Peanut butter lovers rejoice! I've been loving peanut butter lately, mostly for its high protein content and flavor of course. While some might eat peanut butter by the spoonful, myself included somedays, I like to add some wholesome ingredients to it. This recipe is where peanut butter meets oats. It's a happy marriage of two power foods and I don't feel guilty about eating it at breakfast. These peanut butter oatmeal cookies turned out great, they're soft and chewy and takes less than 30 minutes tops to make.
These cookies are high in protein. Most cookies are full of carbs only and packed with sugar. These have much more protein and much less sugar. Plus this has just the right amount of peanut butter flavor. Most peanut butter cookies have at least one to two cups of sugar. This recipe doesn't even reach one! It doesn't have the traditional criss cross pattern like we've come to love, but it still has that creamy rich delicious nutty flavor. To make gluten free peanut butter cookies just make sure you use gluten free peanut butter and oats.
Why You'll Love PB Cookies
- Protein Rich One cookie is packed with protein and also whole grains. There's at least 8 grams of protein per cookie.
- Fast and Easy It only takes 20 minutes to make this from start to finish. And you can make it the night before for a fast breakfast the next morning
- Unrefined Sugar - Coconut sugar is a little better for you than white sugar. It's lower in glycemic index. I've explained it in a little more detail below in the FAQ section, if interested.
- Wholesome Oats - Oats are a great gluten free grain and one of the healthiest. It has several vitamins, minerals, fiber and even antioxidants.
- No Added Salt - Many recipes call for baking soda AND salt, I omitted sodium in this one because most jarred peanut butters already come salted.
- Flourless - This recipe is essentially flourless, just remember it isn't really low carb, for those counting calories or keto. While oats are a great grain. It does have some carbohydrates.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies Ingredients
- Eggs - help bind the dough together. You'll need two in this recipe.
- Vanilla - vanilla extract adds a tasty aroma and traditional flavor we all love.
- Peanut butter - I use the the classic peanut butter brands. You may use creamy for a finer texture or crunchy if you like the crunch in each bite. Unfortunately, natural and organic brands I've tried aren't as smooth.
- Coconut sugar - I chose this type of sugar because it's a little better than regular granulated sugar. If you would like, feel free to use white sugar.
- Old Fashioned Oats -Use good old fashioned oats for this recipe not quick cooking oats which tend to break down in the dough.
- Cinnamon - cinnamon adds a wonderful flavor to this cookie, I wouldn't skip this!
- Baking Soda - can't skip this one either. You need baking soda to help the cookies rise.
- Peanuts - optional, but I do love a crunch to my cookies.
How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies From Scratch
First, preheat your oven to 350F and gather all your needed ingredients. I say it in all my recipes, but prepping what I need before hand truly helps me not miss an ingredient. Then you'll want to line a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or a sheet of parchment paper and set it aside.
Next in a large bowl, combine your wet ingredients. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and creamy peanut butter until smooth. It will take a little elbow grease to make sure it's properly combined.
Next, in the same large bowl, it's time to add your dry ingredients into the mix. Add in the coconut sugar, old fashioned rolled oats, cinnamon, baking soda and chopped peanuts to the peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly. You may omit the chopped peanuts and use crunch peanut butter instead. I do love the whole or chopped peanuts when biting into this cookie though!
Finally, use a cookie scoop to scoop out even balls. Then roll out dough into 1 ½” balls, evenly, and add it to your prepared cookie sheet. TIp: These cookies don't expand much and it will hold its shape well. If you want flatter cookies, make you sure you do it before baking. Bake for 9 minutes until light browned and enjoy. It's very important not to over cook or over bake the cookies, otherwise the texture will be crumbly.
Remove them when the edges are cooked but your cookie center is still soft. They will continue to cook while cooling on a wire rack.
Serve with a glass of milk and enjoy!
Cook's Tips to Make Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
- If you're a chocolate lover, feel free to add some dark chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips to the mix.
