These Brown Butter Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies are perfectly spiced with crisp edges and a soft center, dotted with tender oats throughout. These are the perfect cookies for holiday season (the favorite of the cookie exchange perhaps??) but are versatile enough to have any time of year.
Ingredients
This recipe calls for some key ingredients, listed below, to get the classic gingerbread flavor with a chewy texture.
- Butter: 1 stick of unsalted butter (equivalent to ½ cup) browned.
- Dark brown sugar: I prefer dark brown sugar because of the deeper molasses flavor it provides. Light brown sugar or coconut sugar can also be used.
- Large eggs: one large egg + one egg yolk.
- Vanilla: vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Oats: old fashioned or rolled oats to give the cookies the proper texture – not quick cooking oats which will not hold up when baked, nor steel cut oats which are too thick. Oat flour also does not work.
- Flour: standard all purpose flour works best here.
- Baking soda: the leavening agent.
- Kosher salt: Diamond Crystal is the one I always cook and bake with.
- Warm spices: a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg make up the classic gingerbread flavor profile.
How to make
To make these chewy oatmeal cookies follow the steps below – full recipe with quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post (you can click jump to recipe at the top to be brought directly there).
1. In a large bowl, whisk the browned butter and dark brown sugar together until well combined.
2. Add the rest of the wet ingredients: egg, egg yolk, and vanilla – whisk together for one minute.
3. Add the dry ingredients (except for the oats) – flour, spices, salt, and baking soda and use a spoon or rubber spatula mix together until 80% combined.
4. Add the oats and fold in until everything is just fully combined.
5. Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes covered with a piece of plastic wrap.
6. Remove from the fridge and scoop size 20 dough balls (3 tablespoons of cookie dough) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
7. Bake in a 350°F oven for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden and the centers are set. Let them cool on the tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Tips and tricks
- I make these cookies by hand but you can use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Just make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically to ensure everything is mixed together well. You can also use a hand mixer.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the right temperature, some run hot or cold.
- If your cookies don’t bake perfectly circular, you can use a pastry cutter to circle around them and re-shape them into circles.
- Always use a kitchen scale to get the most accurate result when baking.
- You can drizzle a sweet icing on top of these if you'd like, in a small bowl combine 1 cup of powdered sugar + a few tablespoon of whole milk, pinch of salt, and drizzle of vanilla. You can also do a touch of maple syrup to tap further into the cozy warm flavors.
Cookie scoop information
- I recommend using a cookie scoop if you want to get consistently sized cookies. They are most commonly found in sizes 20, 40 and 60. The smaller the number, the larger the cookie. For example size 20 is 3 tbsp, size 40 is 1.5 tbsp, and size 60 is 1 tbsp. I use a size 20 for this recipe.
- If you use a smaller cookie scoop (e.g., size 60), you may need to bake the cookies for less time – start checking them at 8-10 minutes.
Storage
- Store baked brown butter gingerbread oatmeal cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature.
- Freeze dough for up to 4 months in a freezer-safe container or bag.
FAQs
For sure! Use 2 teaspoon if so.
Sure! Chopped pecans or walnuts would be great.
These are not – they use typical cookie ingredients such as butter and sugar, just have the addition of oats for texture and chew.
Old fashioned oats are best because they can hold up their texture.
Their texture is too fragile so they will disintegrate a bit more.
No, you cannot - a food processor will not combine the ingredients correctly. Something like a shortbread, however, can be made in a food processor most of the time.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating and review below and tag me on social!
📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup browned butter
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk the browned butter and dark brown sugar together until well combined.
- Add the rest of the wet ingredients: egg, egg yolk, and vanilla – whisk together for one minute.
- Add the dry ingredients (except for the oats) – flour, spices, salt, and baking soda and use a spoon or rubber spatula mix together until 80% combined.
- Add the oats and fold in until everything is just fully combined.
- Chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes covered with a piece of plastic wrap.
- Remove from the fridge, let sit for 5 minutes, then scoop size 20 dough balls (3 tablespoons of cookie dough) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden and the centers are set.
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