This Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe makes chewy cookies that are a combination of 3 classics: chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter cookies!
On Sundays, I like to bake a batch of something sweet to send in lunches during the week. Cookies or muffins are my usual go-to. It’s my way of sending a little “Hey, mama loves you!” note to school. Top favorites in our house include these blueberry granola stackers, these applesauce oatmeal cookies, and these puerquitos (kids always get a kick out of the piggy shape). These blueberry muffins with crumb topping are another popular pick.
But this month, there’s a new player in town: these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Or, as I like to call them, Can’t Make Up My Mind Cookies.
This mash-up cookie recipe came about when I was getting ready to do my Sunday baking and asked what kind of treat everyone wanted in their lunch that week. No one could give me a straight answer and everyone wanted something different. So rather than bake 3 different kinds of cookies, I combined all my favorite recipes into one master cookie recipe to rule them all.
Is it weird that I felt like doing a mad scientist laugh when these cookies came out so wonderfully?
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These cookies are the perfect combination of the three classic recipes I mentioned above. They are:
- Chewy – Just like the best oatmeal cookies.
- Flavorful – They are bursting peanut butter flavor and studded with gooey chocolate morsels in each bite. Peanut butter and chocolate go together amazingly.
- Incredible texture – These easy cookies have a golden, crisp edge with soft centers.
In short, these cookies are pretty much everything you could want in a cookie!
Key Ingredients
You can find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but I did want to share a few notes:
- Oatmeal – Make sure you use old-fashioned oats for this recipe. Quick-cooking oats and steel-cut oats will not work.
- Brown Sugar – I used light brown sugar, but you could also use dark brown sugar. Don’t replace the brown sugar with regular sugar though. It adds a lovely caramel note and also helps make these cookies chewy.
- Peanut Butter – Use smooth, creamy peanut butter. I used Jiffy. I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter in this recipe because the texture tends to be less consistent.
- Chocolate Chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and found that was just the right amount of sweetness. You could also use bittersweet chocolate chips. I think milk chocolate chips would add too much sweetness to these cookies though.
- Can I Add Nuts? If you are a nut fan, you could add about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to this recipe.
Do I Have to Chill the Dough?
Yes, you do need to chill the cookie dough. I also recommend placing the dough back in the fridge while each batch is baking until all of the cookie dough is used.
The benefits of chilling your cookie dough:
- Chilling cookie dough helps prevent cookies from spreading. This in turn impacts the texture of your cookies. Cookies that spread too much are thinner and hence, crunchier.
- It gives the oatmeal time to absorb moisture. This ensures that you get soft oatmeal in your cookies.
- Allows the flour and egg to bind together. As the dough sits in the fridge, the liquid from the eggs will bind with the starches in the flour, breaking it down into fructose and glucose, which adds sweetness to your cookies.
- Allows flavor to develop. Chilling the dough also intensifies the flavor in your cookies because it gives all the ingredients time to marinate and form a happy partnership. 🙂
So in short, if you want chewy, flavorful cookies that hold their shape, chill the dough! I recommend at least 1 hour of chill time. You can also make this cookie dough the day before, chill it overnight, and then bake it in the morning.
- Use a mixer. This recipe makes a thick cookie dough than can be tough to mix by hand towards the end. I recommend using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Be sure to scrape down the bowl periodically.
- Measure the dough. When you are ready to bake, do your best to make sure you are using about the same amount of dough for each ball of cookie dough. This ensures that each cookie will bake in the same amount of time.
- Bake in batches. Even though these cookies don’t spread a ton, they will spread a bit during baking. Leave at least 2 inches of space between each ball of dough. On a standard-sized cookie sheet, I usually bake 5 cookies at a time.
- Don’t overbake. These cookies are done when the edges are golden. The centers will still be soft, but they will finish baking as the cookies cool. Don’t bake these cookies until the centers are completely firm or you’ll end up with crunchy cookies instead of chewy ones.
- Let them cool. When the cookies come out of the oven let them cool for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
How to Store & Freeze
Let the cookies cool to room temperature, then store them as follows:
- Counter. Store them in an airtight container or a cookie jar on the counter for up to 4 days.
- Fridge. Place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 6 days.
- Freezer. Put the cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a couple of hours when ready to eat a cookie.
This easy recipe makes chewy cookies that are a combination of 3 classics: chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter cookies!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 24-30 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup AP flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (Jiffy)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine both sugars with the butter and beat on medium high speed for about two minutes until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and mix again until just combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until just combined.
Add the dry ingredients into the stand mixer and mix until well combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything has been well incorporated.
Chill the cookie dough & preheat the oven. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least one hour. While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
Scoop the cookie dough. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge, and scoop into balls, about 2 tablespoons each. Place on the prepared cookie sheet leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie. I can usually bake five cookies at a time on a standard size baking sheet. They will spread a bit as they bake.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are golden. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. The cookies need this 10 minute resting time to finish baking. Do not over bake the cookies or they will be hard.
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Great new option for chocolate chip cookies. Different in a good way!
★★★★★
I hope you try them! They hit all the right spots. 🙂
I made this cookies over the weekend and they were so good! Perfect amount of chewiness and sweetness. It made me feel like I was eating the best chocolate chip, peanut butter and oatmeal cookie in one bite. Keep it up. More cookie recipes please!
★★★★★
I’m glad you liked them! I have more cookie recipes to share for sure!