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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Gooey chocolate marbled throughout a nutty, oaty cookie with the perfect amount of bourbon flavor – and the sprinkling of flaky sea salt is the perfect finish.
Texture: Soft, moist, and CHEWY!
Ease: Super simple – you don’t even need a mixer for this recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: It’s just so flavorful, and perfect for both the holidays as well as Father’s Day!
Infused with rich bourbon caramel notes, chewy oats, nutty rye flour, chocolate decadence, and flaky sea salt, these Bourbon Rye Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies are the most flavorful, heavenly, salty-sweet bites of indulgence you’ll ever taste.
These cookies are a new favorite in my house. And with my team. And all our family and friends. Yes, they’re truly that amazing!
My team and I experimented with this cookie recipe about 10 times before nailing the texture and flavor – and our friends and family didn’t mind one bit. Joe even proclaimed these as his new favorite cookie! He’s asked me to make these countless times since.
These bourbon cookies are great for any holiday party or potluck – and they’re the perfect unique Christmas cookie idea! Be sure to check out all my tips just below for the most amazing cookies ever.
This might be my favorite cookie now. The flavor is off the charts and the amount of bourbon is just right to not be overpowering. This recipe is a keeper for sure.
Key Recipe Ingredients
Bourbon: I tested these with Maker’s Mark bourbon. If you use a cheaper brand, keep in mind that your cookies may have a more subtle bourbon flavor once baked. Feel free to experiment with a different dark liquor if need (rum, rye, or a different whiskey should work just fine).
- If you need to skip the alcohol entirely, I recommend instead trying my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe here.
Flours: A combination of all-purpose flour and dark rye flour is crucial for the flavor and texture of these cookies. Using only all-purpose flour resulted in less flavorful & chewy cookies that dried out faster. If you can’t find dark rye flour, regular rye flour will work, too – but you can grab dark rye flour online here.
If you cannot use rye flour: Use a total of 2 cups (249 grams) all-purpose flour, and be sure to chill the cookie dough for 24 hours before baking. Skipping this chill period will result in thinner cookies with much less flavor.
Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats.
Chocolate: I prefer a combination of semisweet and bittersweet chocolate for these cookies to balance of sweetness and richness. I recommend chopping blocks of baking chocolate. Chocolate chips will work instead in a pinch.
How to Make Chewy, Flavorful Bourbon Cookies
- Weigh your ingredients. This is my #1 tip for moist, chewy cookies. Measuring by volume (using measuring cups) makes it so easy to accidentally add too much flour, resulting in cookies that are dry, tough, hard, and don’t spread nicely as they bake. I recommend using a digital kitchen scale, but if you don’t have one, use the ‘spoon and level’ method to measure your ingredients.
- Don’t reduce the sugar! Sugar does so much more beyond simply sweetening your cookies. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
- Chill the dough before baking. It’s worth the wait for thick, chewy cookies with amazing flavor, promise! Chill for at least 2 hours, but 24-48 hours is best. Skipping this step will make your cookies flatter with a much more subtle bourbon flavor. Don’t chill longer than 48 hours, as oats tend to zap moisture and will dry out your cookie dough. Learn more about chilling cookie dough here.
Can I Halve This Recipe? Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes – simply double all ingredients to yield approximately 48 cookies, or halve all ingredients to yield about 12 cookies.
Storage & Make ahead
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To keep the cookies extra soft, store them with a small tortilla or apple core!
Freeze Dough: Chill the scooped cookie dough in the fridge for 24 hours, then freeze in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking as directed in the recipe. Baking straight from frozen will result in cookies with a milder bourbon flavor and less spread (not recommended). Learn why chilling cookie dough before freezing is important here.
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (400 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (159 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (90 grams) dark rye flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (180 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks
- 4 ounces (113 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks
- Flaky sea salt, for finishing
Instructions
- In a large bowl, melt the butter. Add in the sugar and stir to combine. Let cool to just warm.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- To the cooled butter mixture, whisk in the egg, egg yolk, bourbon, and vanilla until very well combined. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until just combined. With a rubber spatula, stir in the oats and nearly all of the chocolate chunks, setting aside about ⅓ cup (50 grams) to garnish the cookie dough balls. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.*
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a spoon or large spring-loaded scoop, drop 3-tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet, spacing at least 3 inches apart. Press a few chocolate chunks into the top of each dough ball.
- Bake for about 12 to 13 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let the cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Photos by Joanie Simon.
