Oatmeal cookies are sometimes considered the milquetoast of the dessert world. And honestly, it’s an earned reputation. Bad oatmeal cookies are the homely cousin at the dessert table, the ones left to languish, dry and crumbly, on paper plates at company potlucks and school bake sales. They can be bland, pasty, and characterless.
Lucky for you, I don’t allow those flavors in my kitchen. These Chewy High Altitude Oatmeal Pecan Cookies are the rock stars of their genre. Moist and dense, thick and lofty, they’re full of nutty, spicy flavor.
One of my secret weapons is browned butter, created by melting two sticks of salted butter until the solids get toasty and golden. The key is to then re-solidify the butter, and whip it until fluffy with caramel-ly sugar.
A second is a trio of spices – cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom – which deeply infuse the dough with a zinginess that perfectly complements that nutty, buttery flavor. (Pro tip: I highly recommend grinding your own cardamom if you can. It improves the flavor vastly).
Rolled oats (not old-fashioned, which are too tough) give the dough a nice body and heartiness with a clean, sweet flavor and satisfying chew.
And then there are chopped, toasted pecans, which I think just go with oats. I made a batch without them and they were good, but jut not as … sexy? If you’re nut-free, by all means leave them out, but I highly recommend keeping them if you can. Sexier is always better.
I added some chopped dark chocolate, too, because why not? You could also throw in some raisins if you’re a fan, or white chocolate chips, or pretty much anything else that calls to you.
This dough comes together in a flash, and it’s sturdy and easy to work with, so you can choose your cookie size: average two-bite cookies or large, bakery-style behemoths. They don’t spread much, so for a flatter, more uniform cookie, press them down a bit before baking. Otherwise they’ll stay round and domed.
They bake up fast and remain nice and thick, with a thin crispy exterior and a dense, chewy center.
I sent the leftovers from this batch to school with my son, and when he came home, he said, “MOM. Your cookies were a hit. Everyone was saying these are the best cookies, like, ever.” Which, even accounting for teenage hyperbole, I took as high praise, because in my experience, if teenagers don’t like something, it doesn’t really occur to them to lie politely. They will be brutally honest about anything food-related. So when I get a thumbs up from Jacob’s pals? Good sign.
And hey, there just so happens to be a bake sale at school this weekend. Move over, brownies. We’re bringing sexy back.
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Chewy High Altitude Oatmeal Pecan Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 mins (plus chilling time for brown butter)
- Cook Time: 12-15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins (plus butter prep time)
- Yield: 36–40 2-inch cookies 1x
- Category: cookies
Description
Nutty and caramelly, these Chewy High Altitude Oatmeal Pecan Cookies are rich with brown butter, savory pecans, and luscious spices.
Ingredients
2 sticks (8 oz) salted butter
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (freshly-ground if possible)
3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla extract (not imitation)
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted (optional)
1 cup chopped chocolate, raisins, dried fruit, or other add-ins (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the brown butter in advance: In a medium saucepan or skillet, melt butter until foamy and continue to cook, watching carefully, until the solids begin to turn brown and butter begins to smell nutty. Remove from heat, pour into a heat-safe bowl, and place in fridge to re-solidify. This can take a few hours, so feel free to prepare the day before. Prior to baking, remove butter from fridge and allow to soften slightly.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (how long this takes depends on the consistency of your butter; softer butter takes less time). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. Add oats. When those are incorporated, stir in nuts and/or add-ins, if using.
Using a cookie scoop or large spoon, drop dough on prepared baking sheets. For standard two-inch cookies, use a medium scoop. For large bakery-size cookies use quarter-cup dollops. This is a sturdy dough that doesn’t spread much, so for aesthetically pleasing, uniform cookies, flatten the tops of the dough mounds slightly. Leave about one inch in between cookies.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until edges are just beginning to brown and centers look slightly undone. Cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a baking rack to cool fully. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
… Although it greatly contributes to flavor, browning butter is not absolutely necessary. If you’re pressed for time, feel free to use plain salted room-temperature butter.
… If at all possible, grind your own cardamom seeds. The flavor is vastly better than what you get in the dusty bottles from the grocery store.
Guess what I’m baking this afternoon!!!!
These are delicious and perfect at 9300 ft. Thank you for the recipe, Robyn! I was too lazy to brown the butter but I’ll try it next time : )
I think you’ll really love the brown butter – it just deepens all those toasty flavors.
Made these for my husband and he absolutely loved them