Updated 11.15.25
The butter goes into a pan first, cooked until the milk solids turn golden and fragrant. This is a process that takes about five minutes and cannot be rushed or replicated with any shortcut. It cools before joining the brown sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and oats. The dough bakes into cookies with crisp edges and a chewy center, the brown butter flavor woven through every bite.
This is a small-batch cookie recipe, the kind that produces a sensible number rather than four dozen sitting on a rack waiting to be given away. Enough for two people to enjoy over a couple of days, baked on one sheet pan, with every cookie tasting exactly as it should.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Butter
- Light brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Old fashioned rolled oats
How to Make Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Usually in an oatmeal cookie you would beat the butter and the sugar until it is creamy. In this case that step can be skipped, as you’ll work with brown butter instead.
Step 1 – Brown the butter. See my post here to learn how to do this.
Always measure the butter after it is browned, not before you brown it, to make sure you have the right amount.
When browned, pour the butter in a bowl to cool down.
Step 2 – In a medium bowl, mix all-purpose flour, old fashioned rolled oats, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3 – In a large bowl mix the cooled brown butter, light brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract.
Step 4 – Add the flour – oat mixture to the butter mixture and combine.
Place the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes. This makes it easier to form cookies.
Step 5 – Use an ice or cookie scoop and form your cookies. I’ve used a 2″ cookie scoop and end up with eight 4″ cookies. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, and flatten them with your hand, to about 1/2-inch thickness. Place the brown butter oatmeal cookies about 2 inches apart.
Step 6 – Bake approx. 8 minutes for a chewy cookie and 10-12 minutes for a more crisp cookie. Oven temperature 350°F.
Despite your efforts, if the cookies ran a little bit into each other, use a large cookie cutter and cut the cookie apart and circle that cookie cutter around each cookie for a little bit and your cookies may become round again.
You can sprinkle the cookies with a little bit of coarse salt for a slightly different flavor.
Another Oatmeal Cookie Recipe to Try
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cups old fashioned oats (NOTE 1)
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350°F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat butter in a skillet until brown and it produces a nutty smell. (NOTE 2)
- Allow the butter to cool and mix with the brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Add the egg and the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and add mixture to the butter/sugar mixture.
- Add oats and mix again. It has become a tough, sticky mixture.
- Use an ice scoop and form your cookies. (NOTE 3)
- Place the dough balls on your baking sheet and flatten with your hand. Place them about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 minutes for a more chewy cookie and about 10-12 minutes for a more crispy cookie.
- Cool the cookies for a minute on your baking sheet and then move to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
- As far as your oats are concerned, you can use only old fashioned rolled oats, only quick oats or a mix of the two. The more old fashioned oats, the more chewy the cookie.
- Check out this post about how to brown butter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.