Brown Butter Iced Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Chewy, tender and filled with pumpkin flavor, these brown butter iced pumpkin oatmeal cookies are going to be a new family favorite!

I recently rediscovered browned butter and now I’m on a full blown browned butter kick with everything from brown butter frosted apple cake to cinnamon rolls.

And if you’re new to browned butter yourself, let me tell you: You NEED this in your life.

At its core, browned butter tastes like toffee with a sweet, slightly nutty aroma.

Technically and chemically speaking, it’s drool worthy for the same reason a seared steak is delicious – A chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars known as the Maillard reaction, which gives all browned food its distinctive flavor.

And when paired with a chewy, fall-infused pumpkin oatmeal cookie, it’s all the chef’s kisses.

Prefer to watch the process?

Here’s how to make these cookies

First, make the cookie dough.

In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Stir in the room temperature egg, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree until just combined.

A note about room temperature ingredients: In order to get the right consistency of dough, one that will bake into a thin, chewy cookie rather than retain the shape you scooped onto the baking sheet, it’s important that all ingredients are room temperature. If you forgot to take the egg out in advance, you can quickly bring it to room temperature by placing it in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes.

Add the flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in the oats.

A note about the dough: The pumpkin puree in this recipe makes for a very soft dough, but don’t worry if it seems loose; It bakes up to the perfect consistency.

Second, bake your cookies.

Scoop balls of dough that are approximately three tablespoons in volume (this is the average amount a cookie scoop will produce) onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350F for 11-12 minutes, or until the cookies are no longer shiny on top.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Finally, ice the cookies.

In a small saucepan, cook the butter over low-medium heat until it browns.

Note: Butter often becomes frothy as it cooks, so you’ll want to stir it regularly so you can see the butter underneath. The butter is ready when it develops little brown flecks and smells nutty.

Immediately remove from heat and pour it into a bowl. Allow to cool about 10 minutes.

Add the powdered sugar, whisking until all lumps have dissolved. Drizzle over the cooled cookies.

Expert tips

• Bake immediately: While many kinds of cookie dough can be refrigerated prior to baking, this dough is just the right consistency at room temperature, which is why I recommend baking them immediately.
• The importance of leaving cookies on the baking sheet: The goal of taking the cookies out when they’re no longer shiny is to keep them from becoming too browned or drying out. At this point, they’ll be slightly under-cooked, and leaving them on the hot baking sheet allows them to finish cooking through without browning further.
• Doneness of browned butter: You know your butter is adequately browned when it develops brown flecks and a nutty smell.
• Salvaging overcooked browned butter: Should you overcook your butter, you can pour it through a strainer to remove the burned flecks.
• Storage: These cookies can be kept in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week or frozen (I like to individually wrap mine in plastic wrap) for up to 6 months.

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If you liked this recipe, you might also like…

• Double chocolate malted cookies
• Buttermilk pumpkin waffles
• Norwegian almond cookies (kransekakestenger)
• Pumpkin baked Alaska