Has anyone else bought a large amount of bread flour to further experimentation with breads to possibly include sourdough? Guilty over here! I’ve had a lot of fun and a lot of delicious home-baked bread, but I wanted to see if I could use bread flour with other baked goods…such as cookies. I was craving something toothsome. I wanted a cookie I could really dig my teeth into. Due to the higher gluten content in bread flour, this seemed like a modification worth investigating. In the end, I was pleased with the results, but if you didn’t stockpile bread flour like I did and prefer to use reliable AP flour your results should be similar but yield a slightly softer cookie.
Next, I wanted big comforting flavors in this cookie. Nothing too distinct, and yet everything leading up to a nice solid “yum factor”. This cookie relies on combining a few flavors to provide a well-rounded flavor profile. Notes of cinnamon, vanilla, and maple help round out the amped-up brown butter. I choose to use Kerrygold salted butter here because I think it tastes better than regular unsalted. Not sponsored (yet, Kerrygold where you at?). There is a slight degree of difficulty in browning salted butter versus unsalted, basically, it foams up quite a bit so it’s harder to tell when your butter is done, just keep stirring and watching for that caramel color. Dear goodness, it that butter sure did smell good while on my stovetop, I was tempted to just eat it as is with a spoon.
These cookies don’t need to be chilled, especially if you prefer a crunchier cookie, if you want it to be a bit softer in the middle then I suggest chilling the dough for 30-60 minutes before baking.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Brown Butter
Ingredients
- 150 g bread flour 1 1/4 cup
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 10 "zips" nutmeg use a microplane (or just a pinch or two of pre-ground)
- 1 cup salted butter
- 230 g brown sugar 1 cup
- 100 g white sugar 1/2 cup
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple extract
- 270 grams rolled oats 3 cups
- 350 grams chocolate chunks or chips 2 cups
Instructions
- In a saucepan or frying pan (preferably with a lighter colored bottom so you can see better) over medium low heat, brown your butter. This should take between 5-10 minutes. Watch it closely and stir often once the butter melts. Set butter aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (unless you plan on chilling your dough in which case do that later)
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, spices and baking soda, set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together brown butter and both sugars. Mix for about 3 minutes then add in eggs, molasses, and both extracts, mix for another 3 minutes or until well combined.
- Mix in flour, I like to do this in two parts until just combined. It’s important not to over mix. Mix in oats and chocolate chips until combined.
- Chill if desired.
- Measure about 75 grams of dough and roll into a ball. You should end up with about 16 large cookies. Place on a lined cookie sheet, about 4 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes, I recommend turning the sheet about halfway through
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack
These made great birthday cookies if I do say so myself. Perfect for a late afternoon treat or a compliment to coffee in the AM. Oatmeal cookies are one of my favorites and I found this recipe elevated the traditional oatmeal into something even better! I’d be curious how they’d hold up with raisins rather than chocolate 🙂
Ah! That’s right, you and I both like raisins! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