Perfect Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy!  These oatmeal cookies have the perfect texture, and are so easy to make with or without chocolate chips!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies:

There is nothing like the smell of fresh baked cookies right out of the oven.  These oatmeal cookies smell and taste so amazing, we devoured half a batch between four of us over the weekend!  They have an incredible soft center, and of course that delicious chewy-ness from the rolled oats.  Packed with peanut butter, chocolate chips if you wish, and a hint of cinnamon, these cookies are pretty easy to fall in love with!  If you’re looking for some of my other favorite cookies try these Soft Molasses Cookies, Peanut Butter M&M Cookies, and my Salty Marshmallow Cookies!

How To Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies:

Let’s start with talking about chilling time for these cookies.  It is NOT required to chill this dough, however, you will end up with a thicker cookie if you chill for 30 minutes before cooking.

1. First, start by adding your softened butter, peanut butter, and both sugars to a large bowl if you’re using a hand mixer, or to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
2. Cream the mixture together on medium speed for 5 minutes until fluffy and pale in color.
3. Add in both eggs and the vanilla extract and beat for 2-3 minutes until everything is well combined.

4.  The fourth step shows you how your dough will look once the eggs and vanilla have been mixed in.  You can see that it looks stiffer than before the eggs were added, and you cannot see any streaks of the egg.

5. Add your flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon directly to the wet mixture.  Using your mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until combined.

6.  At this point, you can beat in the chocolate chips.  Or, if you prefer a traditional peanut butter oatmeal cookie, you can just leave them out.

Now, go ahead and chill the dough if preferred for a thicker cookie.  30 minutes will be enough.  If you are baking them right away, drop the dough by Tablespoon-fulls onto your prepared cookie sheets.

Freezing Cookie Dough:

To save this dough for later, simply form the dough that you want to save into a large ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and then place in a large zip-top freezer bag.  At this point, you can refrigerate for up to 1 week, or store in the freezer for up to 3 months.  If you are freezing the dough, Allow it to thaw completely in the refrigerator for a few hours before using.

Enjoy!

~Nichole