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These chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies combine two classic cookies in one! They are soft, chewy, and you can customize them with your favorite add-ins like chocolate chips and nuts. If you love peanut butter and oatmeal, you will love these easy cookies!

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies stacked on top of eachother on wire cooling rack next to a spoonful of peanut butter


Soft Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Does anyone else struggle with cookie cravings when you want two different kinds? I love peanut butter cookies and oatmeal cookies, so I decided why not just combine them into one amazing cookie? That’s how I came up with these cookies – they are the best of both worlds!

Why you’ll love this recipe

With these two-in-one cookies, you get the peanut butter flavor but in a soft and chewy oatmeal cookie. It is a match made in cookie heaven, and the even better news is you can easily customize them with your favorite add-ins. So, leave them plain or dress them up – either way, you are going to love them.

Six photo collage showing the process of making peanut butter oatmeal cookies

Ingredients You Need

  • Creamy peanut butter – just use regular peanut butter not natural or homemade. You can use a product like Skippy or Jif Naturals (as long as it’s a no-stir peanut butter). Creamy or Crunchy will work.
  • Milk – remember this is my peanut butter cookie secret ingredient for soft cookies!
  • Cinnamon – a must in any oatmeal cookies
  • Quick-cooking oats – not old-fashioned or steel-cut. You can make your own quick oats if you only have the other kind!
  • All-purpose flour – use the spoon and level method to measure

Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

  • Mix the softened butter and peanut butter in a large bowl with a mixer.
  • Add granulated sugar and packed brown sugar and cream them with the butter mixture until light and fluffy.
  • Add the egg, milk, vanilla extract, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and mix until smooth.
  • Add the oatmeal and flour and mix until combined.
  • Scoop two tablespoons of the cookie dough to form each dough ball. Place them two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Use a fork to make a hash mark on the top of each ball, lightly pressing them down. If the dough sticks to the fork, you can dip it in the granulated sugar.
  • Bake cookies at 350°F for 11 to 14 minutes. The cookies are done when they are no longer glossy on top. Cool them on the baking sheets for five minutes before moving them.
Three peanut butter oatmeal cookies on a royal blue plate next to a spoonful of peanut butter

Variations

These cookies are pretty fantastic all on their own – soft, chewy, with the perfect amount of peanut butter. But I love to dress them up, too! My favorite way is to make peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but there are other options, too.

You can add 1 ½ cup of add-ins – here are some ideas:

  • Chocolate chips – milk, dark, semisweet, and white chocolate are great!
  • Peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips
  • Add Toffee Bits or chopped candy (like peanut butter cups)
  • Chopped nuts like peanuts, walnuts, or almonds

Or, do a combination of add-ins – just be sure to keep the total amount to a cup and a half.

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies stacked on eachother with top cookie cut in half to show inside

FAQs

Do I have to use quick oats?

For this recipe, you do. Quick oats cook faster than steel-cut oats and old-fashioned oats, so for this recipe, there’s not a substitute. Make your own quick oats by pulsing old fashioned in a blender or food processor for a few pulses!

Can I use chunky peanut butter? 

Yes, for a different texture, you can sub creamy peanut butter for the chunky style.

Can I use natural peanut butter?

I find that regular creamy peanut butter works best in cookies, and I haven’t tested this recipe with the natural kind (the type that you need to stir before using).

Can I freeze cookies?

Yes, you can freeze oatmeal peanut butter cookies for up to a month. Keep them in a freezer-safe container and let them sit out at room temperature to thaw.

What is the secret to chewy cookies?

This depends on the type of cookie you’re making! For peanut butter oatmeal cookies they’re chewy because of the oats.

Peanut butter oatmeal cookies stacked on eachother with top cookie cut in half to show inside

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

5 from 6 votes
These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are both oatmeal and peanut butter cookies – two classics, combined! They are soft, chewy and full of great flavors.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 34 minutes
Yield 22 cookies
Serving Size 1 cookie

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (133g) creamy peanut butter
  • ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
  • cup (67g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cups (128g) quick cooking oats
  • ¾ cup (93g) all-purpose flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  • Mix butter and peanut butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add both sugars and cream until fluffy.
  • Add egg, milk, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix until smooth. Mix in oats then mix in flour.
  • Scoop 2-tablespoon size balls of cookie dough 2-inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Use a fork to press them down with crisscross marks, like you would with regular peanut butter cookies. If the fork sticks to the cookie dough, dip the fork in some granulated sugar.
  • Bake for 11-14 minutes or until they just lose their glossy sheen. Cool at least 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • Use up to 1 ½ cups of any mix ins: nuts, candy, chocolate chips, etc. 
  • Freeze for up to 3 months.
  • Have a peanut allergy? A reader let me know she made this recipe as written using WOW Butter and they worked perfectly.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 120mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Other Favorite Cookies

These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are both oatmeal and peanut butter cookies – two classics, combined! They are soft, chewy and full of great flavors.

Last Updated on February 7, 2023



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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9 Comments

  1. PLEASE RESPOND

    What cream are you referring to Dorothy?

    In the recipe you instruct to add tgr cream -?
    What cream???

    Please answer and clarify.

    Thank you .
    Lisa

    1. Nowhere in the recipe does it call for adding cream. It mentions “creaming” the butter and sugar, which is a mixing technique.

  2. I just made these with Natural Peanut Butter and mini chocolate chips. I will definitely make them again.

  3. These cookies are SOOOO good!! I just made them this morning….when my “cookie monsters” get ahold of them there probably won’t be any left tonight! These are going into my favorites file. 🙂

  4. The Quaker Oats recipe for Oatmeal cookies states you can use old fashioned oatmeal or the quick cook oatmeal in their recipes. Why does yours require the quick cook oatmeal?