- You may use ½ cup coconut sugar if you wish if you'd like to reduce your sugar.
- Want even more protein? Add some protein powder. I would only use a tablespoon maybe two. If you use more than that this recipe will be compromised, and you may turn out with some very dry cookies. I'll have to try a batch out for myself to give you exact measurements. And also, heads up not all protein powders bake the same.
- I like to cut out some baking sheets with parchment paper in advance if I'm doing several batches. I cut sheets 10 at a time and store them a drawer.
FAQ:
- Why did my cookies come out crumbly?
- You may have overcooked your cookies or used natural peanut butter, more info on this below.
- What can I use besides coconut sugar?
- You may use regular granulated sugar. It is an equal ratio of 1:1, so in this case you'd use ⅓ cup sugar instead of the coconut sugar. You may also use brown sugar.
- Can I use a liquid sweetener as a substitute, like honey?
- It does get a little more complicated when using honey or maple syrup. In general, for every cup of coconut sugar, add ¼ cup of honey. Tip: Honey and maple syrup is much sweeter than sugar. Furthermore, maple syrup and honey will lend to its specific flavors.
- What kind of oats should I use?
- I created this recipe with old fashioned oats. Quick cooking oats won't work.
- What's the difference between old fashion oats and quick oats?
- I used old fashioned oats because it generally just holds up better and gives the cookie more texture. Quick oats or instant oats don't work as well because it breaks down too easily when mixed in. It kind of disentigrates.
- Can I use natural peanut butter?
- I don't advise it. I honestly like Jiffy or Skippy for this recipe. While I do appreciate the minimal ingredients in natural pb which is usually just peanuts and salt, it will make this cookie quite dry and gritty. The big box brand peanut butter is your best bet because it has added oils in it so it doesn't dry out.
- Can I double this recipe?
- Yes of course! Just double the ingredients to make more.
- What does lower glycemic index mean when it comes to sugar?
- The number tells you how about how fast your body converts carbs from food into glucose. Essentially you can have two foods both with the same amount of carbohydrates, but have different glycemic index numbers. You want a smaller glycemic number because it has has less impact on your body's blood sugar. In a nutshell, diabetics especially, prefer lower index numbered foods because it causes a slower sugar absorption and a smaller rise in blood sugar levels.
- Can I use almond butter?
- Yes, you can. It would then be an almond butter oatmeal cookie of course.
Storage
- Can you freeze the dough ?
- Yes, Dough can be frozen up to three months and baked for 9-10 minutes. Just make sure it's wrapped in an air tight container.
- Can you freeze the cookies after baking?
- If you want to freeze the cookies after baking, just make sure you put squares of parchment paper in between each cookie so it doesn't stick to each other.
- How long will it keep?
- 2 days on the counter at room temperature should be fine. Just make sure to keep it in an air tight container to prevent dryness and getting hard.
I've included a quick how to photo for quick reference. Enjoy and hope it helps.
Looking for more cookie recipes? Try these:
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Tried this peanut butter cookie recipe and love it? Please leave me a comment and rating below. Feel free to also tag me, I love to see your creations and sharing them. For more inspiration follow us on Instagram Or like us on Facebook
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tbs Vanilla
- 1 cup Peanut Butter crunchy, smooth or natural
- ⅓ cup Coconut Sugar may sub any sugar, banana, honey or maple syrup
- ¾ cup Old Fashioned Oats
- ½ tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ cup Peanuts unsalted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla and peanut butter until smooth.
- Add the coconut sugar, oats, cinnamon, baking soda and chopped peanuts to the peanut butter mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Scoop or roll dough into 1 ½” balls, evenly, and line a cookie sheet. Cookies will hold shape well so you may flatten each cookie a bit before baking for a flatter cookie. Bake for 9 minutes and enjoy.
Notes
Dough can be frozen up to three months and baked for 9-10 minutes.
Nutrition
w
Leave a Reply