The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies With Butterscotch Chips

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These are the best peanut butter oatmeal cookies you will ever eat. The secret is the sweet butterscotch chips that are mixed into the dough. We love a sweet & salty cookie around here and this is one of our favorites! They are thick and soft cookies and they hold their shape well.

Why You’ll Love This Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

  1. This peanut butter cookie recipe is easy to make. It’s as simple as mixing the wet & dry ingredients together separately, then combining the two, chilling and baking.
  2. They feed a crowd! They are perfect for taking to a potluck.
  3. They taste like a bakery-style cookie and will wow your loved ones!
a pile of peanut butter oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips resting on parchment paper

What ingredients do I need to make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies?

For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

ingredients for peanut butter oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips
  • Rolled Oats
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Baking Soda
  • Baking Powder
  • Salt
  • Butter
  • Peanut Butter
  • Brown Sugar
  • Granulated Sugar or Organic Cane Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla
  • Butterscotch Chips

Helpful Supplies For This Recipe

Below are some kitchen tools that I find helpful for making peanut butter oatmeal cookies:

  • Kitchen Aid Mixer – This mixer was handed down to me by my mother-in-law. It’s been going strong for quite some time now. She took her mother’s and hers is also working well. You can’t beat the quality!
  • Glass Mixing Bowls – I love these bowls and use them daily. The set has three different sizes and all come with lids.
  • Large Cookie Scoop – I use this scoop for basically all of my cookie recipes. I love that it allows me to easily make large cookies.
  • Adjustable Measuring Cup – This simple little gadget is probably my favorite. I just love it for measuring things like peanut butter, honey, or sour cream. It slides right out, which means no scraping!
  • Large Cookie Sheets – Since I prefer larger cookies, having larger cookie sheets is a must. These are 17.5″ x 12″ cookie sheets.
  • Wax Paper – This isn’t a necessity, but it’s great for resting your prepared cookie dough balls on in the fridge.
  • Parchment Paper – Let’s keep those cookie sheets clean! I plan to snag this unbleached variety when I run out next. Always looking for ways to be a bit crunchier!
  • Cooling Racks – I have a small kitchen, so I love that these stack. It’s a game changer when you have limited counter space and also love to bake.
a stack of peanut butter oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips resting on parchment paper

Pin This Recipe for Later

Don’t forget to pin this delicious Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies recipe for later!

pin image for peanut butter oatmeal cookies with cookie broke in half with one half on top of the other

How do I make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies?

The process of making these peanut butter oatmeal cookies is quite simple. You will create the cookie dough and let it chill. Bake the cookies. Let them cool completely and you’re ready to enjoy! Detailed instructions are explained below:

Making the Dough

  1. Start by beating your butter and sugars together in your stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.
  2. Next add in your eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla.
  3. Lastly, mix in your peanut butter until well incorporated.
  4. In a separate mixing bowl, you will whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and butterscotch chips.
  5. Next you will add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients just until combined. You don’t want to overmix as this will result in a tougher cookie.
  6. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before creating your cookie dough balls. It will be a little sticky at first so letting it chill slightly will make it easier to manipulate into your dough balls later.
mixed dry and wet ingredients for peanut butter oatmeal cookies in separate bowls

Preparing the Cookie Dough Balls

  1. Once your dough is chilled, using a large cookie scoop, portion your cookies out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. This will yield about 32 large cookies.
  2. After forming your cookie dough balls, you can either begin baking or you can cover the tray with plastic wrap and continue to chill for up to 48 hours before baking. I like to let mine chill for another 1-2 hours or longer before baking.
peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough balls resting on wax paper with a large cookie scoop resting next to them

Baking the Cookies

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. On a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, place 6-8 cookie dough balls spaced about 3″ apart.
    • Side note: Keep the cookie dough balls that are not currently in the oven in the fridge until right before you’re ready to use. You want to keep the dough chilled for best results!
  3. Bake for 12-14 mins. Cook time will vary by oven. The perfectly soft baked cookie will come out with the edges just starting to crisp and a middle that still looks soft.
  4. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes before moving to the cooling racks to finish cooling. The’ll finish baking while resting on the sheet.
  5. Enjoy!!
peanut butter oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips cooling on parchment paper

Serving the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

These make for a delicious dessert or afternoon snack paired with a cold glass of milk. The oats make them feel “healthy,” so I wouldn’t judge you if you decided to have one at breakfast. Pair with some protein for a well-rounded breakfast and you’re good!

How do I store Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies?

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.

Other Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes You Will Love

We are big peanut butter fans in our home as you can see. If you have a home full of peanut butter lovers, be sure to save these recipes as well!

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some commonly asked questions for this peanut butter cookie recipe.

