Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with oat flour are an entirely new level of chocolate chip cookie! The flavor and texture is so amazing! The cookies are made with browned butter and oat flour which adds a nice texture and nutty flavor you don’t get in a traditional chocolate chip cookie.  

We have tons of delicious cookie recipes for you to try. If you love Crumbl Cookies, I’ve got a roundup with all my Crumbl Cookie Recipes! There are some really fun flavors you should check out! If you like this cookie recipe, then I know you will love my Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies too! If you are a big brownie and cookie fan, then you should check out my gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars! And if you love this recipe, then you’ll love my Brown Butter Cookie Dough Cake and Brown Butter Cake!

A Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie with a bite taken out of it, on a white parchment paper.

Why This Recipe Works

  • Brown butter elevates flavor. I bet you didn’t think you could take chocolate chip cookies to an entirely new level, but I’m here to tell you that you can! The trick is to use browned butter! Adding a simple step such as browning the butter does wonders for chocolate chip cookies. It adds a toasted nutty flavor and brings a greater richness to the cookie. 
  • Oat flour adds amazing texture. Let me tell you that chocolate chip cookies with oat flour is where it is at! Don’t worry, if you don’t have any, you can make your own at home! (See recipe tips below.) The oat flour has a bit of a courser texture than normal flour, so it provides a nice chewy texture to the brown butter cookies. 
  • People will keep asking for more! It’s always fun to make a treat for people that they like so much that they’ll ask you for the recipe! Well, this is that kind of treat. Every time I make this recipe for people, they always go for seconds and thirds and end up asking for the recipe! It’s that good!  

Ingredient Notes

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie ingredients on a gray background.
  • Brown Butter: Browning the butter is an art. When done correctly, the butter tastes amazing when added to baked goods. The brown butter adds a deeper and richer flavor. I go over how to properly brown butter in my pumpkin pancakes recipe for the Cinnamon Brown Butter Pecan Syrup. You can also follow along in the step-by-steps below. 
  • Oat Flour: Using oat flour in addition to all-purpose flour helps provide added thickness and chewiness and makes these the best brown butter chocolate chip cookies! I got the idea to add oat flour from my good friend, Kristin at Baker Bettie.
  • Dark Brown Sugar: You can use light brown sugar if you’d like. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it than light brown sugar, so it gives the cookies a slightly deeper flavor. But don’t worry, you can’t taste a molasses flavor.
  • Granulated Sugar: The granulated sugar (in addition to the brown sugar) helps in browning and sweetness.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Brown the butter. Melt the butter in a skillet or saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. The butter will melt, bubble, then foam. Keep stirring constantly until you see light brown specks appear at the bottom of the pan. The butter will have a nutty aroma and light amber color. Keep cooking and stirring until the light brown specks are slightly more golden brown. Remove from heat. Do not burn the butter. Remove early rather than late. It just takes seconds to go from perfectly browned to burnt. Transfer to a separate bowl and cool at room temperature or in the fridge until solid.
  2. Whisk the dry ingredients. Combine the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour and oat flour in a bowl until well incorporated. 
  1. Cream the wet ingredients. Once the butter is firm, place it in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugars and beat until creamed, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. 
  2. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add the vanilla and mix under combined. 
  1. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
  2. Chill the dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. 
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough in a glass stand mixer bowl.
  1. Preheat and bake. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roll the dough into balls or use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop. Place 6 dough balls per baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the edges have set, are barely golden brown and the middles still appear under baked. 
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie dough balls topped with chocolate chips, in a row on a baking dish.
  1. Let cool on the cookie sheet. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.  
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on a white parchment paper.

Recipe Tips

If you don’t have oat flour, it’s super easy to make it yourself. I made homemade oat flour because I have a lot of old fashioned oats I need to use up. Here’s how to make oat flour: Add the old fashioned oats to a food processor or blender. Pulse until the oats have ground down to a flour. You can see in my photo that there is a nice texture to the oat flour.

Chilling the dough helps the flavor develop and it firms up the dough so when the chocolate chip cookies with brown butter bake they don’t spread as much. You can chill the dough for longer than 60 minutes, I think 12 hours would be great! You’ll get some amazing flavor if you do it anywhere from 1-24 hours. However, if you chill the cookie dough for longer than 60 minutes, you will need to remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so, otherwise the cookie dough will be too firm to scoop.

After you’ve chilled the dough, remove it from the fridge and scoop the dough into 3 tablespoon sized cookie dough balls. I use this cookie scoop (affiliate link) — the same scoop I use to fill my cupcake and muffin tins.

Cookies continue to bake after they’re removed from the oven. If you like soft cookies, follow the instructions above. If you prefer a well done crispy cookie, bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes.

I like to sprinkle my cookies with some sea salt before baking. If you choose to do this simply sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over each cookie dough ball prior to baking. 

If you prefer a flatter, more spread out cookie, bake at 350°F. Cookies will need to bake a tad longer, so about 10-11 minutes or until the tops are just barely golden. 

Tips for Browning Butter

Always stir the butter. This reduces the risk of burning. 

