Peanut butter and chocolate lovers rejoice! I’ve combined at least 3 delicious cookies into 1 mouthwatering recipe with my big fat peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Consider yourself warned: these cookies are exploding with flavor, unapologetically thick, and hopelessly irresistible. They’re guaranteed to satisfy almost every cookie craving.
A cookie to end all cookies, these big fat peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a mouthful. I was inspired to try these decadent treats after seeing the cover of my cookbook, Sally’s Cookie Addiction, for the first time. The glorious monster cookies gracing the book cover are loaded with M&Ms and can be found in Chapter 2 and have recently been added to my website.
This recipe, however, skips those rainbow candies and focuses instead on a flavor relationship like no other. Chocolate chips and peanut butter. It’s a match made in cookie heaven! In this recipe, we’re combining that perfect pairing with textured oats to achieve the thickest, richest, and most satisfying cookie.
Tell Me About These Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Texture: Loaded with so many delicious add-ins, these cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and are unbelievably thick. (I’m always shocked by how thick they turn out.) If you want to go even bigger and thicker, try these big fat dark chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies next!
- Flavor: Ordinary chocolate chip cookies are buttery sweet on their own, but the peanut butter-chocolate pairing here brings a delicious decadence to these cookies. If this flavor pairing is a favorite, be sure to add these peanut butter chocolate cookies to your list, too.
- Ease: Simple to make, the dough comes together in just minutes using a few staple pantry add-ins like old-fashioned oats and peanut butter. Make them for same-day snacking or prepare them ahead of a special occasion (see Note).
- Time: This dough can be prepped and chilled in under an hour. 20 minutes in the refrigerator (the same amount of time we chill dough for brownie cookies) helps the oats soak up some moisture and prevents the cookie from overspreading.
If you love these cookies but don’t have oats, try these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies instead. If you love these cookies but need a gluten free dessert recipe, try these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies or flourless monster cookies instead. We’ve got all the bases covered!
One reader, Dyna, says: “Hands down the BEST cookie recipe I have ever made, and I’ve made a lot of cookies… All the extra notes and suggestions too were spot on. Following those tips made for a beautiful, delectable cookie!”
Recipe Testing: What Works & What Doesn’t
- The weight of peanut butter. This cookie dough is adapted from my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The addition of peanut butter here, however, can weigh down the dough. To counter this, I add baking powder for lift.
- A spreading solution. When testing the recipe, I found the cookies weren’t spreading enough. I decided to swap the quantities of granulated sugar and brown sugar. Granulated sugar—dry and thin—helps increase cookie spread. Brown sugar—moist and thick—keeps cookies compact. Increasing the granulated sugar makes all the difference in this dough for the perfect spread. You won’t even miss that extra brown sugar flavor because the peanut butter is our front-runner.
- Fewer oats + more chocolate. When testing, I originally had a higher quantity of oats in the cookies. I decided to reduce that amount to make room for more chocolate chips. Can you blame me?
Choosing the Right Ingredients:
Peanut butter. Though natural-style peanut butter is my #1 choice for eating and snacking, I recommend using non-natural peanut butter for this particular cookie recipe. Natural peanut butter can be used in my regular peanut butter cookies (though the cookies are a little crumblier than intended), but it’s not ideal for today’s recipe. Instead, use Jif or Skippy. You can use creamy or crunchy, but I prefer creamy peanut butter as crunchy can make the cookies taste a little dry. You need 1 cup of peanut butter for this recipe.
Room-temperature butter. Like my basic soft chocolate chip cookies, the base of today’s oatmeal cookie recipe is creamed room-temperature butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. You can’t cream butter and sugar together if the butter is too warm or too cold. (It usually spells disaster for your cookies!) Room temperature butter is about 65°F (18°C). It’s cool and slightly firm to touch, not warm or slippery. I recommend placing your butter on the counter for 1 hour prior to beginning the recipe to achieve ideal “room temperature” butter. If you don’t have an hour, here is my trick to soften butter quickly. You need 1 cup of butter for this cookie dough.
Whole oats: To ensure the cookies spread nicely and do not dry out, be sure to use whole oats and not quick oats. Quick oats are cut finer, and will soak up more moisture in the dough.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
After you prepare the peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies dough, chill it for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. After chilling, it’s time to scoop the dough and bake the cookies. Each cookie uses 2 Tablespoons of dough which is about the same size as these regular chocolate chip cookies. Arrange the cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on your baking sheet. These cookies are large, so I use a medium cookie scoop and overflow it with dough (since the medium only holds 1.5 Tablespoons.)