These were delicious and so easy to make. I made them as Christmas gifts for friends and received a lot of compliments. I will be using them again!
This might be my favorite cookie now. The flavor is off the charts and the amount of bourbon is just right to not be overpowering. This recipe is a keeper for sure.
Love the flavor twist on a delicious chocolate chip cookie! They were a hit on the Christmas cookie tray, and I think they’re my son-in-law’s new fave.
Lovely chewiness from the Oatmeal. Great hint of bitterness from the chocolates.
Nice and easy to make. They freeze well.
Made a batch for Christmas this year.
Yummy, sophisticated treat.
Hello! I made the Bourbon Rye Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies with only one substitution – Old Overholt Rye Whiskey instead of Makers Mark. Old Overholt Rye Whisky has notes of cinnamon and vanilla. These cookies are just as described – very flavorful!
They are packed with chunks of gooey chocolate and oats. We let them cool off for about five minutes, and they were perfectly chewy. None lasted long enough to see how they would set up after cooling off. I used a mixer this time. Next time, I’ll skip the mixer as the melted butter makes it so easy to stir the ingredients together. This is a new favorite!
My family approves – no photos were taken as they disappeared too quickly! Five stars!
These came out so great I need to immedetly make a second batch! I recommend doubling it to begin with as the larger size of the cookie gives you fewer cookies. And you will want more, they will go fast!
Start with a double batch and keep some dough balls in the freezer. These cookies are THAT GOOD. I’ve never had so many different people (including professional foodies) rave about a cookie and ask for the recipe. It’s bakery level. I don’t drink Bourbon but absolutely love it in this cookie. Don’t skimp. Go for a quality brand you would drink on the rocks etc. the subtle flavor adds an incredible flavor complexity that screams “these are not basic chocolate chip cookies.” Use good quality for the chocolate chunks (don’t be tempted to use chips).
I notice that this recipe, and many of your others, calls for egg(s) plus an egg yolk. Why the egg yolk and not another whole egg? What happens if you don’t add the extra yolk? What happens if you use an extra egg instead of just the yolk?
I made this recipe, following all the instructions, using the recommended ingredients, and even weighed everything. I put them in the fridge for 24 hours and now they are in my freezer. I’m waiting for my son to come over so I can bake them as he enjoys bourbon. I can’t wait to taste these!
I greatly enjoy your website, blog, etc. and have learned a great deal. I live in the Phoenix area and appreciate the extra challenges that come with living in the dry, hot desert when it comes to baking. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Hi, Holly! I hope you love the cookies, let me know how your son enjoys them 🙂 The extra egg yolk adds more richness to the dough which can help make for a more moist and chewy recipe. The whites tend to make cookies more cakey and can convey that ‘eggy’ flavor more strongly, so that’s why I prefer only the additional yolk. Hope that answers your question!
I thawed and baked them yesterday. My son and his best friend were here to sample the cookies. I don’t know what I did wrong but we couldn’t even taste the bourbon and they weren’t that impressed. They also seemed a bit dry. Maybe I didn’t wrap them sufficiently when they were in the refridgerator. Or perhaps I overbaked them as I have a convection oven and had to convert the baking temperature and timing. I might try them again using a little more bourbon, wrap them better while they chill, and not freeze them. I wish I could provide a more glowing review.
I brought these to a Christmas party and they were an absolute HIT! They were so good and had such a rich and chocolately flavor.
I made these with only half the amount of sugar. I know, I know, I am not supposed to do that, but they were so delicious! My husband (a whisky lover), declared them his new favorite, even better than chocolate chip cookies and that means a lot!
Since I used less sugar, I had to press them down before baking as they didn’t spread as much. Will be definitely making them again. Husband already ordered Bourbon to make them again 😉
Amazing cookie! I love the flavors.
I typically make smaller cookies (medium scoop) as I prefer a smaller bite but these definitely needed to large scoop with all those chocolate chunks in there. They baked up so beautifully.
I was surprised how easy it was to find Dark Rye Flour locally – I will definitely be baking these again.
Yay, Robin! I’m thrilled you liked the recipe. Your cookies are beautiful! And yes – dark rye flour is pretty easy for me to find as well luckily 🙂
I don’t have rye flour, is there a substitute?
Hey Ken! Tessa shares why she prefers rye flour + instructions for substituting in our baking tip section just above the recipe here. Let us know what you think if you give the recipe a try!