Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Posted May 14, 2021, Updated Sep 17, 2021
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These peanut butter oatmeal cookies are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, plus they’re loaded with peanut butter! Add your favorite mix-ins to make them your own (chocolate chips, mini peanut butter cups, etc.)!
Say hello to these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies – the love child of two of my favorite cookie recipes. This mashup of our famous oatmeal cookies and my favorite peanut butter cookies are straight-up cookie heaven.
These peanut butter oatmeal cookies are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, plus they’re loaded with peanut butter! Add your favorite mix-ins to make them your own (chocolate chips, mini peanut butter cups, etc.)!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies: Ingredients & Substituions
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or coconut oil can be used in place of salted butter.
- Creamy peanut butter. I recommend using a variety of peanut butter that is solid at room temperature. You can also use crunchy peanut butter if you like the little bits of crunch in your cookies.
- Eggs. Try to make sure the egg is room temperature! I have not made this recipe with an egg substitute, so if you do let me know in the comments below!
- Vanilla Extract. Please only use pure vanilla extract (not imitation) for the best taste!
- Light brown sugar. If you like a little bolder, molasses taste then you can use dark brown sugar. Coconut sugar also works well.
- Granulated Sugar. Organic cane sugar is my granulated sugar of choice, but regular granulated sugar works perfectly.
- All-purpose flour. A 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour can be used to make these cookies gluten-free.
- Cinnamon. Choose your favorite ground cinnamon! The higher the quality, the better it will taste!
- Fine sea salt. I only ever bake with pure, fine sea salt. If you are using iodized salt I recommend decreasing the amount of salt by half.
- Mix-ins. Adding mix-ins is optional. I’ll chat about possible add-ins later on!
How to make oatmeal peanut butter cookies
These peanut butter oat cookies are easy to make! We’ll walk through the process together and don’t forget to watch the video.
Combine dry ingredients
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, sea salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside.
Combine Wet Ingredients
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer), beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
Once the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and egg and beat until combined.
Add dry ingredients & oats
Next, add the dry ingredient mixture and beat until combined. Then add the oatmeal and beat until evenly distributed.
Add mix-ins
If desired, add mix-ins. I prefer to add chocolate chips to make these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! But the mix-in possibilities are endless! Here are some suggestions.
- chocolate chips (obviously)
- Peanut Butter Cups (chopped or use mini)
- white chocolate chips
- raisins
- dried fruit (cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.)
- cinnamon chips (YUM)
- nuts (walnuts, pecans, sliced almonds, etc.)
Chill
Cover dough with plastic wrap, or transfer to an airtight container with a lid and chill for at least 1 hour.
Measure dough
Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven. Use a small cookie scoop (1.5 to 2 TBS) to measure out the oatmeal cookie dough. Roll each portion into a smooth ball and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once the dough balls are on the parchment paper, gently and ever-so-slightly press the tops down. This will ensure even baking. (NOTE: Dough will be slightly tacky, but should still roll easily into balls).
Bake or freeze dough
Bake the peanut butter oatmeal cookies in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes, or until cookies are just barely set.
How to freeze peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough
Instead of baking, you can also freeze the dough to bake later.
To freeze:
- Form dough into balls.
- Place cookie dough balls on a non-stick cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for 1-2 hours or until firm.
- Transfer to an airtight, freezer-friendly container (I recommend either a glass storage container or a freezer-friendly ziplock bag).
- Freeze for up to 1 month.
- To bake: remove dough from the freezer and let it come to room temperature. Then bake according the the recipe instructions.
Cool
Once cookies are baked, let them cool on the baking pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Store
Store these peanut butter oat cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days (if they last that long)!
FAQs about Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Yes, but be aware that the cookies may spread more and be more on the crispy side than the soft side. Also, many natural peanut butters are unsalted, so you may need to increase the amount of salt int he recipe by 1/4 tsp.
First, make sure you do not over-bake or over-mix them. Second, be sure to store them in an airtight container.
The most common reason for dry cookies is over-baking. Check your oven’s temperature and bake for a shorter amount of time.
More delicious recipes:
Did you love these oatmeal peanut butter cookies? We take our cookies seriously around here (click here for all our cookie recipes) Try some of our other favorite recipes:
- We’re slightly famous for our best chocolate chip cookie recipe! 😉 Don’t forget to try these chocolate chip cookie bars too!
- Try these monster cookies – yum!
- I’m obsessed with these classic peanut butter cookies!
- No-bake cookies are easy and delicious! Try these healthy no bake cookies too!
- Everyone needs a perfect cut-out sugar cookie recipe!
- This was my grandma’s snickerdoodle cookie recipe!
- These Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies are my favorite Christmas cookies!
- Our Double Chocolate Chip Cookies have three different forms of chocolate!
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can your creations!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Optional: ½ cup mix-ins chocolate chips, mini peanut butter cups, peanut butter M&Ms, etc.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture and beat until combined.
- Add oatmeal and beat until evenly distributed.
- Add chocolate chips and stir until evenly distributed.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap, or transfer to an airtight container with a lid and chill for at least 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a small cookie scoop to portion dough into 1 ½ TBS portions, roll into balls and place evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Gently press the tops down slightly. (NOTE: Dough will be slightly tacky, but should still roll easily into balls).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-11 minutes, or until cookies are just barely set.
- Let cool on the baking pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
Video
Notes
Store
Store these peanut butter oat cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days (if they last that long)!
Ingredient Substituions
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter or coconut oil can be used in place of salted butter.
- Creamy peanut butter. I recommend using a variety of peanut butter that is solid at room temperature. You can also use crunchy peanut butter if you like the little bits of crunch in your cookies.
- If you use natural peanut butter (liquid at room temperature) be aware that the cookies may spread more and be more on the crispy side than the soft side. Also, many natural peanut butters are unsalted, so you may need to increase the amount of salt int he recipe by 1/4 tsp.
- Light brown sugar. If you like a little bolder, molasses taste then you can use dark brown sugar. Coconut sugar also works well.
- Granulated Sugar. Organic cane sugar is my granulated sugar of choice, but regular granulated sugar works perfectly.
- Fine sea salt. I only ever bake with pure, fine sea salt. If you are using iodized salt I recommend decreasing the amount of salt by half.
- Mix-ins. chocolate chips, mini peanut butter cups, white chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, cinnamon chips, walnuts, pecans, etc.
How to freeze peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough
Instead of baking, you can also freeze the dough to bake later.To freeze:
- Form dough into balls.
- Place cookie dough balls on a non-stick cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for 1-2 hours or until firm.
- Transfer to an airtight, freezer-friendly container (I recommend either a glass storage container or a freezer-friendly ziplock bag).
- Freeze for up to 1 month.
- To bake: remove dough from the freezer and let it come to room temperature. Then bake according the recipe instructions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Do you only use 1/2 cup of flour?
Yes!
Wonderful!! Been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. Not sure what made it so different from other recipes but I printed it out to use again. 😋😋😋
Such a good classic delicious cookie recipe. Peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip is my favorite cookie ever, and this knocked it out of the park.
love it!!!!!