Soft and chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookies are made with all butter (no shortening) and are packed full of texture thanks to instant oats! These cookies are easy to make, and I bet you can’t eat just one!
Zach and I arrived home on Saturday from our sunny vacation to grey skies and torrential rain (and a house absent of any cookies, let alone peanut butter oatmeal ones), and it hasn’t let up since.
Personally I feel that this is Mother Nature’s way of telling me to return to the lake ASAP, but, since Zach is insistent that this isn’t an option, I’ve been taking advantage of the gloomy weather to cozy up in my kitchen and go on a baking spree (it’s also a good way to avoid doing the tremendous pile of laundry that’s built up in my closet 🙈).
I’ve gone through over three dozen eggs since coming home, and since these peanut butter oatmeal cookies just use one egg for the whole batch, that should give you an idea of how much baking I’ve been doing (alright, there has been some pound cake testing involved too, so that’s really helped move through the eggs).
Anyway, I not only re-tested these peanut butter oatmeal cookies and made a video of them, but I also made several batches to freeze for the next time I come home from vacation to a house void of cookies.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies combine two of my favorite existing cookies on the blog: my favorite oatmeal cookies and peanut butter cookies. In the above-mentioned video (also located just above the recipe), I say that it “marries” together these two cookies and I guess that gets the point across, but man do I wish I had a backspace button for video the same way I do when I’m typing, because who talks about marrying cookies? Bear with me as I adjust to being behind the camera, guys, it’s been a rough road for me!
Anyway, these peanut butter oatmeal cookies are a nice combo of that buttery/peanut buttery flavor crossed with the hearty, chewy texture of classic oatmeal cookies. They’re big and thick and if you want to throw in a handful of chocolate chips as well to bring chocolate chip cookies into this marriage, I totally get it.
Tips for Making Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- This recipe makes a fairly small batch of cookies (about 15, depending on how large you scoop them). It can be doubled, or even tripled.
- You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, but I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter.
- Chilling the dough is important, don’t skip this step! The dough should be chilled at least 30 minutes, but if it’s still sticky after that then give it another 30 minutes until it can be rolled in your palms without making a sticky mess.
- You can make the dough in advance and bake it the next day (just be sure to cover it well!).
- You can freeze this dough! To do so, you will first chill the dough 30 minutes as instructed, then scoop and roll the dough into balls, wrap each individual cookie dough ball tightly in plastic wrap, place each of those in an airtight container (I use a Ziploc freezer bag), and freeze for up to 3 months. You may need to bake your cookies a minute or two longer when cooking from frozen.
I think that pretty much covers it.
These cookies are pretty straightforward and is it too early for me to be thinking about making them for Christmas? I love summer, but this chilly, grey weather has me more excited for the holiday season than I should maybe admit…
Enjoy!
How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature (141g)
- ⅔ cup light or dark brown sugar tightly packed (135g)
- ¼ cup sugar (50g)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter I don't recommend using natural peanut butter (140g)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup quick oats (115g)
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugars in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.
- Add peanut butter and stir again until smooth.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
- Add your flour mixture to your wet ingredients and stir (with mixer on low speed so that you don't send flour flying everywhere!) until flour is completely incorporated into the batter. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that ingredients are well-combined.
- Add oats and stir well.
- Cover your cookie dough with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator. Allow dough to chill for at least 30 minutes (this dough may be chilled overnight if needed).
- While dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 375F (190C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Once dough has chilled, remove from the refrigerator and roll into 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls and place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing cookie dough at least 2" apart.
- Bake on 375F (190C) for 10 minutes or until edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. Allow cookie dough to cool completely on cookie sheet before enjoying (the centers will continue to bake as they cool).
Maria
I made 3 trays with the same batch, testing each batch for goodness. 1st batch: exact recipe but to half I added a cross-cross with a fork and to half not. 2nd batch: I added chocolate chips. 3rd batch: I added chocolate chips and craisins. They were all quite delicious!
Those with the cross-cross in the 1st batch were flatter so therefore drier. You would need to bake less.
I also placed cookies on a rack after 5 minutes of cooling. I would highly recommend these, and also trying different combos. Just don’t overbake or they will be hard and dry. I placed a small slice of bread in the container with the 1st batch, which came out a bit dry. Voilà, problem solved! Love these!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them all so much, Maria! Thank you for your feedback. That’s a lot of cookies. 🙂
Maria R
Also…Should I place cookies on rack, after sitting on tray for 5 minutes (out of the oven)?