More Quick Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
- Mini M&M Cookies
- Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brownie Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 32 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Big fat peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are easy, thick, and exploding with peanut butter, oats, and chocolate chips to satisfy your cookie cravings.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (170g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 2 and 1/2 cups (450g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for topping if desired
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the oats. Once combined, beat in the chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Cover and chill the dough for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator (and up to 4 days). If chilling for longer than 1 hour, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking because the dough will be quite hard.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Scoop balls of dough, 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie, and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is only for looks!
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature then continue with step 4. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Peanut Butter: Use a non-natural peanut butter like Jif creamy or Skippy creamy. I do not suggest using natural style or oily peanut butter as both produce crumbly, fragile, and sandy tasting cookies. (Try this recipe for flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies if you want to use natural!) Crunchy peanut butter is OK, but I find the cookies taste a little dry with it.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hands down the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made- the perfect combination of crispy and chewy, and so flavourful! The peanut butter isn’t overwhelming, and the oats add just the right amount of texture. The recipe is easy to follow too, making it a real keeper. This will be my go-to cookie recipe from now on. I added chopped pecans:)
I love this recipe, and my husband and I keep the dough frozen in the freezer so we can just pop a few into the oven anytime! I am making some baked goods for a group meeting and one of the attendees follows a vegan diet. Can I use mashed bananas as a substitute for eggs in this recipe?
Hi Olivia, we’re so glad these are a favorite! We have never tested this recipe with an egg substitute, but let us know if you try anything. If you are interested, here are all of our egg free baking recipes.
I ended up making these cookies with aquafaba, coconut sugar, and vegan chocolate chips. They are a bit softer than usual, but they’re delicious! I cooked them for about an hour before baking and did not let them come up to room temperature because the dough was quite soft. My husband loves them, and he is very picky so I think they will be a hit with my group.
The vegan chocolate is quite bitter, so I drizzled some caramel sauce that I made with coconut milk over them to balance them out.
Oh, I live in a rural area and vegan chocolate chips were difficult to find, and quite pricey, so I only used half of the chocolate the recipe called for. It still tastes delicious and was probably a good choice since the chocolate is a tad bitter.
Sorry to reply twice, I forgot to mention that I used plant butter instead of actual butter. My husband has high cholesterol and so we have been closing plant butter for quite a while. We actually bake all of your recipes with it (with the exception of pastry, which is half butter and half plant butter).
I liked the cookies so much that I made a second batch. 1/2 cup peanut butter and only 1/2 cup of mini choc. chips. They tasted great. As in my first try, I added 1/4 cup of molasses instead of using brown sugar. Here’s the good part: being a guy and also being very hungry, I nixed the ‘creaming the butter and sugar’ part did not blend the eggs and butter together. Heck, I just put everything in one big bowl and mixed it with a wooden spoon till everything was blended. (not pretty but it gets you there!) The cookies came out great. Awesome recipe. My reason for the molasses instead of brown sugar and only 1/2 cup of (mini) chips was to reduce the sugar content. The chips were nicely distributed throughout. Also, I only used 1/2 cup of (natural) peanut butter which posed no problem in taste or workability of the recipe. I also baked them for about 17 min.
This is my staple cookie recipe – always is so delicious!! Would using quick oats possibly explain my cookies spreading so much?! I followed recipe exactly to the gram and made sure to chill dough. and chill each batch before baking so they aren’t sitting out warming up before baking. I must have dreamed seeing in this recipe that you could use either quick oats or old fashioned. but maybe OF oats do a better job holding together in this recipe! regardless, they turn out delicious and always a crowd favorite. just want to get it dialed in!
Hi Hannah, We’re glad you love this recipe. Quick oats are more powdery and dry out the cookies. We recommend sticking with whole oats for best results. You may find this post on how to prevent cookies from spreading helpful.
Your recipe does not say when to add the oatmeal!! I assume the oatmeal can be mixed in with the flour.
I almost missed adding the oatmeal.
Recipes should be specific.
Hi Peg, See step 3 – Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the oats.
Also you’re not adding oatmeal you add just the dry oats into the recipe.
These cookies are always a hit! I would love to know how many grams of this cookie dough = 2 tablespoons. I find it easier to measure by weight rather than scoop.
Hi Wendy, we haven’t weighed this dough to add that specification yet, so we’re unsure of the exact weight of the dough balls.
