These delicious and easy cookies are the perfect combination of two of the best desserts in the world – oat cookies and Crème Brûlée. Made with a chunky, chewy oat cookie base, topped with a silky smooth homemade custard, and finished with a crackling sugar brûlée, these cookies will surely be an absolute show stopper. Did I mention that they’re deliciously easy to make?
Okay, hear me out. I absolutely love the concept of Crème Brûlée. I have always loved custard since I was a little kid, so a smooth, silky custard topped with crunchy, crisp sugar? That’s right up my alley. But sometimes, I find it a little…bland? Don’t get me wrong, its simplicity makes it amazing, but sometimes, you want something a little more. A little more texture, a little more flavor.
I have been seeing Crème Brûlée doughnuts all over, and I LOVE that idea. Then I thought, why not turn it into a cookie? And here we are, with the perfect, flavorful, chunky, chewy Crème Brûlée cookie that will have you addicted.
Let’s get into the details of the cookie.
The Oat Cookie Base
Because the custard is soft and silky, I wanted a strong cookie with a good texture to pair with it. Definitely something stronger, chewier, and tastier than a regular sugar cookie base. That’s when I thought of making an oat cookie because they are chewier and tastier than a regular cookie. The addition of brown sugar enhances the flavor of the cookie even more and makes it an even better pairing with the sweet custard.
The best part? The recipe is super simple to follow and has a very short 30-min chilling time. While the cookie chills, you can prepare your custard and have the cookie ready quickly.
The batter starts like any other cookie recipe by creaming softened butter with both brown and white sugar. You want to ensure that the butter is at room temperature during this process because when softened butter is whipped with sugar, it creates air pockets that rise while baking, creating a thicker, chewier cookie.
Learn more about butter in baking with my full guide.
Then, add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined. After that, you will add all the dry ingredients into the batter – flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and some salt.
Finally, add the rolled oats and lightly mix until the batter is well combined and thick. After this, you can set it in the fridge for 30 minutes. I recommend using whole rolled oats instead of instant ones for a chewier cookie.
Once the cookie has chilled, roll out equally-sized dough balls. You can either use a cookie scoop or weigh out the cookie dough and form the balls. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking tray, leaving enough space between each cookie to let them spread evenly.
When the cookies come out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter or jar cover to shape them to make them perfectly round.
Love cookies as much as I do? Check out some of my top cookie recipes.
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
- Cinnamon Brown Butter Cookie Recipe
- Red Velvet Cookies With Cream Cheese Recipe
- Jam-Filled Doughnut Cookie Recipe
The Custard Topping
Now for the beautiful, silky soft custard topping. Traditionally known as Pastry Cream or Creme Patisserie, the custard topping is made with 4 simple ingredients – milk, vanilla, egg yolks, corn flour, and caster sugar.
The technique is simple but just needs a little bit of attention and patience.
The first step to making the custard is boiling milk and vanilla in a saucepan. If you can, I recommend adding vanilla pods instead of essence to enhance the flavor of the custard. As the milk boils, whisk together the egg yolks with the corn flour and caster sugar until they’re pale and creamy.
After this, you have to ‘temper’ the eggs, which means introducing some heat into the eggs before cooking them over the stove so that they don’t scramble when cooked on high heat. To temper the eggs, pour half of the boiling milk mixture over the egg yolk mixture while whisking continuously. The eggs have been introduced to some heat at this step,
Now transfer the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the boiling milk, and start whisking continuously. The whisking stops the eggs from scrambling, so make sure you don’t stop until the custard is fully cooked.
As the custard cooks, it will start to thicken because of the corn flour. Cook until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3-5 minutes. Then take it off the stove, add the butter, and whisk until it’s fully combined. Now you must let the custard chill until it thickens properly, for about 1-2 hours. Make sure to cover the custard properly while chilling with the cling film placed directly on the surface of the custard; this will stop a milk film from forming on top of the custard.
Once the custard and cookie both have cooled down, pipe a thick layer of the custard on top of the cookie, then sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar on top of the custard and blow torch it until it caramelizes and sets to form a hard shell. Do this just before serving as the sugar shell softens with time.
Fire Hazard Warning! Please don’t be stupid like me and brûlée the cookies over baking paper because, yes, the paper will catch fire 😂
Ready to make the most delicious cookies? Let’s get started!
Crème Brûlée Oat Cookies
Equipment
- Electric or stand mixer
- Baking tray
- Saucepan
- Blow torch
Ingredients
Oat Cookies
- 115 gs unsalted butter, softened
- 100 gs brown sugar
- 25 gs white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 90 gs all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 125 gs rolled oats
Custard/Pastry Cream
- 50 gs egg yolks
- 60 gs caster sugar
- 25 gs cornflour/cornstarch
- 250 ml full-fat milk
- 1 tsp vanilla essence or vanilla pod
- 25 gs unsalted butter
Instructions
Oat Cookies
- In a bowl, add the room temperature butter and both brown and white sugar and cream them together (whisk on high speed) until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined.
- Next, add the dry ingredients into the batter – flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until it forms a thick dough.
- Lastly, add the oats and whisk until just combined. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius, then form cookie dough balls using an ice cream scoop. Place the cookie dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving enough space between each cookie as they will spread while baking. Bake the cookies until the sides are set, but the center is still soft, about 12 minutes. Let the cookie cool down before topping it with custard.
Custard/Pastry Cream
- Bring the milk and vanilla to a boil in a saucepan on medium heat. While that boils, whisk the egg yolks, caster sugar, and corn flour in a separate bowl until they're pale and creamy.
- Once the milk starts boiling, temper the egg mixture by adding half of it to the egg yolk mix and whisking it continuously. This introduces eggs to some heat before they are transferred to the saucepan, reducing the chances of them scrambling over heat.
- Transfer the egg yolk and milk mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture on medium heat. Keep whisking continuously until the custard starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Once the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, remove it from the heat, add the butter, and whisk until properly combined. Transfer the custard into a bowl and cover it with cling film, making sure that it directly touches the surface to avoid a milk film forming on top. Let it chill for at least 1 hour before topping it on the cookie.
- Add a thick layer of the cooled and thickened custard on top of the cookie, sprinkle it with 1 tsp sugar and blow torch it until it caramelizes and hardens. Serve immediately as the sugar shell softens with time.
Notes
- Use rolled oats instead of instead oats for a chewy cookie.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 mins to make chunkier, thicker cookies.
- While making the custard, make sure to continuously whisk the mixture to stop the eggs from scrambling.
- Let the custard chill for at least an hour before using it as it thickens over time.
- Be careful while doing the brûlée and keep it away from any flammable items like paper.
And that’s how you make these delicious Crème Brûlée cookies which are about to become your favorite cookies ever.
If you like this recipe, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments. And, of course, share it with me on Instagram!
Until next time.
