Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Today marks one week that I’ve been back in my own house after housesitting for my in-laws for two weeks. I’ve been in a bit of a funk all week and I can’t quite put my finger on the reason. I’ve been slacking on my cooking, baking and blog commenting. I think the only things I’ve made since being back are the required recipes for SMS and TWD. I’m hoping this beautiful weekend, the first of the fall, will be just what I need to get back on track and find my motivation. I’ve got the giant bag of apples from the orchard still waiting to be used and a few apple recipes bookmarked, so I’m optimistic. I was even thinking it might be fun to do apple week sometime in October and share everything I made!

Yesterday I did pop into my kitchen briefly to make cookies to share with my mom. These cookies combine oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate into one treat so I think they’ve got great universal appeal. The recipe is quick and easy – the only thing I’ll note is that my cookies took a bit longer to bake than the recipe indicates but maybe I just made them a bit larger than was intended. When they cool, the cookies have a great chewy texture. The oatmeal wasn’t a prominent flavor for me – if anything, it added more texture than taste. Overall, we definitely enjoyed these! I’m thinking they might be a great addition to my Christmas cookie trays this year.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to the prepared baking sheets leaving about 1 1/2 inches between cookies.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.