While you don’t have to, I would highly recommend. The dough will be easier to manipulate and shape once it’s chilled. Plus, chilling cookie dough allows the flavors to meld together. I always advocate for chilling your dough and most times it is necessary if you want your cookies to turn out exactly as expected. However, because of the oats in this recipe, these cookies do not spread too much, which is a common concern.

You don’t have to, but I’d argue this is what makes this peanut butter oatmeal cookie unique! But I’ll allows encourage you to experiment in the kitchen. If you do, let me know what you come up with in the comments!

While I haven’t personally tried this, I’m sure you could! With the oats, I don’t find that I crave the additional texture of the peanuts.

If you want the same texture, I’d recommend using the Old-Fashioned Oats, but if it is all you have on hand and you’re OK with the texture changing a little, then it would probably be fine! However, avoid instant oats to avoid mushy cookies.

Yes! These work great in the freezer. Because this recipe makes such a large batch, I often will freeze any unused cookie dough balls and pull them out to use later.

Frozen Dough: You can store these in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for 3-6 months. Bake at 350 degrees, but extend the bake time by 2-3 minutes until cookies are done. OR you can thaw the dough balls in the fridge prior to baking and bake with instructions from original recipe.

Frozen Cookies: Wrap well with parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. To eat, just thaw at room temperature.

Tips for Baking The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

  • Don’t skip chilling the dough if you can help it! It really does make for a better cookie, always.
  • Prepping your dough balls all at once makes the baking process go by quicker. Having them premade speeds things up. Also use two cookie sheets so you can rotate the one in use and be able to continue baking while one batch is still cooling on the sheet.
peanut butter oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips cooling on parchment paper

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The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies With Butterscotch Chips

This peanut butter oatmeal cookie is thick, soft and includes delicious butterscotch chips that take this cookie to a new level. Perfectly sweet and salty!
Print Recipe
a peanut butter oatmeal cookie with butterscotch chips broke in half with one half stacked on the other exposing the inside of the cookie
Prep Time:45 minutes
Cook Time:12 minutes
Cool Time:15 minutes
Total Time:1 hour 12 minutes

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
  • Whisk
  • Measuring Cups and Spoons
  • Large Cookie Scoop
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Cookie Sheet
  • Wax Paper
  • Parchment Paper
  • Cooling Rack

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter softened
  • 1.5 cup brown sugar
  • 0.5 cup cane sugar or granulated
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla pure
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups flour all-purpose
  • 1.5 cups oats Old-Fashioned
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 11 oz butterscotch chips

Instructions

Making the Cookie Dough

  • In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sticks of butter and the brown sugar and cane sugar (or granulated). You can also use a hand mixer.
  • Next, beat in your eggs one at a time.
  • Add in vanilla.
  • Add in the peanut butter.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda and powder, salt, and butterscotch chips.
  • Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients just until combined, but do not overmix.
  • Refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes before creating your cookie dough balls. This will help them be less sticky and easier to form.

Preparing the Cookie Dough Balls

  • Using a large cookie scoop, portion your cookies out onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (This will yield about 32 large cookies.)
  • At this point in the process, you can either begin baking or you can cover the tray with plastic wrap and continue to chill for up to 48 hours before baking. I prefer to let mine chill for another 1-2 hours or longer before baking.

Baking the Cookies

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • On a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, place 6-8 cookie dough balls spaced about 3" apart.
  • Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are just starting to crisp and the middle looks soft.
  • Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.
  • Lastly, enjoy the best peanut butter oatmeal cookies!

Notes

Tips for making The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

  • Chill the dough before baking. Chilling cookies allows the flavor to develop well, it makes the dough easier to work with and it keeps your cookies from spreading too much while baking.
  • Bake quicker: Prepping your dough balls all at once makes the baking process go by quicker. I also like to get two trays rotating when making batches of cookies. While one is baking, the others are cooling on the tray until it’s time to move them to the cooling rack. Once the ones that are cooked are cooled, it’s time to get another batch in and I can use that cooled baking tray.
  • Freeze for later. This makes a large batch of cookie, which is great when you are serving a crowd, but not so much when you want to feed your family a little treat and are watching your waistline! The good news is that these freeze beautifully. I encourage you to freeze whatever you aren’t ready to eat yet and just pull them out the next time you want a quick dessert. They thaw quickly or can be baked from frozen with adding 2-3 minutes of additional bake time. 
Helpful tools (affiliate links): 
Servings: 32 cookies
Author: Kirsten


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13 Comments

    1. You’re so welcome, Kayla! Butterscotch just adds something extra *special* to these peanut butter oatmeal cookies!

  1. 5 stars
    Ohh, peanut butter oatmeal cookies sounds delicious and I love the butterscotch chips idea! That must taste fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing this!

  2. These look so delicious! We love cookies around here and these will definitely make their way into our favorites 🙂

  3. Thanks for this recipe! I like the hint to leave them on the baking sheet a while before moving them to a cooling rack 🙂

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