Warm and Cozy
As much as I love the summer, one thing I do look forward to is Fall baking. Nothing beats baking when it’s chilly outside, and the aroma of warm spices in your house. Pumpkin flavored treats are obviously a must, but there’s also so many more flavors to explore outside of pumpkin that have the same sense of warmth. These Salted Date and Toffee Oatmeal Cookies are filled with caramelized flavors that will make you feel cozy inside and out. Chewy browned butter oatmeal cookies are baked with toffee pieces and dates then topped with flaky salt. These cookies are the perfect balance of sweet and salty and need to be added into you Fall baking list!
50 Shades of Brown
First things first, preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a few baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside and we’ll move onto making the browned butter. Heat a pan over medium heat and add in the unsalted butter. Melt the butter and cook until it’s bubbling and has browned to a golden color. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl and place it in the freezer. Chill the browned butter for about 40 minutes, mixing every 12-15 minutes until it develops the consistency of a soft paste. In my opinion, browned butter is a must for fall baking. Essentially what you’re doing is browning the milk solids in the butter, which makes it develop a caramelized nutty flavor. It gives baked goods more depth of flavor and warmth, making it perfect for the fall.
Toffee, Oats, and Dates
While the browned butter cools, add the all purpose flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cinnamon into a bowl. Mix with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly combined. Scrape the chilled browned butter into a large bowl. Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy and well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add in the flour mixture and gently fold it into the wet ingredients until it is about 75% mixed together. Add in the old fashioned rolled oats, toffee pieces, and dates. Continue mixing until the ingredients are evenly combined. Do not over mix.
Scoop 2½ tablespoon sized balls of dough and place them onto the parchment lined baking sheets. Space them about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and lightly browned and the center is soft. While the cookies are still hot, sprinkle flaky salt on top. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Is Out, Toffee Is In
I love these Salted Date and Oatmeal Cookies so much because I feel like they’re so untraditional yet perfect for the Fall. As I’ve been mentioning, Fall baking is all about those warm flavors and spices that make everything feel cozy. And these cookies have all of that.
There’s something so classic and old school about oatmeal cookies that already makes them feel homey. By browning the butter and adding a touch of cinnamon, it makes a classic oatmeal cookie taste even warmer. We all know that oatmeal cookies are often mixed with raisins. I’m not the biggest fan of raisins, but I do love medjool dates. Medjool dates naturally have a caramelized flavor and are even substituted for caramel as a healthier alternative. I figured they would be the perfect match for these cookies, flavor wise, and add a delicious chewiness to them as well. To layer on even more depth of flavor, I mixed in Heath toffee pieces because it has the lightest touch of chocolate and caramel flavor. So if you’re over pumpkin spice or just looking for something new, try out these Salted Date and Toffee Oatmeal Cookies!
Salted Date and Toffee Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter (cut into 1 tablespoon pieces)
- 1 ¾ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 ¼ cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 5 Heath Toffee Bars (roughly chopped)
- 1 ¼ cup Chopped Pitted Medjool Dates (about 12)
- Flaky Salt (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
- Heat a pan over medium heat and add in the unsalted butter. Melt the butter and cook until it's bubbling and has browned to a golden color. Stir occasionally. This should take about 5-8 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl and place it in the freezer. Chill the browned butter for about 40 minutes, mixing every 12-15 minutes until it develops the consistency of a soft paste.
- In the meantime, add the all purpose flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cinnamon into a bowl. Mix with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly combined.
- Scrape the chilled browned butter into a large bowl. Add in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy and well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add in the flour mixture and gently fold it into the wet ingredients until it is about 75% mixed together. Add in the old fashioned rolled oats, toffee pieces, and dates. Continue mixing until the ingredients are evenly combined. Do not over mix.
- Scoop 2½ tablespoon sized balls of dough and place them onto the parchment lined baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges are set and lightly browned and the center is soft. While the cookies are still hot, sprinkle flaky salt on top. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
