The name of these cookies is a mouthful, but there's no better way to describe the deliciousness of these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies. Chewy, thick, and an instant favorite, you better bookmark or print this recipe because you'll find yourself making them again soon.
Table of Contents
This is one of those "clean out my pantry" kind of recipes where I grabbed partially empty bags of butterscotch chips and peanut butter chips and decided to throw them into a rich peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough. They are sort of like oatmeal scotchies but way over the top by comparison. The flavors remind me of scotcheroos or 7 layer bars except with oatmeal instead of rice krispies or coconut, both of which would make excellent additions to these cookies.
These cookies are one of the rare circumstances when I actually prefer the cookies enjoyed once they have had a chance to cool completely and the chips have resolidified instead of eating them while the chips are still molten and warm.
We took these to share with friends and even though the recipe makes about 20 substantial cookies, they were gone immediately and received glowing praise and exclamations of "my new favorite cookie!" from more than a few people.
I'm positive you're going to love them.
Recipe Ingredients
- Salted Butter - I almost always bake exclusively with salted butter unless otherwise indicated in my recipes. Let it sit out for about 30 minutes to soften before adding to the other ingredients.
- Creamy Peanut Butter - I don't recommend using a natural peanut butter where the oil separates. A good old-fashioned creamy peanut butter (you could use chunky peanut butter if you prefer) is the way to go with these peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
- Sugar - A combo of brown sugar and granulated sugar gives the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor to the cookie base.
- Eggs - You will need 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks for this recipe. I know that is a little fussier than most of my cookie recipes, but it results in a more dense, chewy cookie texture that is perfect for these thick cookies.
- Vanilla Extract - A must because it balances out the other competing flavors of peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch.
- Baking Soda - The only leavener in this recipe, it helps the cookies spread just the right amount.
- Salt - Because leaving out the salt would result in bland cookies and we don't want that.
- Old-fashioned Oats - I don't recommend using quick oats, which are chopped too small for the chewiness factor I wanted for these cookies.
- All-purpose Flour - I always use regular unbleached all-purpose flours when I'm baking cookies, rather than bleached flour. I'm pretty sure you could use a 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour and gluten-free oats and this recipe would turn out great, too, if you are looking for a gluten free version.
- All the chips - We are talking chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, AND butterscotch chips. The combo is fantastic!
How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
- Cream sugars, butter, and peanut butter. In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy and light.
- Add eggs and egg yolks. Beat again until incorporated and smooth, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl so everything gets evenly mixed together.
- Add vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. The reason we add the baking soda and salt before the flour and oats is that we don't want to overmix this cookie dough, but we're also lazy and don't want to sift the baking soda and salt into the flour. This approach ensures that they get evenly dispersed throughout the cookie dough batter without overmixing the dry ingredients so the cookies are tender and chewy instead of tough and dry.
- Add dry ingredients. Add oats, mixing on low speed just until barely mixed together. We're talking just a few pulses. Add flour and mix again just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Add the chips. Add butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips, mixing just until they are evenly spread throughout the cookie dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
PRO TIP: Look, I also hate to chill cookie dough and skip it in almost any recipe that calls for it. But for these ones, I think it's necessary. Not only does it give the butter in the dough a chance to firm up, but it also gives the flour and oats a chance to absorb some of the moisture and hydrate. It results in a cookie with both a superior flavor and texture than if you were to bake these cookies right away. Can you skip it? Yes. But I don't recommend it.
- Prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a large cookie scoop to measure out large balls of cookie dough. Mine came to roughly 3.6 to 3.8 ounces almost every time. Slightly squash or flatten the balls of cookie dough into large pucks and space them out six to a pan on the baking sheets.
- Bake. Bake for 10-11 minutes. If the cookies come out misshapen, you can nudge the edges with the backs of two spoons while the cookies are still piping hot to give them a more perfectly round shape, if you care about that. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before enjoying.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, you can. These make substantial cookies that could even be shared. You could use a small cookie scoop and get closer to 3-4 dozen cookies from the same recipe. Just be aware that you will want to bake each batch for less time, more like 8-9 minutes.
If you have a peanut butter allergy you are trying to accommodate, you can swap the peanut butter for Biscoff cookie butter and the peanut butter chips for white chocolate chips and have a whole new delicious cookie.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Once the cookies have cooled completely, stack them in an airtight container and keep them on the counter at room temperature for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze these peanut butter oatmeal butterscotch CCC's for up to 3 months. Let them thaw completely and consider warming 1-2 at a time in the microwave for a few seconds before enjoying with a glass of cold milk.
Variations
This peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough makes a fantastic base that is open to all kinds of variations if you are taking the "clean out the pantry" approach. Here are some other mix-ins that you might want to try adding to the cookies at some point.
- Crushed pretzels. Up that sweet & salty factor with some bonus crunch!
- Coconut. For everybody who loves extra chewy cookies and that coconut and oatmeal combo that is so good.
- Toffee bits. As if there aren't enough chips in these cookies, throw in 1 cup of toffee bits for a candy crunch.
- Rice Krispies. We never eat rice krispies as a breakfast cereal, but we always keep it on hand for baking and I don't think you would go wrong subbing in rice krispies for oats here or simply adding 1-2 cups to the cookie dough for added texture.
- Chopped walnuts, peanuts, or pecans. For the nut-lover.
More Cookie Recipes
- Reese's Pieces Cookies
- Butterfinger Cookies
- Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Copycat Levain Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Boston Cream Pie Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- â…” cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy and light.
- Add eggs, egg yolks, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Beat again until incorporated and smooth.
- Add oats, mixing on low speed just until barely mixed together. Add flour and mix again just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Add chips, mixing just until they are evenly spread throughout the cookie dough. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a large cookie scoop to measure out 3.7-ounce balls of cookie dough. Shape into large pucks and space them out six to a pan on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
- Storage: Once the cookies have cooled completely, stack them in an airtight container and keep them on the counter at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: You can also freeze these peanut butter oatmeal butterscotch CCC's for up to 3 months. Let them thaw completely and consider warming 1-2 at a time in the microwave for a few seconds before enjoying with a glass of cold milk.
- Freezing cookie dough: Another option is to freeze the pucks of the cookie dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until frozen, then transfer them to a freezer-safe airtight ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen by adding and extra 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- Variations:
- Crushed pretzels. Up that sweet & salty factor with some bonus crunch!
- Toffee bits. As if there aren't enough chips in these cookies, throw in 1 cup of toffee bits for a candy crunch.
- Rice Krispies. We never eat rice krispies as a breakfast cereal, but we always keep it on hand for baking and I don't think you would go wrong subbing in rice krispies for oats here or simply adding 1-2 cups to the cookie dough for added texture.
- Chopped walnuts, peanuts, or pecans. For the nut-lover.
- Coconut. For everybody who loves extra chewy cookies and that coconut and oatmeal combo that is so good.
First off, this recipe is delicious. Secondly, you should Never bake cookies above 350. I made this the first time at 400 and got little golf balls. The second time I baked at 350 and smooshed them with a glass dipped in sugar. Hoping that I can show pictures of the difference.