There’s so much to love in these candy filled oatmeal Gluten Free Browned Butter Monster Cookies. The combination of white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and butterscotch morsels in more than your taste buds can handle!
I am sitting here completely alone, enjoying ever second of a quiet house with absolutely no distractions or requests at the moment. I almost don’t know what to do with myself. Almost.
I wore the girls and Ben out after a 6 hour beach day chasing the sun. Everyone is cozily sleeping in their beds while I sit here vegging at the computer.
Braelyn had some sort of teacher training day, so she was off from school. Party hardy! Except for when I told Emry that Braelyn was on “vacation” today, she was stumped as to why we weren’t jumping on an airplane or heading to some island resort for a staycation. She was a bit disappointed by our classification of “vacation”.
Anyway, we started out at a little beach called Cockroaches that can be a perfect surf spot. Don’t ask me why the name; I swear there are no cockroaches there. After adventuring in the tide pools and a short 30 minute surf session, it started pouring. So, we scrambled to the car and met Ben back at our local beach where the sun was peeking out.
Ummm…I mean, Ben was working all day long. Yeah, that’s what I meant. He most definitely did not meet us at the beach around noon today. That would be absurd.
Amidst the “vog” (Hawaiian fog; not quite cloudy, but not quite clear skies), we hung out on the shore for a good four hours or so playing in the sand, watching tourists attempt to take perfect selfies, climbing stumps, and dipping in the ocean. We did it all.
When we were done we emptied sand out of our bags, shook our towels off, gathered our things, showered clean, and headed to the car for our drive home. And then comes the question that irks me the most. The question my kids ask Every. Single. Day.
“Now what are we gonna do???”
WHAT DID YOU SAY?????!!!!!!!!!!!!
The things my children do on a daily basis are things that other children only dream of doing once in their lifetime. They play at the beach, swim at the pool, hunt for seashells, hike up mountains, search for sea turtles, build sand castles, you name it. They do everything! Yet they still ask for more, as if their lives are ordinary.
And, when they aren’t free playing in paradise, this crazy mama right here has signed them up for each and every free rec class I can fit in my schedule…plus dance and gymnastics, which I actually pay for.
We do basketball and gymnastics on Mondays, art class and track practice (for me) on Tuesdays, t-ball, Japanese and gymnastics on Wednesdays, dance on Thursdays, indoor soccer on Fridays, and regular soccer and swimming on Saturdays.
Hmmm…as I’m typing this out, I’m realizing a little more just how crazy I sound. Why did I sign up for all of these???! Literally, we are doing EVERYTHING!
I may have subconsciously been taking my over scheduling of activities out on these Gluten Free Browned Butter Monster Cookies. Because, you guys, these cookies have EVERYTHING, but in a good way. A very, very, VERY good way.
I don’t even know why a monster cookie is called a monster cookie. But regardless, these cookies fit the definition of monster cookie. They are chalk full of scrumptious mix-ins like white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, mini M&M’s, and chopped pecans. You can really add whatever you want, but this flavor combo was calling my name.
Some other mix-in ideas are sweetened coconut flakes, chopped peanuts, raisins, or toffee bits. The sky is the limit.
Not only do you get tons of flavor and texture from the different mix-ins, but these cookies are filled with chewy bits of old fashioned rolled oats. Yes, thick old fashioned rolled oats. None of that instant oats business. Those bake too fast, absorb all the gooeiness/chewiness of the cookie, and throw off the texture. Trust me, I’ve made that baking mistake before. I prefer to use Bob’s Red Mill brand gluten free old fashioned rolled oats. They work perfectly.
Oh, and did I mention browned butter??? How could I not mention the browned butter???!
Browned butter = heaven. I’m telling you, the flavor from browning your butter just sky rockets these monster cookies into Crazyville where apparently I am living. They are so dang good! I should brown my butter for everything. There’s that theme that is my life again: EVERYTHING.
These cookies are also fairly easy to whip up seeing as how I use a pre-made gluten free flour mix. I opted for Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour in these cookies since that mix tends to bind really well. I don’t mind using a good binding all purpose flour for cookies or brownies because they’re supposed to be chewy. I’m sure other brands that you prefer would give similar results, but I can only vouch for Cup 4 Cup with certainty in this recipe.
So here’s free my advice for you: pick one day, any day, and limit your activities. Stay home, relax, and do nothing…or at least bake some everything cookies and say you did everything. Your rested spirit will thank you.
- 12 tablespoons butter (1½ sticks)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup Cup 4 Cup gluten free flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2½ cups old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
- ⅓ cup white chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup butterscotch chips
- ⅓ cup mini M&M's candy pieces
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until butter is amber brown. Pour into a heat safe bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes until cooled to touch.
- Pour browned butter into a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs. Cream together, scraping sides as needed, until smooth. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix until well incorporated. Beat for an additional minute.
- Add in oats, white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, mini M&M's, and pecan pieces. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
- Cover dough and chill for 1-2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop walnut sized scoops of dough 2" apart on baking pan and bake, one pan at a time, for 9-11 minutes or until edges are set and cookies are browning.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for at least 5 mins and then transfer to cooling racks to continue cooling.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in fridge for up to 1 week, or in freezer for up to 3 months.
