These chocolate walnut oatmeal cookies come together so quickly in one bowl, you can pop a batch in the oven and let them bake while you're eating dinner and have them ready to enjoy for dessert.
Using browned butter instead of regular butter makes these cookies nice and crunchy around the edges and adds a rich, nutty flavor. And the brown sugar keeps the cookies super chewy in the middle.
I always use this vanilla bean paste in my baking. I rarely never use the extract anymore. It's not cheap, but it does go a long way and I think the flavor is so much better than the extract. And it is more shelf-stable than vanilla beans which dry out pretty quickly.
And don't neglect the sprinkle of finishing salt when the cookies come out of oven - that salty sweet taste on your tongue is part of what makes these cookies so special!
Once you brown the butter, the rest of the dough gets mixed by hand in a mixing bowl, for minimum clean-up and maximum ease.
This is a great recipe for fall when your egg production has fallen off a bit, because it only calls for one egg!
And it's a great basic cookie recipe that you can modify easily by swapping in white chocolate for the chips, using pecans instead of walnuts, or even adding coconut flakes.
(scroll down for the printable recipe card)
Chocolate Walnut Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling, like Saltverk
Preheat the oven to 350F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone sheets.
Add the butter to a medium skillet over a medium flame, and heat until the butter melts and begins to brown on the bottom, stirring occasionally. about 3 or 4 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and let cool while you whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
Pour the browned butter into a large mixing bowl, scraping the pan with a rubber spatula to get all browned bits.
Whisk in the brown sugar, egg and vanilla, and mix until smooth and there are no lumps. Stir in the flour mixture, oats, chocolate and walnuts.
Scoop the dough out onto the parchment-lined baking sheets using a rounded tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop, and set them 2 inches apart. Press down slightly on each ball to flatten it.
Bake the cookies until the edges are set and just slightly starting to brown, about 11 minutes.
Remove the cookies, sprinkle with the flaked sea salt, and let them cool on the sheets for a few minutes, then use a spatula to move them to wire racks.
Enjoy slightly warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
