These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle. The dough is feather light and made in minutes. Chill it first and cook as many cookies as you like then freeze the rest - they freeze beautifully and you can bake them straight from the freezer! With whole grain flour, chunky peanut butter, ground walnuts, hearty oats, and a crunchy sea salt finish, these will become your go-to recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies!
If you like oatmeal cookies and you like peanut butter cookies, you need to try this Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie recipe. When you marry the two, you propel their flavor right up to the edge of perfection and - then(!) - a sprinkle of salt shoves them right over. Okay, this may be an overstatement. But, they are really good.
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A recipe from an issue of Bon Appétit inspired these. Their recipe called for pecans instead of walnuts, white all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat, and a mixture of old-fashioned oats and quick-cooking oats. I like the chewy texture of thick rolled oats and more complex flavor of whole grain flour to accentuate the crunchy peanut butter.
How to Freeze Uncooked Cookie Dough Balls
Besides the recipe, I want to tell you about a technique that's helpful for pop in friends or sudden cravings. Like most cookie dough, this freezes well in little balls. It's an easy process: make the dough, scoop it out on to a parchment lined cookie sheet (I love this cookie scoop), freeze overnight, fill a gallon size freezer bag with the frozen dough balls, and cook when you want to (add 1 to 2 minutes to the recipe's original cooking time). I like to write the type of cookie dough, oven temperature, and cooking time on the outside of the bag.
This is one of the most interesting cookie dough recipes I've ever made in that the dough has the consistency of a light peanut butter mousse - so it's essential to chill before baking, either in the freezer for 30 minutes or the refrigerator for 2 hours. It's so worth it!
If you like chewy peanut butter oatmeal cookies with tender, crisp edges, this peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe is entirely reliable. And with a bag of delicious dough balls in the freezer, you'll always be ready to make a delicious treat in minutes!
Recipe Options:
- If you're a chocolate lover, feel free to stir in a handful of chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate. You could also intensify the peanut butter flavor with peanut butter chips.
- Not a fan of crunchy peanut butter? Feel free to use creamy peanut butter instead.
- For a gluten free version of these cookies, swap in oat flour for the white whole wheat flour.
More of My Favorite Cookies
- Cowboy Cookies (For those of us who love lumpy, bumpy, loaded cookies!)
- Butter Cookies (These are so rich and absolutely melt in your mouth!)
- Soft Sugar Cookies (An absolute must during the holiday season.)
- Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies (Nora Ephron's favorite!)
Recipe Video!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut halves 100g
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour 216g
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup natural cane sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, 2 sticks
- 1 cup chunky peanut butter 256g, ideally natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups extra-thick rolled oats such as Bob's Red Mill
- kosher or flaky sea salt such as Maldon
Instructions
- Add walnuts to the bowl of a food processor and process until very fine - on their way to butter. Set aside.
- Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) into a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add butter and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at low speed until combined; increase speed and beat until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add walnuts and peanut butter; mix until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until combined. Add flour mixture - cover mixer with a kitchen towel to protect your counters from a flour flurry. Start at low speed until combined, then increase to high for about 1 minute more. Add oats and mix until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough into about two tablespoon balls - line them up very close together on the pan (you won't be baking them this way). Once you've scooped all of the dough, lightly sprinkle with kosher or flaky sea salt; cover with plastic wrap. If you plan to bake the cookies the day you make the dough, chill the dough balls in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. If you plan to cook them at a later date, put the pan in the freezer for several hours or overnight. Once frozen, put the dough balls in a gallon size freezer bag labeled with cooking instructions and store them in the freezer.
- When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the cookies spaced 1" apart on the prepared baking sheet. (Bake just a few or a whole pan full.) Bake cookies until lightly golden and still a bit soft - 10 minutes; 11 or 12 minutes if they start out frozen. Transfer to cooling racks - enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Note that I use this scoop - which is a 2-tablespoon scoop. If you use a smaller or larger scoop, you'll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- If you don't have a stand mixer, use a large bowl and a standard electric mixer / hand mixer to combine the wet ingredients and flour mixture (be sure to use room temperature butter). Then stir in the oats with a wooden spoon or spatula at the end.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
I love when an unexpected guest stops by and I happen to have frozen balls of cookie dough in the freezer. So fun to pop them in the oven and have freshly baked cookies as a treat in minutes. These look fabulous, and hopefully we will someday get back to guests coming over. 🙂 ~Valentina
So true, Valentina! Thank you very much.
I looove Oatmeal cookies and I loooove peanut butter cookies, so this combo is right up my alley! These look dangerous though, because I'm fairly certain I could eat a few dozen in one sitting! Can't wait to try these!!
Can't wait for you to taste them, Cheyanne!
What a fun combination of two of my favorite cookies! I love chewy oatmeal cookies, and I also enjoy a good peanut butter cookie. I'm going to need to start keeping a bag of these in the freezer!
I agree! Thanks, David!
I think these need to be ready in my freezer at all times, Marissa! Will be great to have on hand for lunches. And as I’m writing this, yes we just finished our almost daily breakfast of Banana Oatmeal Pancakes. Thank goodness I froze extra from Saturday, so I just reheated in the oven. 😊
You are the sweetest, Sally! 🙂
Dave is going to be really happy. Thanks Marissa! 🙂
That's wonderful to hear, Kevin!
Great idea to combine two classic cookies Marissa! These look delicious!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann!
We're road tripping this weekend and these will make for the perfect snack! Love the inclusion of peanut butter and salt! You make a mean cookie, my friend!!
aww, thanks Annie! I'll trade you some of these for some of the Pumpkin Pie Bites you just posted!!
These cookies sound like my heaven, Marissa! I love peanut butter and I love oatmeal...so the combination together in a single cookie sounds amazing. If only I could get a batch of these to magically appear on my desk right about now! 🙂 Great idea to freeze the dough balls...I'll have to do that!
Thanks, David! Yes, the dough balls are a game changer. I love a fresh cookie!
Love the idea of freezing a batch to have them on the ready!! These cookies are everything I love in a cookie! Peanut butter, oatmeal, chewiness....salt on top!? Yum!
Thank you, Katherine!
This is definitely a beautiful marriage, Marissa, and that salt on top is everything! I totally believe that it shoves the flavour right over the edge 😉
And what a freakin' brilliant idea freezing the dough balls and having ready to go!! I'm totally doing that next time. Who needs to bake a bunch of cookies at once? Love the idea of having dough ready to go when a cookie craving strikes! Cheers, my friend! XO
It's so true, Dawn. They're super tasty already and then that delicate salt crunch...oh baby! 😉
I always have at least 2 varieties of dough balls in the freezer - super convenient!
As if these weren't delicious enough to begin with, that salt on top is the icing on the cake (so to speak, haha)! These sound beyond delicious, Marissa!
Thank you so much, Kelsie!
Hi Marissa! I love all the components of these, crispy, chewy, nutty..!. Gary only likes smooth pb so if I use crunchy they are all mine!! 🙂 I llke that the dough balls can be baked straight from the freezer, so handy when someone just pops in.
These would go with bloody mary's right?
haha, I love it! I've never tried these with creamy PB, but I bet they'd be great! And, YES! on the bloody mary's - I love how you think! 🙂