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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with double the peanut butter from creamy PB and a big handful of peanut butter chips. I bake a giant batch on lazy Sunday afternoons and my kids inhale them right off the cooling rack, the same way they do with our cream cheese cookies.
If you love a hearty, peanut buttery cookie with chewy oats in every bite, this is the recipe to bookmark.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 13 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 53 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 56 cookies
- ⚡ Calories: 140kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Soft, chewy, and deeply peanut buttery with extra PB chips
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our chocolate dipped shortbread cookies
Quick Answer
To make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, cream together peanut butter and butter, then beat in brown and granulated sugar followed by eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour and baking soda, then fold in old fashioned oats and peanut butter chips. Chill the dough briefly, roll into balls, and bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes until the edges are golden and the tops look dry.
Jump to:
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
- Other Recommended Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Double the peanut butter. Creamy peanut butter in the dough plus peanut butter chips throughout means big, bold peanut butter flavor in every bite.
- Oats for chew. Old fashioned oats add a hearty, chewy texture that holds up better than quick oats.
- Two sugars for balance. Brown sugar keeps the cookies soft and moist while granulated sugar helps the edges set with a little crispness.
- Chilling the dough. A quick 30-minute chill firms the dough so the cookies hold their shape and bake up thick instead of flat.
- No mixer required for the add-ins. Folding in the oats and chips by hand keeps the dough from overmixing and turning tough.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are soft and chewy in the middle with perfectly set edges every single time.
- One batch makes plenty, so there are cookies for lunchboxes, snacks, and the cookie jar.
- They are a peanut butter lover’s dream right alongside our raspberry thumbprint cookies on a holiday cookie tray.
Key Ingredients
Here is what makes these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies so soft and flavorful. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Peanut Butter: Creamy, no-stir peanut butter blends smoothly into the dough for rich flavor and a tender crumb.
- Old Fashioned Oats: They give the cookies their signature hearty chew, so do not swap in quick oats.
- Peanut Butter Chips: Folded throughout, they double down on the peanut butter flavor.
- Brown and Granulated Sugar: The combo gives you soft centers and lightly crisp edges.
- Butter and Eggs: Softened butter and two eggs bind everything into a rich dough, just like our chocolate sugar cookies.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are easy to customize.
- Add chocolate: Swap some or all of the peanut butter chips for chocolate chips or chunks.
- Make them nutty: Use crunchy peanut butter or stir in a handful of chopped peanuts.
- Add raisins: Fold in raisins or dried cranberries for a sweet, chewy twist.
- Bigger cookies: Scoop larger portions and bake a minute or two longer like our soft frosted lofthouse cookies.
How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Cream the peanut butter and softened butter together in a stand mixer until smooth and combined.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla until fully combined.
- Stir in the flour and baking soda mixture until just combined, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Fold in the old fashioned oats and peanut butter chips until evenly distributed, then chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into balls, place on parchment-lined trays, and bake at 350 degrees for 11 to 13 minutes until the edges are golden and the tops look dry.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not skip the chill. Chilling the dough keeps the cookies from spreading too thin in the oven.
- Use no-stir peanut butter. Natural, oily peanut butter can make the dough greasy and the cookies spread.
- Measure the oats correctly. Spoon and level them so the dough is not dry and crumbly.
- Roll uniform balls. Even-sized dough balls bake at the same rate for consistent cookies.
- Pull them when the tops look dry. They finish setting on the hot tray, so do not overbake or they turn hard.
- Cool on the tray first. Let them rest a few minutes before moving so they do not break apart.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are made for dunking in an ice-cold glass of milk, and they are right at home on a cookie platter next to our chocolate sugar cookies.
Stack them in a jar for an after-school snack, pack them in lunchboxes, or set them out at a bake sale alongside raspberry thumbprint cookies and almond cookies.
They also make a thoughtful homemade gift. Pile a few in a cellophane bag with our soft frosted lofthouse cookies for a sweet little assortment.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
Old fashioned oats give the best chewy texture. Quick oats will work in a pinch but make a softer, less hearty cookie, and steel-cut oats will not soften enough.
Spreading usually means the dough was too warm or the butter was too soft. Be sure to chill the dough and avoid natural, oily peanut butter.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Add a slice of bread to the container to keep them extra soft.
Yes. Roll the dough into balls, freeze them solid on a tray, then transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time.
Absolutely. The cookies are still packed with peanut butter flavor from the dough. You can leave the chips out or swap in chocolate chips.
Slightly underbaking and storing them in an airtight container keeps Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies soft. Pull them when the tops just look dry.
Craving more cookies? Try our cream cheese cookies or a batch of raspberry thumbprint cookies next.
For peanut butter lovers, our peanut butter cake is a moist sheet cake with fluffy peanut butter frosting.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¼ cups light brown sugar packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 ½ cups peanut butter chips
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the peanut butter and butter together until smooth.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl, and mix until smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time until fully mixed in followed by the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and stir until combined, scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the oats and peanut butter chips, mix until just combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line sheet trays with parchment paper.
- Roll 1 & ½ tablespoons of the dough with your hands to form balls. Place on the parchment paper lined sheet trays about 3 inches apart. Top with more peanut butter chips if you wish for a pretty presentation.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown and the tops appear dry. Let cool on the sheet trays for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Make sure that you use old fashioned oats and not quick cooking, they will not work.
- The dough needs to chill for 30 minutes, do not skip. This is an important step to get the texture and shape.
- You can use crunch peanut butter if you’d like.
- Other mix-ins can be added, see above for some suggestions.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- You can easily half or double this recipe to make more or save for later.
Nutrition
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I made these cookies exactly following the recipe and they spread very thin! The taste is great, but they don’t look anything like those pictured…