The specks on the bottom of the panshould not be a really dark brown/black color. It’s better to remove the butter from the heat too soon than too late.

If you’re in a time crunch, place the browned butter in the fridge to set faster. 

For an in-depth look at how to brown butter, along with tips and FAQS, check out my How to Brown Butter post! 

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

You can make these chocolate chip cookies with oat flour ahead of time! Simply make the cookie dough as instructed but then store the cookie dough in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-3 days. The longer the cookie dough chills, the more developed the flavors will be. Keep in mind, I would probably bake the cookies by day 3. If you want to store the dough for longer, see my tip for freezing cookie dough below. 

Store in airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to 7 days. 

To freeze the cookie dough, form into balls and flash freeze on a baking sheet until firm. Transfer to a Ziplock bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer and bake from frozen. You may need to add 1 minute to the bake time. 

To freeze the baked cookies, let cool completely and then wrap in plastic wrap and store in a Ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Remove and let come to room temperature or eat chilled.  

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie with a cookie that has a bite taken out of it.

Recipe FAQs

Does the brown butter need to be firm? Or can I use it while it is still liquid? 

Yes, the brown butter needs to set up and be firm. The important step in making cookies is creaming the butter and sugars. If you use the butter in a liquid form, the sugars will melt and you’ll get more of a brownie batter texture. The butter needs to be set. 

Do I have to chill the cookie dough before baking? 

Yes. Even if you can chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes (although I highly, highly recommend you chill it for at least 60 minutes), you will be glad you did! It will improve the flavor, structure, and overall end result of the cookie. Chilling cookie dough affects the flavor, texture and bake of the cookies. It may not seem like it would make a big difference, but it does! 

What should I do if I prefer a flatter, more spread out cookie? 

This recipe produces a thick and chewy cookie, not thin and flat. Rather than bake at 375°F, bake the cookies at 350°F. The cookies will bake a tad longer, so for about 10-11 minutes or until the tops are just barely golden brown. If you want a crisp cookie, bake for even longer; until the tops are golden in color.

A brown butter chocolate chip cookie made with oat flour, split in half with each half on top of the other.

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Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on a white background.
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5 from 9 votes

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thick and chewy brown butter chocolate chip cookies are literally the best cookie you'll ever have! The brown butter adds nice richness and deep flavor. This recipe uses oat flour (which you can easily make yourself from ground rolled oats), which adds amazing texture!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 24 minutes
Total Time: 49 minutes
Servings: 22 cookies

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar - packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs - room temperature
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups oat flour - (about 2 cups old fashioned oats ground in a food processor or blender)
  • 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
 

Brown the Butter

  • In a saucepan or deep skillet, melt butter over medium low heat. Stir constantly. The butter will start to melt and bubble, then it will begin to foam. With time you’ll see very light brown specks appear towards the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring. The butter will turn a light amber color and the specks will be a bit more golden brown. Remove from heat. DON’T burn the butter! Best to remove from heat too early, than too late. The butter can burn quickly!!! 
  • Let the butter cool and then transfer to a separate bowl to solidify (I place mine in the fridge to speed up the process).

Make the Cookie Dough

  • In a medium size bowl whisk the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, and oat flour. 
  • Once the butter is firm again, place the butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed for 3-4 miinutes scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. 
  • Add 1 egg to the creamed butter, mix until fully combined. Add the last egg and mix until fully combined, about 15-20 seconds.
  • Beat in the vanilla extract. 
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until JUST combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
  • Cover the cookie dough bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30- 60 minutes to chill. 
  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 
  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Using a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough into dough balls. 
  • Place 6 dough balls on one sheet, spacing the cookie dough at least 2 inches apart from one another.
  • Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until edges are barely golden brown. The centers will still appear a tad under baked. 
  • Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container for 3-4 days.

Notes

I recommend you chill it for 30- 60 minutes so that the dough firms up, this prevents the cookies from spreading too much while baking. If you chill it for longer than 1 hour, you will need to let the cookie dough sit at room temperature for until soft enough to scoop into cookie dough balls. 
The unbaked cookie dough can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap, place the wrapped cookie dough in a plastic zip top back or freezer safe container and store in freezer. 
If you prefer a flatter, more spread out cookie bake at 350°F. Cookies will need to bake a tad longer, so about 10-11 minutes or until the tops are just barely golden. 

Nutrition

Calories: 326kcal (16%)Carbohydrates: 39g (13%)Protein: 4g (8%)Fat: 17g (26%)Saturated Fat: 9g (45%)Cholesterol: 44mg (15%)Sodium: 172mg (7%)Potassium: 187mg (5%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 23g (26%)Vitamin A: 320IU (6%)Calcium: 43mg (4%)Iron: 2.1mg (12%)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Leave a star rating and review on the blog post letting me know how you liked this recipe! Take a picture and tag @saltandbaker on Instagram and Facebook so I can see what you’re making!

This recipe was originally published on May 21, 2019. It was republished on March 14, 2022, to include additional information and photos.