Brown Butter Caramel Oatmeal Cookies

Published on December 04, 2024

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Quick Summary

Brown Butter Caramel Oatmeal Cookies are a decadent and irresistible twist on the classic oatmeal cookie. The combination of nutty brown butter, chewy oats, and rich caramel creates a cookie that’s both comforting and indulgent. You will love the gooey caramel center!

brown butter caramel oatmeal cookies with flaky sea salt.

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Why I Love This Recipe

Brown Butter: Brown butter makes everything better! It enhances the cookie’s base flavor with its nutty, caramelized undertones.
Chewy Oats: I always love a good oatmeal cookie and these oatmeal cookies are extra special! The oats provide a hearty, chewy texture that is comforting and nostalgic!
Gooey Caramel Center: The soft caramel center is SO fun! As the cookies bake, the caramel softens and becomes gooey, creating a warm, melting core that contrasts beautifully with the chewy or slightly crisp cookie exterior. When you bite into it, the caramel often oozes out, adding an extra indulgence to the experience.
Flaky Sea Salt: The glistening flakes of sea salt on top of the cookies make them extra pretty! It also provides a perfect balance of sweet and salty and amplifies all of the other flavors! The perfect finishing touch!

All of these flavors and textures come together to create an AMAZING cookie! They are perfect for a bake sale, a holiday treat, a special gift, or everyday baking! They will cure any cookie craving!

ingredients in bowls to make brown butter caramel oatmeal cookies.

Ingredient Notes

Brown Butter: Brown butter is made by gently cooking butter until the milk solids toast and brown, creating a toasty, nutty, and almost caramel-like flavor. This adds complexity to your cookies, elevating the overall taste beyond the typical buttery flavor. Don’t skip this step, it is worth it! You do have to chill this dough for at least 2 hours because of the browned butter!
Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats or instant oats.
Caramels: Make sure you use soft caramels for the center of the cookies. I like Werther’s Soft Caramels. I don’t recommend Kraft caramels because they are too hard.

brown butter on spoon from a saucepan of brown butter.

How to Make Brown Butter Caramel Oatmeal Cookies

Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring often, until it foams, smells nutty, and browns. This will take about 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the browned butter into a medium bowl. Let cool to room temperature. You can place the butter in the fridge to speed up the process, just don’t let the butter become solid. You want it to be liquid, just cooled down.

dry ingredients in mixing bowl with whisk.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

creaming butter and sugars together in mixing bowl and adding eggs and vanilla extract.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the brown butter and sugars together until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.

brown butter oatmeal cookie dough in mixing bowl.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Don’t over mix.
Use a spatula to stir in the oats.

brown butter oatmeal cookie dough wrapped around a caramel.

Scoop the dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie.
Press a soft caramel into the center of the dough ball. If the caramel is long, you can smush it to make it more of a ball shape. Cup and turn the cookie dough between your hands so that it stands tall and completely covers the bottom of the caramel and mostly covers the top but leave some of the caramel peeking out on the top.
Chill the dough balls for 2 hours (or up to 48 hours) before baking.

brown butter caramel oatmeal cookies on baking sheet with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still a little soft in the center.
Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. When they are set up, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

brown butter caramel oatmeal cookie broken in half with a caramel pull.

Storing Cookies

Store cooled cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze baked cookies. Place cooled cookies in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw before enjoying!

brown butter caramel oatmeal cookies on cooling rack.

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