kind of obsessed with the Christian Bale Batman movies, and Pitch Perfect, which I didn’t expect to like nearly as much as I did.

Needless to say, productivity was at an all-time low.

But I did manage to get into the kitchen for a few baking projects. You can’t sit in front of the tv for that many hours without snacks, can you? 🙂

I’d been craving chocolate chip cookies all week, so it was an easy decision to turn to these brown butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I made them for the first time last month, and they’ve quickly become one of my go-to recipes. Mostly because I am powerless to resist anything made with brown butter – that rich, nutty flavor just makes everything better, especially cookies! But I also love the texture of these cookies; they’re chewy like my favorite cookies always are, and the addition of the oats makes them even slightly more so. I’m not sure they truly have enough oats to call them oatmeal cookies, but you’ll definitely note a difference from your typical chocolate chip cookie.

We ate some of the cookies plain and then sandwiched ice cream between a few of them to make homemade cookie sandwiches, which were pretty epic. Without question, it was one of the best weekends we’ve had in a long time!

Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

{Note: you could definitely add more chocolate chips if you want – I prefer my cookies light on the chocolate.}

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add 4 tablespoons of the butter to a small skillet set over medium heat and let it start melting. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter becomes golden brown and smells nutty (be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burnt quickly). Transfer the butter to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cooled brown butter and mix until completely incorporated. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract just until combined. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips.

Using a small cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), portion the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake for 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are just set (the centers may look undercooked – they’ll continue cooking after you remove them from the oven). Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for a few minutes then remove them to the rack to cool completely.

Makes about 16 cookies