With a perfectly chewy texture and warm spice flavor, these homemade brown butter oatmeal cookies are about to become your go-to oatmeal cookie recipe. Take it a step further by sandwiching rich chocolate ganache filling between two cookies and you're in for a real treat: the best oatmeal sandwich cookie...ever!
Thank you to Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for providing product for use in this post. As always, all opinions shared on this site are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that I love and that support ALWAYS EAT DESSERT.
Hello bakers! How are you doing? I'm sending you a virtual hug and hope that you and your loved ones are home and healthy. It seems hard to imagine that just a few short weeks ago I had never even heard the phrase 'social distancing'. These are some seriously strange times, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around this new normal that is life in quarantine.
The silver lining of being holed up at home is that my house has never looked cleaner and I suddenly have extra free time to be in the kitchen. If you're in the same boat and looking for a way to pass the time, it's the perfect opportunity to tackle a new recipe you've been wanting to try or to learn a new baking skill. You know that I love a good baking tip!
That's one reason why I'm so excited to be sharing today's post in support of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla's Better Your Bake campaign. As a a family owned and operated producer of premium pure vanilla and flavor extracts, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas understands the joy and relaxation that baking brings. Best of all, they're on a mission to share step-by-step videos, baking tips, and seasonal recipes to help us bakers master key baking techniques, like how to brown butter. Which brings me to today's recipe...
These are the best oatmeal cookies ever! Yes, really! Thick oatmeal cookies with chewy texture, tons of oats, and the perfect balance of spiced flavor. This will absolutely be my new go-to oatmeal cookie recipe (and it probably deserves its own post). BUT pair these cookies with a rich and creamy whipped chocolate ganache filling, and you have a seriously epic oatmeal sandwich cookie on your hands! So yes, we're kicking these perfect-as-is brown butter oatmeal cookies up a notch, because we could all use a little something extra in our lives right now.
Let's get to it!
How to Make the Best Oatmeal Cookies from Scratch
- Use old-fashioned rolled oats. Be sure you're using the right kind of oats. Most oatmeal cookie recipes, this one included, call for old-fashioned rolled oats, which will give your cookies that perfect chewy, hearty texture. Quick oats absorb liquids differently, so they will not yield the same texture when used in baking. Therefore, I do not recommend using quick oats to bake oatmeal cookies.
- Find the perfect ratio of ingredients for the perfect cookie texture. This challenge is up to the recipe developer; as the baker, all you have to do is find the perfect recipe and follow it! The ratio of ingredients (for example, the amount of flour relative to the amount of oats) will make a huge difference in the texture of your cookies. I'm obviously biased, but this recipe gets the ratios just right, giving us perfectly-sized oatmeal cookies with hearty, chewy texture and just the right amount of spiced flavor. The balance of fats - butter, oil, and an egg (plus an extra egg yolk for added chewiness) - to flour to oats is spot on.
- Measure your ingredients properly. While we're on the subject of ingredient quantities, it's equally important that you're measuring your ingredients properly so that you're adding the right amount of each ingredient to the cookie dough. Did you know that if you're using a measuring cup to scoop your flour, you're most likely adding too much flour to your baked goods? Check out this post to make sure you're measuring your ingredients properly.
- Don't over-mix your dough. I can't emphasize this point enough. Stir your ingredients just until mixed. Extra stirring, or "muscling the dough", will leave you with tough cookies.
- Plus 2 secret ingredients make these oatmeal cookies the best EVER... (keep scrolling)
Two Secret Ingredients Make These the Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever
- Browned Butter. Browned butter makes everything better. Made by cooking butter on the stovetop past its melting point and just until the butter's milk solids become deliciously toasty and nutty, it adds an incredible depth of flavor to recipes. And please don't be intimidated... browned butter is surprisingly simple to make. Watch this step-by-step video from Nielsen-Massey Vanillas to see exactly how to brown butter.
- Nielsen-Massey Mexican pure vanilla extract. I'm a big fan of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla's premium pure vanilla extracts. Their single-origin extracts utilize vanilla beans from a particular region to provide an exceptional and nuanced vanilla flavor. The Mexican pure vanilla extract has woody and smoky notes that complement and enhance the cinnamon in the cookies and also pair perfectly with the chocolate ganache filling. If you've ever had Mexican hot chocolate, you know what I'm talking about! If necessary or if you prefer, you can certainly substitute an "all-purpose" pure vanilla extract such as Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract or Nielsen-Massey Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla extract in this recipe.
