Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Incredible Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy and loaded with delicious peanut butter flavor. The quick oats add wonderful texture for the most addictive treat. Trust me, you won’t be able to stop at just one! Whip these up to satisfy your sweet tooth, for your next potluck and for holiday parties!
These amazing peanut butter oatmeal cookies are the best combination of rich, flavorful classic peanut butter cookies and chewy oatmeal cookies with crispy edges. They bake up with an incredible bendy, chewy texture and perfectly crisp edges. They’re also really simple to make, the dough comes together in just minutes using common baking ingredients and staple pantry add-ins like quick oats and peanut butter. Make them for everyday snacking or add them to your holiday Christmas baking list. This is one recipe you’ll come back to again and again!
These are amazing. I get rave reviews every time I make them!
— Natalie
Why you will love this recipe
- Melt in your mouth soft with slightly crisp edges
- Flavored with peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla
- Not fluffy or cakey, but incredibly moist, tender, and beyond chewy
- Totally addicting! It’s a good thing this recipe makes almost 4 dozen!
Ingredients needed
What makes this peanut butter oatmeal cookies recipe so special? Aside from being super easy to make, the ratio of ingredients create a soft, chewy, with a slightly crispy edges and melt-in-your-mouth center that hold together well cookie! Here’s everything you’ll need to make them:
- Peanut butter. Use a processed brand of creamy peanut butter, like Jif or Skippy, as it will give you the most consistent results for baking. We haven’t tried crunchy peanut butter, but it should work.
- Sugar. To keep the cookies softer and chewier in the middle, yet still allow for crispy, delicious edges, we’re using mostly brown sugar. We like dark brown sugar because it contains more molasses, which adds lovely flavor. However, light brown sugar works fine, if that’s what you have.
- Butter. We recommend unsalted butter, as opposed to salted butter, for better control over the saltiness of the recipe. Soften it to room temperature before beginning the recipe, which means it’s still cool to the touch. When you press it, your finger will make an indent. It won’t sink down into the butter or slide all around.
- Eggs. Two eggs will add structure, stability, and richness.
- Flour. This recipe uses all-purpose flour for the perfect tender texture. We do not recommend swapping flours.
- Baking essentials. Vanilla, baking soda and salt are all used to ensure these taste amazing and bake up perfectly!
- Quick oats. Instead of old fashioned oats, use quick oats in this recipe, so as not to overwhelm the chewiness with too much texture. We want these cookies to be more flat with incredible chew, not a thick, hearty rolled oat cookie.
How to make this recipe
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Combine wet ingredients. Beat peanut butter, sugars, and butter in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time, until well blended.
- Whisk together dry ingredients. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate medium bowl.
- Combine flour mixture with wet ingredients. On low speed, gently stir the flour mixture into the creamed ingredients until well incorporated, without over-mixing. Stop the mixer while beating the batter and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to help mix it properly. Mix in oats until just combined.
- Chill. Place dough in the fridge and chill for at least 30 minutes. Then, drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. We like using this cookie scoop.
- Bake. Place the pan with the cookie dough balls in the preheated oven, and bake until just lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes. Do not over-bake, but allow cookies to bake long enough to get lightly golden brown on top and bottom, so when they cool they’re super chewy.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and immediately add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt, if you’d like. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Expert tips
A few tips so these are absolutely perfect!
- Measure your flour correctly. To avoid dry and dense cookies, it’s best to measure ingredients, and especially flour with a food scale. If you don’t have one, fluff the flour with a spoon, and add it to a measuring cup (don’t pack or scoop). Then, without shaking the cup, use the straight side of a butter knife to level the flour.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature butter and eggs will mix more easily with the other ingredients, and result in an overall better texture. The butter should still be cool to the touch and have a temperature of about 65ºF. It should indent slightly when you press on it with your finger. Take butter and eggs out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before beginning your recipe. Here’s a guide on how to soften butter quickly if you forget to take it out of the fridge.
- Bake on parchment paper or a silicone mat. Baking on parchment paper or silicone baking mats is recommended. Greasing the pan adds extra oil, which can cause the cookies to spread too much. Silicone baking mats will grip onto the bottom of your cookies to prevent them from becoming too flat. The mats also promote even browning.
- Don’t over-bake. For the best soft and chewy texture, be sure to take these out of the oven around the 9 to 11 minute mark, and when the edges are set but the middles are still soft. They will continue baking on the baking sheet after being removed from the oven.
