Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Posted Dec 21, 2025
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These bakery-quality brown butter oatmeal cookies have a rich, nutty, caramel flavor, crisp edges, gooey centers and are easy to make in one bowl with no chilling!
Many of you have made and loved my famous oatmeal cookies, with over 500 5-star reviews they are very popular cookies that are beloved by many. Well, these brown butter oatmeal cookies take that recipe and level it up in the best way possible – using nutty, caramely brown butter.
It’s everything the famous oatmeal cookies are and more. Crisp edges, chewy centers, tons of chocolate chips and the rich, caramely, nutty notes of browned butter in every bite. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt is the most perfect finishing touch.
You don’t even need a mixer to make these delicious browned butter oatmeal cookies because they’re made in one bowl and there’s no chilling required!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Brown Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter to make the brown butter for this recipe. For more tips and tricks – check out this post on How to Brown Butter.
- Eggs. see my eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe for the best egg substitutions.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version substitute a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
- Old-fashioned oatmeal: quick oats work well too, the cookies will just be a little less chewy.
- Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
- Light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar is a great substitution.
- Mix-ins. Adding mix-ins is optional. Some possibilities include: chocolate chips (oatmeal chocolate chip cookies), raisins (try these oatmeal raisin cookies and oatmeal butterscotch cookies), white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips etc.
How to Make Browned Butter Oatmeal Cookies
As always, let’s walk through how to make this recipe together step-by-step. I include these photos and extra process instructions here to hopefully answer any and all questions you could possibly have while making this recipe as well as check your progress as you go to feel confident you are doing a great job. Don’t forget to watch the video as well.
Begin by lining two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Then, dice the butter.
Brown the Butter
See this post for an in-depth, even more detailed guide on how to brown butter. Otherwise, follow the directions in the recipe for perfectly browned butter!
Brown that diced butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan (it helps heat it evenly and prevent burning).
Then, cook the butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter beings to foam on top and is bubbling. Once it starts to foam, it will turn light brown with light brown flecks.
Then, it will become a darker brown, amber color. At this point the butter is browned and cooking is complete.
As soon as butter is done cooking, transfer it to a bowl or glass jar to stop cooking and to cool slightly (for about 5-10 minutes). If you’re not waiting to make the cookies, transfer the browned butter to the bowl in which you will be mixing the cookies.
The great thing about brown butter is that you can store it for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. So, you can make it well in advance if desired.
Make the Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
In a small bowl, combine the flour, sea salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder. Then set the dry ingredients aside. Alternatively, you can add the dry ingredients after adding the rest of the ingredients directly to the mixing bowl. I just like to measure the dry ingredients before the wet.
Then add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the brown butter and stir to combine.
Next, stir or beat in the egg and vanilla.
Then add the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.
Next, stir in the oatmeal and your preferred mix-ins. I obviously chose to use chocolate chips and chopped chocolate here – but you can choose your favorites.
After the dough is chilled, use a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough and roll it into balls and spread them evenly out on the prepared baking sheets. If desired, press additional mix-ins (chocolate in my case) on top of the cookies.
Bake the brown butter oatmeal cookies in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the cookies just barely look set. They cook fast, so please watch them carefully.
Remove the baked cookies from the oven and sprinkle them with flaky sea salt. Then, let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serve
Serve these kitchen sink cookies room temperature or slightly warm (my preference for the ultimate gooey texture).
They are a great addition to any cookie tray, especially at Christmas time along with my other Christmas cookie recipes.
Store/Freeze
Once cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. Or, you can freeze baked cookies by storing them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months
Thaw the browned butter oatmeal cookies at room temperature until soft. Or you can warm them in the oven set to “warm” or in the microwave for a few seconds.
You can also freeze the dough before baking. Roll the dough into balls and arrange them in a single layer in an airtight container (or ziploc back). Freeze for up to 2 months.
To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 1-2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions.
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies Recipe FAQS
Absolutely you can. Double the ingredients, bake on 4 baking sheets and you will make about 30 cookies.
Brown butter adds a nutty, caramel flavor that is absolutely rich and delicious.
I created an in-depth post to teach you how to brown butter perfectly every time! Check it out!
No, the browned butter does not need to be chilled. However, it does need to cool down to about room temperature before adding the eggs so they don’t accidentally cook in the hot browned butter.
Yes, you can use quick cooking oatmeal in place of old-fashioned oatmeal if you need to.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup browned butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1 cup mix-ins (optional: chocolate chips, raisins, cinnamon chips, etc.)
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
- Line 2 large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, set aside.
Brown the Butter
- Cut butter into ½ “ cubes.
- Put butter in a thick-bottomed pan (preferably in an even layer).
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally,
- First, the butter will melt.
- Then, it will begin to foam on top and start bubbling.
- Next, it will start turning light brown with light brown flecks.
- Then, it will start turning a darker brown, amber color. At this point the butter is browned and cooking is complete.
- As soon as the butter is done cooking, transfer it to a bowl or glass jar to cool and stop cooking. It should be amber in color with nice dark amber flecks throughout.
Make the Cookies
- In a small bowl, combine flour, sea salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the browned butter brown sugar and granulated sugar and stir to combine.
- Then, add the egg and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry mixture and stir to combine.
- Stir in oats and chocolate chips (or your desired mix-ins).
Bake & Cool
- Use a 2 Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out portions of dough, roll them into balls and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat until all the dough is used.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the cookies just barely look set. They cook fast, so please watch them carefully.
- Remove baked cookies from the oven and sprinkle them with flaky sea salt.
- Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Brown Butter. You can use salted or unsalted butter to make the brown butter for this recipe. For more tips and tricks – check out this post on How to Brown Butter.
- Eggs. see my eggless chocolate chip cookie recipe for the best egg substitutions.
- All-purpose flour. For a gluten-free version substitute a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Fine sea salt. Use fine (not coarse) sea salt. If using iodized table salt, decrease the amount by half.
- Old-fashioned oatmeal: quick oats work well too, the cookies will just be a little less chewy.
- Granulated sugar. I recommend using organic cane sugar or regular white sugar.
- Light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar is a great substitution.
- Mix-ins. Adding mix-ins is optional. Some possibilities include: chocolate chips (oatmeal chocolate chip cookies), raisins (try these oatmeal raisin cookies and oatmeal butterscotch cookies), white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