How to Assemble Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Ganache
To achieve the decorative look of the whipped chocolate ganache filling that you see in this post, you'll want to pipe the ganache onto the cookies. Fit a piping bag with your desired piping tip (I used a Wilton 1M piping tip), or simply snip the corner off the bag. Lay out the cookies, turning half of them upside-down. Pipe the whipped ganache onto the upside-down cookies in a circular pattern beginning in the center of the cookie and working outwards towards the edges (see the photo above for an example). Remember that you'll only see the edges of the ganache once the cookies are sandwiched, so don't worry to much about what it looks like! Once the whipped ganache has been piped onto half of the cookies, top them with the remaining cookies to create the oatmeal sandwich cookies.
Alternatively, if you're in a hurry or you're just here to eat some delicious oatmeal sandwich cookies and can't be bothered to pipe whipped ganache onto your cookies (I've been there, and I get it!), you can simply use a spatula or a spoon to spread the chocolate ganache onto the cookies. They'll taste just as good as you'll get to eat them even faster!
Brown Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Ganache
- Prep Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 11-13 minutes per tray
- Total Time: about 1 hour 45 minutes (does not include time for cookies to cool before assembling cookie sandwiches)
- Yield: 1 dozen cookie sandwiches (2 dozen cookies) 1x
Description
With a perfectly chewy texture and warm spice flavor, these homemade brown butter oatmeal cookies are about to become your go-to oatmeal cookie recipe. Take it a step further by sandwiching rich chocolate ganache filling between two cookies and you're in for a real treat: the best oatmeal sandwich cookie...ever!
Ingredients
for the oatmeal cookies:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 6 T unsalted butter
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅜ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. Nielsen-Massey Mexican pure vanilla extract*
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
for the chocolate ganache filling:
- 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate baking bar, finely chopped**
- 12 oz. (1 ½ cups) heavy whipping cream (or heavy cream)
Instructions
- Make the oatmeal cookies. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Brown the butter in a small, light-colored pan, stirring it frequently as it melts and then browns to ensure that it does not burn. (Watch this step-by-step video from Nielsen-Massey Vanillas to see exactly how to brown butter.) Once browned, immediately transfer the butter to a large, heat-safe bowl.
- Add both sugars and the vegetable oil to the bowl with the browned butter and whisk to combine.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and gently stir (using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula) until combined.
- Add oats one cup at a time and stir until blended.
- Scoop 1 ½ T sized balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake cookies one tray at a time for 11-13 minutes, or until cookies begin to flatten on top and are just beginning to turn golden around the edges. Let cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the chocolate ganache. Place finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
- Add cream to a small saucepan and heat just until simmering. (The cream should be just beginning to bubble and should not yet be fully simmering or boiling.)
- Pour the heated cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Let the ganache cool for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Once the ganache has cooled slightly, use a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip the ganache on medium-high speed for about one minute, until it becomes light and fluffy in texture and lighter in color.
- Assemble the sandwich cookies. Fit a piping bag with your desired piping tip (I used a Wilton 1M piping tip), or simply snip the corner off the bag. Lay out the cookies, turning half of them upside-down. Pipe the whipped ganache onto the upside-down cookies in a circular pattern beginning in the center of the cookie and working outwards towards the edges (see photo in post for an example). (Alternatively, you can use a spatula or spoon to spread the whipped ganache onto the cookies.) Once the whipped ganache has been piped onto half of the cookies, top them with the remaining cookies to create the cookie sandwiches.
Notes
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
If you'd prefer a smaller cookie, you can scoop 2 tsp. of dough per cookie and bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. This will yield approximately 30 cookie sandwiches (approximately 60 cookies).
*You can substitute an all-purpose vanilla extract such as Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract or Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla extract.
**Be sure to use a nice quality chocolate baking bar, not chocolate chips (which will not yield the proper consistency for the ganache).
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
Keywords: oatmeal cookies, chewy oatmeal cookies, oatmeal cookie sandwiches, chocolate ganache cookie sandwiches
Brenda Barrett
I made these cookies today and we love them! They were easy to make even browning the butter. Nielsen Massey’s video made that part simple. This might be my new favorite oatmeal cookie.
★★★★★
Allison
Thank you so much for your glowing review! Brown butter shouldn't be intimidating, and I'm glad you found that these cookies are easy to make.
-Allison
Victoria Biegel
I didn’t have the ingredients for the ganache so put some chocolate chips in the dough to just make the cookies, and they are DELICIOUS!! Can’t wait to make again as a cookie sandwich with the ganache!
★★★★★
Allison
I'm SO glad that you loved this recipe, Victoria! And I love that you got creative with the ingredients that you had on hand. I bet the cookies were delicious with the chocolate chips, and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you do make the cookie sandwiches with ganache.
-Allison