Recipe tip
To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, simply place the eggs in a bowl of warm water (not piping hot!) for 10-15 minutes. You can do this while you’re gathering all of the other ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Peanut butter cookies can turn out dry due to using too much flour. It’s crucial to properly measure the flour in this recipe, as even 1 extra tablespoon of flour can completely change the structure of the cookies. This is why we recommend using a food scale when measuring ingredients for baking.
For these oatmeal peanut butter cookies, we recommend chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes, and a couple of hours to overnight is even better. When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So, when baked, they spread less and hold their shape better. This creates a soft, chewy cookie with better consistency.
According to allrecipes.com, baking soda will usually create chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies. In this recipe, we’re using baking soda for perfectly chewy cookies.
Variations
We love this cookie recipe as-is, but feel free to experiment with different mix-ins!
- Nut butter. Change the flavor and try a different type of peanut butter, like maple or honey-roasted. You could even use almond butter or cashew butter to accommodate dietary needs. However, we do not recommend a no-stir nut butter for this recipe, as they are too runny.
- Add-ins. This is a great base recipe to fold in chocolate chips, mini M&M’s, white chocolate chips, chopped nuts, cranberries and/or raisins. Experiment to find your favorite combination! I wouldn’t add any more than about 1 cup (180g) of add-ins.
- Spices. To give these a warm flavor boost try mixing in 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.
- Flaky sea salt. We love sprinkling a small amount of flaky sea salt to freshly baked cookies. It enhances the overall flavor and is a nice contrast to the sweetness.
Storage recommendations
- Storing leftovers. These will keep fresh for up to 7 days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezing. Baked cookies or unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. To freeze the cookie dough balls, place in the fridge for 1 hour. Then, place the solid and cold dough balls into a freezer bag. Label the bag with the month and the baking temperature and store in the freezer.
More delicious cookie recipes
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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250g) peanut butter*
- 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 230g) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (188g) all-purpose flour, spoon & leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (160g) quick-cooking oats
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Beat peanut butter, sugars, and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time, until well blended.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. On low speed, gently stir the flour mixture into the creamed ingredients until well incorporated, without over-mixing. Stop the mixer while beating the batter and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to help mix it properly. Mix in oats until just combined.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes. Then, drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Bake cookies in the preheated oven until just lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes. Do not over-bake, but allow them to bake long enough to get lightly golden brown on top and bottom, so when they cool they're super chewy.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Storing leftovers. These will keep fresh for up to 7 days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Freezing. Baked cookies or unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. To freeze the cookie dough balls, place in the fridge for 1 hour. Then, place the solid and cold dough balls into a freezer bag. Label the bag with the month and the baking temperature and store in the freezer.
Did you make this recipe?
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These are amazing. I get rave reviews every time I make them!
These are so tasty! Love the salty and sweet combo, and the oatmeal gives it substance. Thanks for another great recipe.
So good!! What a fun way to use up my multiple peanut butter jars that were open.
Truly delicious cookies. They’re so filling, too! I can eat one and feel completely satisfied. Yum! Thank you so much for this recipe.
My whole family LOVES these cookies and requests I make them every chance they get. My fiance took them to work and they were a hit!
Great recipe! I used crunchy no salt almond butter (trader joes) can’t eat peanut butter and they were really excellent!
These cookies are incredible. I freeze a dozen and save them for desperate times. So good.
Not only did these bake beautifully but the taste was out of the park. Right amount of crispness on the outside and chewy in the center. The oatmeal gives it a nice texture that balances the peanut butter. I was just so pleased with how everything turned out and my husband’s co-workers went absolutely crazy for them and asked for more.
These were so deliciously addicting! My whole family loved them so much!
Great! I’m so glad that your family enjoyed them as much as mine. Thanks, Christine!
Just tried making these yesterday with rolling oats. Thanks for a great, easy recipe. Think I will add raisins next time.
Thanks! Raisins would be a great variation- I need to give that a try!
this was sooooo delicious!!! was not expecting it
thanks for the recipie
Thanks so much for the comment! These are probably my very favorite cookie on the blog! 😉
Hands down, the BEST COOKIES EVER!!!! Love peanut butter blossoms too!
Awww…. you’re way too sweet. I love PB blossoms and you better believe I will be making some for Christmas!