Good Morning! Happy new week! (And Happy New Year for some!)
I don't mean to overload you with recipes for sweets (well, yes I do…) but it is just starting to feel like fall here in New England, and it got me to baking. I am pretty excited about this recipe as it is the culmination of many years of trying to perfect the oatmeal cookie, and because it is a combination of my favorite ingredients.
I don't really like raisins. (Soapbox alert!) I am not sure why they are such a popular pairing with oatmeal, I mean, my general philosophy is that I don't really want fruit messing around in my dessert unless it is pie (yes, there are many holes in that philosophy and I reserve the right to abandon it completely for the right fruit-filled delicacy. But don't expect me to not go down kicking.) Anyhow, raisins. I don't know how they get such top billing with an oatmeal cookie! It is pretty darn difficult to find an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie out there and in my mind, it is a marriage only topped by peanut butter and well, anything.
These cookies involve browning butter (which takes more attention than skill) and a few specific ingredients that you are welcome to substitute for more-probably-in-your-pantry versions, but I wouldn't. The difference is divine and a welcome change from the ordinary. They are also a salty-oat cookie. The combination of a little extra salt and the oats and dark chocolate is magic.
I almost named these the “How Leigh Got Her Groove Back Cookies”, mostly because they involve dark chocolate and I have a healthy crush on Taye Diggs, but also because that's just where I am at these days. I feel like I am focused and in my dharma and well, I'm in my groove. It's a good feeling, and hopefully, this recipe is filled with enough of it to pass on to you!
Without further ado…
Dark Chocolate Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies
You will need:
Standard baking sheets lined with parchment
2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/4 Cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 (scant) organic sugar
2 eggs
2tbs milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp flaked sea salt (slightly ground) + more for garnish. note: you can use another coarse sea salt for this but if it is a larger granule, grind it with a mortar and pestle slightly
8-10 oz of finely chopped high-quality dark chocolate note: chopping a bar finely gives the chocolate a flaky texture and allows for some larger bits and smaller bits. These are wonderful surprises. If all you have is chips on hand, stick them in the food processor and chop them up.
2.5 Cups quick oats
*If you are feeling fancy, chopped walnuts, or hazelnuts are a wonderful addition to this recipe. Dried cherries (if you're into fruit…) are also really nice.
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Preheat Oven to 375˙ and line baking sheets with parchment.
In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Add the sugars to the bowl of your mixer and set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan with a light colored bottom, brown the butter. Here are some awesome instructions on how to brown butter. When butter is browned, pour into a metal or glass bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
When butter is cool-ish, add to sugar mixture in mixer bowl and mix on medium until combined. Continue mixing and add milk and vanilla. While mixer is running, add eggs one at a time (crack into a small bowl first to avoid shells in mixture). Mix well.
Gradually add flour mixture, mix until combined. Dough will look a little runnier than you expect.
With mixer on low, add the oats then the chocolate, hand turning in the last bits of the chocolate to avoid over mixing.
Using a mini ice cream scoop if you have one, drop generous scoops onto baking sheet (6-8 to a sheet) and sprinkle a pinch of finishing salt on top of each.
Bake for about 11 minutes. Cool on rack.
Makes about 24 large cookies
Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
xoxo
