Salted Maple Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jump to Recipe·5 from 1 review

These maple oatmeal chocolate chip cookies feature a rich, nutty maple flavor, a perfectly crisp texture, and a delicious salty finish to balance the sweetness.

As I write this post, it's sugaring season (mid-March) in Vermont. That's when maple syrup producers collect the sap from their maple trees and boil it down into the syrup we all love. Of course, that's an incredibly simplified explanation of the process.

Jump to:

🍁 Why I love these oatmeal cookies
🍫 Ingredients
🧂 Substitutions & Variations
🥣 Instructions
✨ Helpful Tips
🍳 Equipment
🥡 Storage
🙋🏻‍♂️ FAQ
☕ Pairing
📖 Recipe
🍪 Related Recipes
💬 Comments

But it's always an exciting time of year with spring on the horizon. It's a muddy season, and not the prettiest, but it's a fun time, especially when visiting a sugarhouse during Vermont's Maple Open House Weekend.

🍁 Why I love these oatmeal cookies

They're crispy, not soft. The best cookies are crispy, in my opinion. The other maple oatmeal cookie recipes I found are for soft cookies, and I wanted to make a crispy cookie recipe, even though maple syrup is used as the sweetener.
Maple syrup is the only sweetener. Other recipes include maple syrup, but often add brown and granulated sugar. Why? Additional sweeteners are unnecessary when maple is a key component of the recipe.
They have a deep, rich flavor. Thanks to dark maple syrup, toasted pecans, and browned butter, I wanted to create a more complex character for these cookies compared to many cookies, which are single-note and frankly, boring.

Oddly enough, my blog doesn't have many maple recipes. I'll have to work on that because I use maple syrup in my cooking and baking all the time. However, I have created several maple recipes for my friends at Baird Farm in nearby Chittenden, Vermont.

This cookie recipe was actually inspired by the Maple Birch Chocolate Cookie recipe I made for them. That one is a soft cookie, and their birch bark infused maple syrup makes it extra unique. You may also like the Cinnamon Maple Tart, Roasted Maple Spruce Nuts, and Maple and Herb Cornbread.

🍫 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make these maple oatmeal cookies.

Key Ingredients

Maple syrup: I live in Vermont, the country's largest producer of maple syrup, so I always use Vermont maple syrup. I prefer the grades known as "dark color with robust taste" or "very dark color with strong taste." A stronger-flavored maple syrup will stand out in these cookies, while the lighter flavors won't produce as noticeable a maple flavor.
Rolled oats: Whole rolled oats, sometimes referred to as old-fashioned oats, are the best choice for these cookies. Chopped or quick oats don't create that classic oatmeal cookie texture.
Chocolate: You can use either chocolate chunks or chips and either dark or milk chocolate. It doesn't make much difference and is up to personal preference. If you like to chop up a chocolate bar, that's great too. I'm a big fan of the Belgium dark chocolate chunks from Aldi and that's what I used for the photos.
Unsalted butter: You'll need two sticks of butter, which you will melt and gently cook until browned to create flavorful brown butter.
All-purpose and wheat flour: I like to use half all-purpose and half wheat flour to give the cookies a nutty, deep flavor.
Chopped pecans: I love the combo of pecans, oats, and chocolate in these cookies. But you can always leave these out or use walnuts instead.

Check out the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and quantities.

🧂 Substitutions & Variations

Raisins: Swap the chocolate chips/chunks out for 1 cup of raisins.
Salt: If you don't like the salty and sweet combo or are watching your sodium intake, skip the flaky salt topping.
In a hurry: You can forgo browning the butter and simply melt it instead. You'll save about 10 minutes but lose some flavor. Not worth it, in my opinion.
Smaller cookies: These are large, bakery-sized cookies. If you want smaller ones, that's fine. Use two tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie and bake for about 10 minutes.

🥣 Instructions

How to make these maple oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the chopped pecans on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Combine the flours, oats, baking soda, and kosher salt in a large bowl.

Step 3: Melt the butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. Continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, until the butter has foamed, become fragrant, and browned. Keep an eye on it as it cooks and stir often to avoid burning.

maple syrup being poured into a pot of browned butter

Step 4: Remove the butter from the stove and stir in the maple syrup and vanilla.

browned butter being poured into dry ingredients

Step 5: Pour the browned butter mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.

Step 6: Add in the egg yolk and toasted pecans. Stir to combine.

chocolate chips being added to the cookie dough

Step 7: Let the dough chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Then stir in the chocolate.

cookie dough being scooped onto a baking sheet

Step 8: Scoop the cookie dough out onto two parchment-lined baking sheets.

Step 9: Sprinkle the cookies with the flaky salt and flatten them out a little, if you prefer. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.

Step 10: Sprinkle with additional salt, if you like. Then allow the cookies to cool for 15 minutes in the pans to firm up before serving.

✨ Helpful Tips

If you want visible chocolate chunks on top of the cookies, mix half the chocolate into the batter as described and press the other half into the top of the cookies before baking.
You can chill the dough up to 48 hours before baking. This is said to improve the flavor of cookies in general, but I haven't tried it myself.
Let the cookies cool completely before storing. Storing while still warm will prevent the cookies from remaining crisp.

🍳 Equipment

Cookie scoop: A cookie scoop with a release will help you quickly portion and scoop out the dough onto your baking sheet. I like large cookies and use this ¼-cup scoop from King Arthur.
Baking sheet: Two baking sheets should fit all cookies so you can bake them in one round.

🥡 Storage

After completely cooling, store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days. For me, though, they don't last more than 3 days. Like any other baked good, the taste and texture decline over time.

🙋🏻‍♂️ FAQ

Can you use maple syrup instead of sugar in cookies?

You can use maple syrup instead of sugar in cookies but the recipe needs to formulated for it. You can't simply substitute the syrup for the sugar in any recipe. The dough will likely turn out too soft.

Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats for cookies?

You could, but I don't see the point. Quick oats are rolled oats run through a food processor to cut them up into small pieces. Because these pieces are smaller, they won't provide much texture to the cookies, which is one of the best features of an oatmeal cookie.

How do you know when oatmeal cookies are done?

They should be mostly firm to the touch, golden around the edges, and lightly brown on the bottom.

Are oatmeal cookies actually healthy?

I think most people would agree that a cookie isn't all that healthy, even with oats added in. See the nutrition information below the cookie recipe to decide for yourself if this is a healthy choice for you.