I was making these today and saw your question. I weighed my dough out of a medium cookie scoop and it was 54 grams
I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and they are mine and my in-laws favorite goto cookies. The only thing that I have changed is that I reduce the amount of peanut butter to about a quarter of a cup to add a hint of peanut butter flavor to enhance the chocolate flavor and they are my favorite. We even served these cookies at my wedding and everybody loved them! Even after two years, my father-in-law always asks if Morgan can make her famous wedding cookies.
They came out great. I omitted the brown sugar but added 1/4 cup of molasses instead. Reduced the chips to 1 cup of mini chips: they were nicely distributed throughout the finished product.
Hi I was wondering what to do if I don’t have chocolate chips
Hi Deanna, you can leave them out or swap with another favorite add-in.
Hi, I plan to make these and take them on a camping trip. What is the best way to store them? Thanks!
Hi LBrown, cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. We would store in an air-tight container or a large zip-topped bag.
We love these and I make double the recipe and freeze some, all recipes off this site are incredible. I have 3 men in my home and Sally’s baking recipes is my go to ❤️
Yummy
I made these letting the dough chill about an hour. While the flavor was ok there was a grainy texture to them. I have found this in other cookies – they seem to have a dryness to them , which often fades as they age a bit . HOWEVER, since I am someone who likes to see how a cookie ages ( for shipping etc) I left several in my glass cookie jar and some in sealed plastic containers. After two full days there was no longer any grainy texture and the flavor was much fuller and deeper. In fact, they went from “meh” to very good. So… I will next chill the dough a full overnight to allow the oats to soak up more liquid and become less dry AND I will certainly be making these again and starring them in my cookie shipments! Thanks Sally!
Delicious, i made this dairy free. I did not use room temp anything, also used natural Adam’s peanut butter and less chocolate chips (used chunky). husband said a little too sweet, might cut some sugar to test.
Excellent. I swapped half the chips for peanut butter chips. I prefer weighing ingredients so thank you for that! I was a bit worried about some of the reviews… I do know a trick is to pull them out of the oven before they seem done. Just a bit browned around the edges, they will continue to bake but they are soft and chewy. My batch was very soft and sticky, easy to work with (even chilled). I made my balls 1.2 oz. Thank you!
These tasted great but mine fell flat! Any idea why? Thanks!
Hi Kate, Here are our best tips for preventing cookies from spreading!
Awesome, thank you for the quick response and tips! Thinking maybe I creamed the butter and sugar too long and will also try chilling the dough longer next time. I’m determined to get these just right!!
Great recipe!! Because I live in a very humid climate, I added additional flour so the cookies wouldn’t go flat. Based on the comments, I split the chips between pb and chocolate. Came out perfect. Will definitely make these again! Can always count on Sally’s recipes!
Texture is too crumbly. Flavor of the semisweet chocolate chips overpowers the peanut butter taste. I don’t know if I’ll make it again.
Best all around cookie!
I make these for every special occasion and everyone loves them!
This recipe is awesome!! I ran out of chocolate chips after 2 cups so I added a half cup of cranberries. So stinking good!!
Very tasty cookies. Not as chewy as I wanted. Also, The final cookie was a bit sandy. But, again, tasty. I added cranberries to the second half of the batch. Works!
Loved this receipe!
I always have some frozen cookie dough rolls ready to go for my grandchildren. I would eat the whole batch myself if I baked all them right away – they are scrumptious!
Do you put your cookies on the bottom rack or center rack in the oven?
Hi Susan, we always recommend baking cookies on the center rack.
I made this recipe for my family and they all thought it was the best cookie batch I’ve ever made! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Can this be made into bars? I was hoping to skip the prep of all the cookies and just bake and cut into squares…
Hi Naomi, yes! This dough should fit nicely in a 9×13 baking pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but you could use these M&M Cookie Bars as a guide. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
I made these cookies today and they were amazing. I followed the recipe with a bit of a change. Instead of 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips (because we have a few non-chocolate lovers) I used 1 cup mini chips and a combination of dry roasted peanuts and mini peanut butter M&M’s to make up the same ratio of add ins. The directions were perfect and the cookies were loved by all. Thank you!
So sad I didn’t like this recipe. I don’t feel there is enough peanut butter and I think there were too many oats. I followed the recipe using weigh(grams).
I may never make ordinary chocolate chip cookies again – these are amazing!
These are good. Very simple recipe to follow. Going to add pb chips next time, as the peanut butter flavor isn’t as pronounced.