Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I had an epiphany: oatmeal and peanut butter are a dessert combo made from heaven. Each makes a wonderful cookie, but together they make the perfect duet! Like cue cookie angels singing with a good harp.

To be fair, I haven’t met a cookie I don’t like, but there’s something particularly warm and homey about these cookies. It has to be the soft, chewy texture of the oats paired with the salty, nutty peanut butter. passed out! With simple ingredients and just a few steps, this recipe is put together in no time.

3 main ingredients

These cookies bake nice and thick without being too dense. There are three main ingredients that help with this:

• oatmeal: To get an extra chewy texture, old-fashioned oatmeal emerged as the winner for this recipe. They are thicker than quick-cooking rolled oats, making the cookie chewy overall. This recipe calls for heaps of old-fashioned oatmeal, 3 1/2 cups!
• sugar: These cookies only require one type of sugar – light brown sugar (cheers to ease!). I think it makes a wetter and thicker cookie than granulated sugar. I also love how the brown sugar pairs with the nutty, salty flavor of the peanut butter.
• peanut butterNOTE: The best peanut butter for these cookies is regular smooth peanut butter, not the all-natural kind. All-natural peanut butter causes the cookies to over-spread, resulting in a flat, crunchy cookie. It can also get crumbly. Any brand of smooth peanut butter will do, as long as it’s not labeled as all-natural.

My tips for baking cookies

Here are some things to keep in mind when baking these cookies:

Room temperature butter is best: The butter should be neither cold nor warm. Cool or room temperature is best. If the butter is too cold, it will be difficult to foam and incorporate the ingredients properly. If the butter is too warm, the cookie will spread too much in the oven. Aim for 64°F to 68°F.

The idea of ​​using a thermometer for cookies sounds terrible? Pick up the butter. It should be soft but still hold its shape.

Unsalted butter works best: Make sure it’s unsalted butter unless you’re really, really fond of salt. I do not recommend salted butter for this recipe. Continue with the salted butter if necessary, but omit the salt.

weigh flour: If you don’t have a kitchen scale, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Once the flour is just above the rim of the measuring cup, use the back of a knife to scrape off any excess flour.

The flour will thicken up when scooped with a measuring cup – you will end up with too much flour. Measuring the flour right is the difference between dense, dry cookies and wonderfully moist and chewy cookies.

Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl: Stop the mixer while beating the batter and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to mix the batter properly. If I don’t do this, I end up with poorly combined dough and flat or crooked cookies.

Cool dough: Chill the dough for 1 hour before baking the cookies. It makes the biggest difference in texture. You could bake them without refrigeration, but they turn out denser and much thinner.

Use a cookie scoop: This recipe calls for a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop to shape the dough. A regular ice cream scoop will do too! To keep the dough from sticking to the inside, wipe it clean every three or four scoops with a paper towel or rinse under running water.

Let the cookies cool: Cool the cookies directly on the baking sheet over a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. It will be tempting to eat one right away (I know), but they will fall apart! The cookies need time to set properly and prepare for consumption.

Cookie Add-ins

Use this recipe as a guide and feel free to play around with some of your favorite mix-ins.

• Add a handful of raisins or nuts. Chopped walnuts, pecans, or even peanuts are great additions!
• Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
• Try adding chocolate chips to 1 1/2 cups – I like dark chocolate but any kind will do! It might seem like a lot of chocolate chips, but it all comes together perfectly. If you decide to add nuts as well, reduce the chocolate chips to 1 cup.

Make the cookies ahead

If you don’t need 24 large cookies at once, consider freezing some. Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet and freeze until set. Transfer the frozen cookie dough to a freezer bag. The unbaked cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The cookie dough does not need to be thawed before baking. Just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

Oatmeal treats to try

• Oatmeal Almond Butter Breakfast Cookies
• Carmelitas
• Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Orange Pecan Cookies
• Oatmeal Top Cookies
• Easy overnight oats