Sam
Hi Maria! Please refer to step 10 for cooling instructions on the cookies. 🙂
Sarah
Just made these exactly by recipe..they are just perfect..this is definitely a keeper
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sarah! 🙂
Pam
These are great! I can’t wait to make another batch. I added pb chips cuz why not?! Thx for the tasty recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Pam! 🙂
Harry
I tried this recipe and it’s just melt in the mouth one, thanks alot for putting up this cool recipe, loved it🙂
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Harry! 🙂
Vicki
These were chewy and delicious! Someone had gotten into the peanut butter and there wasn’t quite enough to top off the measuring cup, so I substituted almond butter for that little bit of pb, maybe a couple of tablespoons. It didn’t affect the flavor at all. Love the texture the oatmeal gives them. Yummy!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Vicki! 🙂
Elle
Hi, these look delicious. Can you add chocolate chunks to these or will they affect the texture?
Sam
Hi Elle! Adding chunks of chocolate will definitely change the texture but that’s not necessarily a bad thing here. 🙂
Sabrina
I just got done baking these and I have to say that they are amazing!! I am in love with the texture. I added about 1/2 a cup of dark chocolate chips and sprinkled some sea salt on the top before baking and these cookies are definitely hands down some of the best cookies I’ve baked.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Sabrina! Thanks for trying my recipe. I love the additional sea salt. I will have to try that the next time I bake them. 🙂
Murielle
Hello! I really love your cookie recipes!! About this, what will happen if I use a natural peanut butter? A friend gave us her homemade butter and I want to use it so it won’t go to waste. Can’t wait to try these!
Sam
Honestly I am not 100% sure how it would turn out. A lot of times the natural peanut butter will really change the consistency of the cookies so I don’t really recommend using it. If you try it I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Denise
Is it ok to replace the quick oats with old fashioned? I only have those on hand. Thank you.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Denise! I think it will work, but the texture will be a little different. Enjoy! 🙂
charles g bungard
I am hooked on your cookie recipes darling ! Thank you for sharing now I am a subscriber
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Charles! I appreciate your kind words and can’t wait for you to try more of my recipes. Thanks for commenting and for subscribing. 🙂
Maria R
Can I add the cross-cross shape on top, with a fork? Like is done on pb cookies?
Sam
Hi Maria! You can add the marks with the fork. The marks won’t be quite as pronounced when they are finished baking though. 🙂
Megan
Once again another great recipe! I do enjoy your recipes and especially since all the cookies come out amazingly chewy! I don’t know if it did anything to the flavor, but for the 2/3 cup of brown sugar, I did 1/3 cup light and 1/3 cup dark since I happened to have both on hand. Again, don’t think it changed anything in terms of flavor, but was curious. Either way these are soo good and already being asked for another batch. 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed the peanut butter oatmeal cookies, Megan! If I have light and dark brown sugar on hand I usually do a combo myself. Depending on the cookie, It usually enriches the favor. Enjoy! 🙂
Sarah Rivers
These cookies turned turned out amazing! The flavor and texture are perfect! My Dad tried them and said they were the best cookies hes ever had! I did the recipe exactly as stated, except I’m not patient enough to cook 6 cookies at a time, so I made all 15 cookies at once and added 2 extra minutes. Thank you so much for the recipe! Sugar Spun Run has become my go-to!
Sam
Yay! I’m so happy to hear this, Sarah! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how they turned out for you, I appreciate it! 🙂 <3
Candy G
I added dried cranberries to mine and baked 9 at a time, for 12 min… So good… My neighbors love them! Bake something good for your neighbors!
Alavi Anan Meem
The cookies taste amazing but they are so crumbly. Wish they were a little more solid (for appearance’s sake)… but YUM. Made a batch for my boyfriend. He wanted peanut butter cookies but I didn’t have too much peanut butter left. This calls for only half a cup but the peanut butter taste is definitely present!
Sam
O no I’m so sorry they were crumbly! They can usually become crumbly if there is a little too much flour in the batter. I usually recommend spooning the flour into the measuring cup and then leveling it off. For even better results, you can weigh the flour. I hope you will give them another shot. 🙂