Oatmeal Peanut Buter Cup Cookies

Every time I head down to Trader Joe's, which admittedly, is only once every few months, I can't resist grabbing a tub of their mini peanut butter cups.  It's always with the intention of baking something really neat with them, but most of the time they just sit in the pantry for weeks until Shane finds them and asks what I'm going to make.  So far, the answers have been blondies and biscotti, and while both were delicious, it's not the kind of magic I really want to make with these little bites of chocolate and peanut butter goodness.  I'm still waiting for inspiration to strike on that front, but in the meantime, I had a major craving for an oatmeal cookie and rather than go with raisins or chocolate chips, I decided to switch things up with the mini peanut butter cups.



When I set out to make these oatmeal cookies I was really hoping for something thick and chewy.  The first batch of cookies emerged from the oven fairly thin (not lacy, but I like really thick cookies) so before baking the rest of the dough, I did some experimentation with chilling it.  The dough for the second batch was chilled for 30 minutes and the final batch was baked after the dough rested in the fridge overnight.  That final batch of cookies was the thickest, but only by the smallest margin.  Despite not achieving the perfect thickness, I thoroughly enjoyed the cookies - they were really chewy and of course loaded with chocolate and peanut butter flavor.  They've been disappearing from the kitchen at a rapid rate so that's a good sign.  Oh, and no worries if you don't have a Trader Joe's where you live, I've seen mini peanut butter cups from Reese's the last few times I was at the grocery store.  In a pinch you could probably use a combination of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips as well.

My quest for a perfectly thick and chewy oatmeal cookie continues - have a favorite recipe?  Please share it in the comments below!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
adapted from Williams Sonoma

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 cups mini peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and beat until smooth.  With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.  Beat in the oats.  Use a rubber spatula to gently stir the peanut butter cups into the batter.

Use a small cookie scoop to drop balls of dough (about 1 tablespoon each) onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and golden.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 60 cookies