Mama's Chewy Triple-Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy chocolate chip cookies with brown butter, three types of chocolate (milk, white and dark), chopped Heath bars (actual bars, not Bits), and toasted walnuts – these chewy chocolate chip cookies are something special. Plus the addition of finely ground oats makes these cookies wonderfully textured and chewy.

For some helpful tips before you begin, click here.

Makes 28 large cookies

INGREDIENTS:

226 g (1 cup or 2 sticks) butter
30 g (1/4 cup) powdered milk
225 g (2 1/2 cups) rolled oats
200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
220 g (1 cup) brown sugar
2 large eggs
15 ml (1 tablespoon) vanilla extract
60 ml (1/4 cup) water
240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
6 g (1 teaspoon) salt
4 g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
5 g (1 teaspoon) baking soda

126 g (3/4 cup or 3 1.5-oz bars) Hershey milk chocolate bars, grated or very finely chopped
123 g (3/4 cup or 1 4.4-oz bar) white chocolate, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
123 g (3/4 cup or 1 4.4-oz bar) dark chocolate, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
113 g (3/4 cup or 1 4-oz bar) Heath bar, chopped into 1/4″ pieces
120 g (1 cup) walnuts, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown the butter.

– Have a heat-proof bowl nearby. Set the bowl on a pot holder or kitchen towel.

Melt the butter:
– Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed, light-colored saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan every so often to heat the butter evenly.
– Continue to heat the butter, swirling the pan occasionally, as the butter begins to bubble, sputter and foam.

Add the milk powder:
– Once the sputtering has subsided a bit and the butter has become clear with the milk solids sinking to the bottom of the saucepan, stir in the powdered milk. The butter will become very foamy.

Finish browning the butter:
– Stir continuously with a silicon spatula or wooden spoon, scraping up any milk solids stuck to the bottom or sides of the saucepan, until the milk solids turn brown like the color of butterscotch and the butter smells nutty.

Don’t stop stirring your butter or walk away because if not careful, it can burn quickly.
Turn down the heat to medium or medium-low if you wish to slow down the browning.

– As soon as the butter reaches the desired butterscotch color and smells nice and nutty, pour it immediately into the heat-proof bowl.

2. Cool the butter to room temperature.

– Let the butter cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to speed up the cooling process, until the butter is thick, almost like peanut butter.
– Alternatively, refrigerate the brown butter. Stir every 5 minutes until the butter reaches a thick spreadable consistency. Do not chill solid. If the butter has hardened, let sit at room temperature until softened.

3. Grind the oatmeal. Combine the dry ingredients.

– Grind the oatmeal in a food processor into a coarse flour.
– In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

4. Combine the wet ingredients.

– In a large bowl, cream together the cooled brown butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
– Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated.
– Add the vanilla and water. Mix well.

5. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Fold in the chocolates and nuts.

– Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
– Fold in the grated Hershey bars. Then fold in the chopped white chocolate, dark chocolate, Heath bars and chopped nuts.

If easier, you can fold everything in with your hands.

6. Chill the cookie dough.

– Drop 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough onto a tray and cover with plastic wrap.

The dropped cookie dough can be placed close to one another.

– Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.

7. Preheat the oven. Prepare the baking sheets.

– When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
– Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

8. Drop and bake the cookies.

– Place the thoroughly chilled dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets at least 2-inches apart.
– Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 9 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown and the center looks dry, but is still very soft. Do not overbake.

9. Cool the cookies.

– Let cookies set for 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheets before moving them to cooling racks.
– The cookies will start off pretty soft but then will firm up a bit after cooling.

Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container.

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ABOUT THIS RECIPE

What makes this chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe unique is the incorporation of ground oats. The oats are ground until just fine enough to add great texture and chewiness to the cookies without them becoming too much like actual oatmeal cookies.

Add to the recipe brown butter, milk chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate, chopped up Heath bars and toasty chopped walnuts and you have an extraordinary chocolate chip cookie. Crispy edges, chewy centers and unbelievable flavor.

TIPS:

1) About the brown butter:

Milk powder makes brown butter even better.

– Adding milk powder to your butter while browning will intensify its flavor even more. The toasted milk solids is where the flavor is. And just a couple of tablespoons of milk powder can add enough extra toasted milk solids to really boost that flavor over the top!

Below: Brown butter before and after adding powdered milk. More milk solids equals more flavor!

*For more about browning butter, visit my page How to Brown Butter (and Make It Even Better!).

Don’t skip cooling the brown butter!

The butter must be completely cooled (not cold), thick and have a spreadable consistency. (Almost like peanut butter.) If the butter is too soft or still melted, the cookies will bake flat.

2) Grinding the oats:

Grinding oats instead of using oat flour provides better texture and chewiness to these cookies. However, if the oats are not ground enough, the cookies will be too much like actual oatmeal cookies.

Grind the oatmeal until it resembles a coarse flour.

3) Skipping the add-ins:

These cookies are loaded. If you decide you do not like any of the add-ins, replace them with an equal amount of something you do like. But do not just leave them out. If you decrease the amount of add-ins in the cookies, they may come out a bit flatter when baking.

4) Chill the dough thoroughly.

Don’t skip this step. Resting and chilling the dough will 1) help develop the cookies’ flavor 2) improve their color when baking and 3) help prevent the cookies from flattening out during baking.

5) This dough can be frozen:

– Individual balls of dough can be frozen for an hour and then placed in freezer bags.

– No need to thaw before baking. Simply bake at 350°F (176°C) for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to brown and the center looks dry, but is still very soft. Do not overbake.

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