Oatmeal girlies unite. Because these small batch oatmeal cookies are the absolute best! They are soft, chewy, and have a combination of brown butter and brown sugar for a toffee-like sweetness. No-chill, one-bowl, and you'll end up with just 6 stunning cookies.
Listen, friends. The world is weird right now. Listening to the news makes me question my sanity. And so please don't judge me when I tell you this. The other night, I baked up these oatmeal cookies and ate almost the entire batch while I watched Bob's Burgers reruns. It was a 10/10 night.
Rage baking has been my personal form of self-care ever since I was a student in pastry school. Nothing gets out the frustration quite like whisking the hell out of some butter and sugar for small batch brownies. Or smacking a pan to get perfect crinkle tops on small batch chocolate chip cookies.
But these oatmeal cookies are my personal go-to because I literally always have the ingredients on hand. And I know, they look unassuming. But these cookies are ridiculously good. Even my friends who don't like oatmeal cookies like this recipe. Grab a stick of butter and let's take out some of our frustrations, amen.
Quick vs. old fashioned oats
A lot of oatmeal cookie recipes call for quick oats, which will totally work in this recipe. But personally, I like old fashioned oats because they have more texture! They give these cookies a nice oat-y crunch which I'm all about. Use whatever you have though. You'll also need unsalted butter, light or dark brown sugar, an egg yolk, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and Kosher salt.
How to brown the butter
Since we're not using very much butter in this recipe, it will brown quickly! Keep a close eye so it doesn't burn.
Bake the cookies
The key to cookies that are nice and chewy is to under-bake them just a little. The cookies will have a rim that is set and golden-brown with a slightly under-baked center. Don't worry, they'll keep baking on the pan as they cool!
Freeze the dough
What I love about this cookie dough is that you can freeze it and bake it whenever. No need to defrost or anything, just add 1-2 minutes to the bake time!
To freeze the dough, scoop it into balls, place it on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and freeze until solid, 1-2 hours. Pop the cookie dough balls in a parchment-lined zipper bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the baked cookies. Just place them in a zipper bag or airtight container lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2-3 months.
Storing leftover cookies
Place leftover cookies in an airtight container and store them at room temp for up to 2 days. They start to get hard after 2 days, so they're best fresh!
When it comes to small batch baking, I always recommend using a scale to measure the ingredients. Just a small amount of flour can make or break an entire recipe. But if you don't have a scale, use the fluff, spoon, & level method to measure flour, cocoa, & other dry ingredients. Here is a whole guide on how I measure ingredients for small batch baking!
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Easy, Chewy Small Batch Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
- 1 sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- #20 cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 60 grams unsalted butter (¼ cup)
- 76 grams brown sugar, dark or light (6 Tablespoons, packed)
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 40 grams all-purpose flour (⅓ cup)
- 5 grams cornstarch (½ Tablespoon)
- 50 grams old fashioned oats (scant ½ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Bring it to a gentle simmer. It will foam up a bit. Cook the butter, swirling the pan often, until the butter smells nutty and has brown bits at the bottom, about 5-7 minutes. Pour the butter into a medium mixing bowl and let it cool slightly.
- Then, add the brown sugar to the brown butter and whisk until well-combined. The mixture will be grainy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Whisk until the mixture is thickened and fluffy, another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, old fashioned oats, baking soda, and salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture just until the dough is well-combined and there are no more streaks of flour. Don't over-mix!
- Using a #20 cookie scoop (3 Tablespoons), divide the dough into 6 large balls of dough. Roll each ball of dough and place the cookies about 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops are a just bit underdone. Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think!