Best Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

We're having a rare 68 degree summer day here in Michigan.  I make it no secret that summer is not my favorite season.  I'd much rather enjoy the crisp autumn air and be able to feel the cool breeze blowing through my house as I bake up a storm.  So on these days when Michigan does what it does best, weird weather, I put on some comfy clothes, open the windows wide, and bake all day!

I received a request to bake some cookies for next week - as if I need an excuse!  I decided to get out my very best peanut butter cookie recipe.  My cookie tin is bare too, so some of these cookies will be staying home and some will hop in to the freezer until they are needed next week.  Have you ever frozen cookies?  I haven't, but I'm told they'll taste just fine when they're thawed out next week.  I can tell you that fresh from the oven, these cookies are the bomb!

This cookie is an adaptation on a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com (original can be found here).  With a little tweaking, I do declare this recipe is perfect!

The cookies are lightly browned on the bottoms, and soft through the center.  And absolutely loaded with peanut butter flavor!  These cookies stayed soft in my cookie tin for days..........well, I can tell you they stayed soft for at least two days, but beyond that I can't say because my family devoured them in that time. :)

My kiddos enjoyed them with a mug of milk, and my daughter announced they were the best peanut butter cookies ever!  And there's oats in them too - that means they're healthy right?  Of course!  Have two!  If you're experiencing unseasonably chilly weather, or you just want to scarf down some of the best cookies ever, give these a try!

Best Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter (I used Jif)

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 (10 oz.) package peanut butter chips (I used Reece's)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, vanilla, and peanut butter.  Add eggs one at a time, and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in oats.  Stir flour and oats mixture in to the butter and sugar mixture; stir until combined and batter is evenly mixed.

4. Add peanut butter chips and stir until combined.

5. Use a medium cookie scoop or drop by the rounded teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 12 minutes, or until bottoms of the cookies are just browned but tops are still soft.  Cool on pans for 2 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool thoroughly.

Double Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

I'm telling you now, these cookies will not last long in your cookie tin.  They are moist, fudgy, and loaded with yummy chocolate flavor.  Perfect for the choco-holic in your life.

While out grocery shopping with the little guy the other day I came across these baking chips.

Now, of course, the Hersey's Special Dark chips I was familiar with, but I had never seen cherry baking chips before.  I immediately thought of chocolate covered cherries and went in search for the dark chocolate chips.  My vision was to make an extremely chocolatey cookie and marry these two flavors together - think cherry cordial.  Yum!

When I got home I searched out the perfect chocolate cookie recipe.  I like using AllRecipes.com because the recipes on this site seem to have the most reviews and the most helpful suggestions on how to improve the recipe if it needs it.  I found the Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe, which apparently is a Nestle Tollhouse original.  Who knew?  In place of the chocolate chunks, I used the cherry and dark chocolate chips.  Oh, I'm so glad I did!

These cookies are amazing and everything I dreamed they would be!  Fudgy and moist in the center, and that cherry flavor really goes will with the dark chocolate.  They truly do taste just like a cherry covered cherry in cookie form.

One of the best parts is that these cookies stayed moist even after a night in the cookie tin.  Delish!  If you can track down these cherry baking chips (I found them at WalMart), you really should give these cookies a try.  And share them....I know it's hard, but you'll make lots of friends!

 

 

Double Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

Adapted from AllRecipes.com via Nestle Tollhouse

 

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup cherry baking chips

1 cup dark chocolate baking chips
 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.  Mix in vanilla.

3. Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in baking chips.

4. Scoop with a medium cookie disher and roll in to balls.  These cookies did not spread very much for me so I flattened the balls a little with the palm of my hands before placing them on the cookie sheet. Drop on to ungreased cookie sheets.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 8-11 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and centers are set but still soft.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

 

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