Thursday, June 25, 2009

[Cookie 022] Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

(*Edit* Upon further inspection--ie. eating the cookies a few hours after they were baked--I have amended several of my comments!)

So I think it's high time we have a very important discussion. You know, the one that can truly divide bakers into 2 teams, into 2 rivaling categories. There are those who support one side, and those who do not. Some who have superior taste buds, and others who are not in their right mind.

Winning Combination

I am talking, of course, about the great Chocolate-Peanut Butter debate. Some, my mother and myself included, see this combination as the building blocks of decadence and indulgence, a flavor combination for the ages. Others, such as my father, could not think of a worse pairing of flavors. These people are crazy, obviously.

Ultimate Combination

I began thinking about this last night when I was watching So You Think You Can Dance (guilty!) with my mom and an advertisement for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups came on. I seriously love these advertisements so much; maybe it's because I'm a die-hard choco-peanut-ophile, but I truly think these ads are just fabulous in every way. As my mom and I are watching the 30-second spot, we are salivating, our eyes transfixed by the TV screen. "What I would do for a Reese's right now..." my mom laments. We are devoted, you see.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, ready to bake

My father, as I mentioned earlier, does not understand this. He hates those candies, and any cookie with said delicious combination of ingredients. Seeing as he is out of town this week, what better time than to make a cookie falling under this beautiful category. Enter Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. My mom and I had high, high hopes.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie

Alas, while the recipe was simple enough, and used ingredients that we really thought could do no wrong, it simply didn't live up to our expectations, at first. But before I elaborate, let me just say that there is hardly any flour in the recipe at all, thus producing a quite crunchy cookie, but also a rather flat one at that. Also, as I baked 2 batches simultaneously, they didn't bake evenly, and several cookies were a little burnt. But, the third batch I made used dough that had been refrigerated a bit, and this made all the difference. These cookies didn't flatten out so much, and looked more like the photos in the book.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

In the end, though, I must admit that the dough tasted a little better than the actual cookie. For such a lethal (good-lethal) pairing of ingredients, I was underwhelmed at how they tasted straight out of the oven. After eating a few, I hastily sat down at my computer and wrote this entry, intending on giving the recipe a rather mediocre review. However, when I tried the cookies several hours after I finished them, they tasted a lot better. I think these improve with age; at first they were rather uninspiring, but now that they have sat out for a while, they are crunchier, crispier, and more flavorful. Plus, the addition of whole peanuts to the dough gives them a great crunch when paired with the softer chocolate chips and oatmeal.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen (I halved the recipe, obviously)

Ingredients
  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups salted whole peanuts
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
  2. Put sugars, butter, and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
  3. Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix in peanuts and chocolate chips.
  4. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop balls of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.
****


{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 4/5 (At first I gave these a 3, but now I think they taste pretty swell, in fact)
Attractiveness: 2/5
Is it worth it?: Actually, I would say yes! Just give 'em a while to harden up and get crispier.

****

By the by, I made Lemon Meringue Cupcakes a few days ago as well. Check out my other blog, Notions & Curios, for pictures and the link to the recipe!

9 comments:

Amanda said...

I just tried these cookies (I was looking for a healthy-ish cookie with chocolate, and voila, you answered my sweet tooth! :P), and they're pretty good! They're kind of flat even though I refrigerated the dough and a lot of them burned because I didn't check the oven often enough. My mom says that they're the best cookies she's ever tasted, so I'm happy about that - but I wish I had put in more chocolate chips.

Lizzie said...

amanda- I'm so glad the recipe was such a hit! and I agree about the chocolate chips; though I generally feel that every cookie needs more chocolate chips, regardless.

Heidi said...

Lizzie,

I just joined The Foodie Blogroll myself and that is where I came across your blog! What a great idea to make every cookie in Martha's book (I have that book also and I love it) BUT, I'm having a problem reading your blog. I don't know if anyone else is having this problem but everytime I access your blog, the whole left side of the page is cut off. Your photos are unaffected but the words are chopped off so reading it is about impossible because so many words are missing. I tried on 2 different computers and it was the same story. Hmmm? Has anyone mentioned this or is it just me! I want to thoroughly read all of your entries but it's just too frustrating with so many words gone!

Heidi

Lizzie said...

Heidi-

Hmm that is definitely worrisome. I can't say I've come across that problem when I view my blog, but I'll be sure to check it out on some other computers. No one else has complained of this issue, so maybe you just need to refresh the page? I know that's totally not going to do anything but I really don't know what's wrong! And I want you to read my blog! Ah! :(

Lizzie said...

Heidi-

One last thing, what web browser are you using?

-Lizzie

Linda B. said...

Um, I'm sorry... I just can't get over the fact that you and your mom watch So You Think You Can Dance.

Tracy said...

Okay Lizzie...... I have read about and drooled over all the cookies you've made so far. I agree that this is a most excellent endeavor you have undertaken. I have not read any other comments so I don't know if this question has been asked and answered yet: WHAT are the supremely scrumptious chocolate cookies in your header????? I am quite positive you have not made those ones yet?!?! Please tell me!!!!

Lizzie said...

Linda- The sad thing is, it's definitely not even the worst show we watch together. Biggest Loser, American Idol, Hell's Kitchen (though we don't watch that show anymore, because it's actually too awful), the list goes on...

Tracy- Actually, no one has yet asked about the cookies in the header yet, surprisingly! But even more surprising is the fact that they actually aren't in the cookie cookbook! They are Martha Stewart cookies however (called Outrageous Chocolate cookies--the name is apt), but I made the header when I had only just started my blog and didn't have many cookie pics to choose from that I had made. I have been thinking of changing it up though...

Tracy said...

As yummy as the Outrageous Chocolate Cookies look, I definitely think you should change the header cookie to one or two you've baked from the book. Especially since all the finished products look so great!