Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies are fancied up with chocolate chips in this tasty recipe. Rolled oats and creamy peanut butter build a solid flavor foundation that is enhanced with brown sugar and vanilla for an instant classic that pairs perfectly with a glass of milk. Studded with milk chocolate chips, these cookies have crisp edges, a soft chewy center, and can be stacked high for your favorite cookie lovers!

Can't get enough of the chocolate chip vibes? Treat the kids to a tasty after-school treat with these soft chocolate chip cookie bars.

Ingredients

I include ingredient notes here when I think they'll be helpful, including ways to source, any preparation tips, or why I've chosen a particular ingredient. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and their quantities!

• Salted Butter - We always have salted butter on hand. If you only have unsalted butter, add an additional ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt to the recipe.
• Peanut Butter - This recipe was developed using a natural creamy peanut butter. Using a regular peanut butter will result in a stiffer dough that bakes up softer and spreads less. You can also bake with chunky peanut butter instead of creamy peanut butter.
• Brown Sugar - Brown sugar offers extra flavor to the cookies as well as additional moisture. Using brown sugar gives the centers of the cookies a bit of chew while leaving the edges crisp.
• Egg - One large egg helps bring stability to the dough.
• Vanilla - What's a chocolate chip cookie without a hint of vanilla? Use vanilla extract or vanilla paste in this recipe.
• Flour - All purpose flour is perfect for these cookies. A balanced protein level provides structure and allows for soft centers and crisp edges.
• Leaveners - Both baking soda and baking powder provide a bit of lift to the cookie dough. Make sure to use fresh boxes of each, both baking soda and baking powder can lose their leavening power over time.
• Cornstarch - A bit of cornstarch keeps the final texture of the cookies from getting too crisp. 
• Rolled Oats - Use rolled oats or old fashioned oats for this recipe. Quick cook oats will have less texture and steel cut oats will be too sturdy to soften with the other ingredients in the baking time.
• Chocolate Chips - We love milk chocolate chocolate chips in these cookies! They give that classic chocolate and peanut butter combination that is hard to resist.

Instructions

Add the salted butter to a large microwaveable mixing bowl and microwave it until melted, about 30 seconds.

Add the peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, salt, and vanilla to the melted butter.

Mix the wet ingredients together until smooth.

Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and corn starch over the wet ingredients.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until you have a smooth cookie dough.

Add the rolled oats and chocolate chips to the dough.

Once the dough is well mixed, refrigerate it for 30 minutes. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours, but cover it with plastic wrap if you'll be letting it chill beyond 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two pans with parchment paper while the dough chills.

Shaping the Baked Cookies

These cookies will spread in the oven, giving them their crisp edges and chewy centers. They can be enjoyed as is, but for perfectly round cookies they need a bit of shaping after baking. Use a round biscuit cutter like in the photos above, or use a drinking glass like in this recipe for double chocolate walnut cookies.

Substitutions and Variations

The substitutions listed below have been tested in this recipe and work well. If you successfully make any other ingredient substitutions, let us know in the comments!

• Change the Chocolate Chips - Our favorite choice of chocolate chips for these oatmeal peanut butter cookies is a milk chocolate. You can swap those for semisweet or dark chocolate chips, instead.
• Add a Sprinkle of Salt - To add an extra savory punch, sprinkle a few grains of kosher salt on the parchment paper before placing each scoop of dough. This will make the salt bake into the bottom of the cookies, giving it a direct hit to your tongue when you bite into them.
• Add Chopped Pecans - Add an extra nutty layer of flavor with chopped and toasted pecans. Add ½ cup to the dough along with the chocolate chips and oats.

Equipment

Use these basic kitchen tools to help make your oatmeal peanut butter cookies:

• Cookie Scoop - A cookie scoop makes portioning cookie dough a cinch.  Cookie scoops are also great for making meatballs, scooping ice cream, portioning out sticky things like peanut butter or frosting, and transferring wet batters (like muffins and cupcakes) to baking tins.  Scoops are labeled with their size based on how many scoops you'd get in a quart of dough.  My favorite is a #50, which holds about 1.25 tablespoons of dough.
• Sheet Pans - I use sheet pans in two sizes, a quarter sheet pan (9" x 13") and a half sheet pan (13" x 18"). For this recipe, two half sheet pans are perfect for baking all the cookies at once. Sheet pans are so versatile in the kitchen. Buy a good quality set and you'll be using them for years. Mine have a very dark patina, so no judgement if yours look the same.
• Mixing Bowl - It's helpful to have mixing bowls in a variety of sizes, but you'll always reach for a sturdy glass or stainless steel mixing bowl for mixing batters, cookie doughs, snack mixes, and salads. Bigger is better, usually! It's the worst to try to mix carefully in a too-small bowl.
• Wire Racks - These oatmeal peanut butter cookies are very soft when warm, so they need somewhere to cool completely before enjoying. A wire rack is a great place to cool baked goods or elevate items in the oven to prevent steaming. Wire racks are also useful for elevating broiled meats or drizzling icings or melted chocolate on baked goods.

Serving Suggestions

There's no better pairing for these tasty cookies than a glass of cold milk! Serve them as is or make fancy ice cream sandwiches with your favorite ice cream in the center.

Storage

Store your baked cookies at room temperature in a sealed container for up to three days. These cookies can be frozen after baking and cooling by storing them in a zip-top bag. Allow them to thaw on a wire rack to avoid any ice crystals from melting on to them.

Make-Ahead Options

Once the dough is mixed and chilled, the dough balls can be frozen and baked off in smaller quantities. If you bake from frozen, place the dough balls on a parchment lined baking pan and bake at 350°F for an additional 3-4 minutes, with a total baking time of 16-18 minutes.

Peanut Butter Recipes

Peanut butter lovers, unite! Here are a few more ways to enjoy your favorite pantry staple:

More Cookies to Enjoy

Cookies make life sweeter. Try any of the recipes below to stock up your cookie jar for treats, after-school snacking, or simple desserts:

Try It and Share

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