In stressful times, falling back on the classics is truly one of the best things you can do for yourself. Meaning, if your week has been a difficult one, bake these cookies tonight, and all will be OK again. At least for the 30 minutes it will take you to mix, bake, and sink your teeth into a warm peanutty cookie. Where your head goes after those 30 minutes is fully up to you. But since it’s Friday, my hope is that it’s chill time, and we can all take some time to relax, cook, bake, and enjoy a couple of days off. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Thank God for Fridays, they’ve always been my favorite day of the week… On the flip side, no matter how old I get, Sundays will always be my least favorite day. Why? Because as a kid Sunday meant it was back to school the next day. Which meant so much anxiety for me. I may be out of school now, and these days I actually look forward to Mondays, but I can’t shake those Sunday anxiety driven feelings. They occasionally creep up, which is weird, but I’ve kind of just learned to live with it. And to bake cookies to take the edge off! It’s not the perfect solution, but you know, it works. Which brings me to these perfectly peanutty, oatmeal cookies that are studded with chocolate chunks, and literally melt in your mouth. I’m sure you guys have noticed, but I don’t have a ton of classic recipes here on HBH. I’m much more about sharing a twist on classics, giving them a bit of a facelift, as some may say. Here’s the truth though, when it comes to desserts, I really love the classics. Especially the classics I grew up eating…chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, peanut bars, and mom’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I’ve yet to share my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. But today I’m finally sharing my go-to peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe. Although, if you are a vegan, I adore these cookies from last year too. These cookies were inspired by my dad’s upcoming birthday, and his love of all things peanut butter and chocolate. I knew it was the perfect time to bake and photograph these cookies for the site… Maybe I should have called them Birthday Cookies? Here’s what you need to know in a nutshell. I use my mom’s base oatmeal cookie recipe and simply add creamy peanut butter and chocolate chunks. Yep, that’s it! DELICIOUS. Favorite part? These are the simplest cookie to make. They requiring just one bowl, no chill time, pantry ingredients, and about 30 minutes total. Yes, this means if you got up right now and started baking these cookies, you could finish reading this post with a warm, peanutty, chocolatey oatmeal cookie in hand in about 25 minutes or so. They’re dangerous, and yet perfect in every way. The secret to these cookies is to use oil in place of butter. Normally I’m an all butter, all the time, girl. But with this cookie recipe there is no sub in my opinion, oil is what works best. The second secret is to use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar. Now, here’s the deal. I don’t love an overly sweet cookie, so I keep my sugar pretty reduced. That said, if you love a sweet cookie, you might add 1/4 cup additional granulated sugar. But again, I don’t really think it’s needed. I love using a greater amount of brown sugar because I think it’s flavor is best. But the granulated sugar adds a nice texture and chew that I think serves the cookie well. So use both. And the third trick? Chocolate chunks. Yes, I know everyone knows about chocolate chunks, but I use a lot. I prefer the dark variety, but milk chocolate is great too. Use what you love. Oh and then? A nice dusting of flaky sea salt. You don’t have to, but it sure is good… And with that, I’m going to leave you with the recipe and wish you all a very chill weekend that’s hopefully full of cookies. Ah, the best kind of weekend. See ya Sunday for another round of favorites. If you make these peanut butter chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
