Okay, okay, the cookies are really called “Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters” and it wasn’t my idea to combine 3 great cookies into one. That genius decision belongs to Dore Greenspan; I just decided it sounded like a good thing to bake up.
I’m a fan of baking a few cookies at a time, so each batch is enjoyed fresh and warm out of the oven. I’ll mix up some dough, scoop it out onto baking sheets, freeze the scoops, and then bag them up for later. I do this all while one batch is baking in the oven.
I made these with natural peanut butter, something I usually do when a recipe calls for peanut butter. Even when recipes tell you that using natural peanut butter won’t work like using, say, Skippy peanut butter, I haven’t found it make a difference. Until these cookies. They weren’t as peanut-buttery as I think they could have been, and they could have used a dash more sugar and salt, both of which I suspect wouldn’t happen if you used a commercial peanut butter, since they are typically sweeter and saltier (yes, at the same time) than natural peanut butter. I didn’t find out until later that I had a jar of Skippy chunky peanut butter in the pantry.
Baking the cookies for 16 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, gave me a good cookie that kept a little bit of its chewiness after cooling. I did let them sit on the pan for a minute or two to firm up enough to the point where I could slip them off the pan without them falling apart (they’re still gooey in the center when hot). Even without the in-your-face peanut butter goodness, they’re still a nice oatmeal chip cookie with flecks of peanut. And, because they’re made with oatmeal, you can feel slightly less guilty with each cookie you eat. Ta da! This is important because you’ll use over a stick of butter in these cookies.
I did make a small batch to enjoy the first night. Typically, I would freeze the rest to bake in the future. However, I didn’t totally love these cookies (see: using natural peanut butter) and I had a company picnic to attend, so I baked the rest of the cookies and took them to the picnic, where they seem to be eaten with happiness. Only T found the Stater Bros. cookie to be more enjoyable.
Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters
Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan
3 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. peanut butter, chunky (use Skippy!)
1 c. sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
9 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips)
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
With a mixer, beat the peanut butter and sugars until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer to low and add in the dry ingredients, then the chocolate. (You can then chill the dough and get more uniform cookies, according to the recipe, or just forge ahead like I did.)
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto two baking sheets. Bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back (switch top and bottom sheets, rotate each 180 degrees) after 7 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Eat while warm with a glass of cold milk. Pack two for a treat when you go to work.
Three Dog Kitchen 