Crunchy Salty Sweet

I think it’s only fair that I follow up a nutritious carrot salad with a super delicious cookie recipe. Life is all about balance!

The reason I really like this recipe is not only that it is easy to put together and quick-cooking, but the dough serves as a base for any mix-ins you like. It reminds me of my favorite blondie recipe (which I will share soon!), allowing for endless possibilities.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Now, we’ll combine the wet ingredients. In a small pan over low heat (or in a microwave, in 15 second increments), melt together the butter and peanut butter. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.

Separately, mix together the cooled peanut butter and butter mixture with the dark and granulated sugars.

Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix until combined.

Add the wet to the dry.

At this point, your best bet is to get in there with your hands. It will be a very thick, play-doh-like batter. If you find there is too much flour not getting mixed in, add the optional milk 1 tablespoon at a time. I found that I needed the full 2 tablespoons to form a cohesive dough.

Add in the white chocolate and peanut butter chips, or 1 1/2 cups of whatever you’d like (some of my favorite combos are butterscotch chips and walnuts, or m&ms and chocolate chips). Your hands are still your best tool here.

Start forming the dough into golf ball sized cookies. Spread them on a cookie sheet with about 2 inches in between the cookies. These don’t expand too much during cooking.

Baxter was giving his best model pose, to try to convince me to give him some cookies. Sorry buddy.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies JUST lose their ‘jiggle’.

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Adapted from: How Sweet It Is

Prep: 15 minutes, Cook: 15 minutes, Total: 30 minutes

Makes: 20-22 cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk (optional)
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips and 3/4 cup peanut butter chips (You can use 1 1/2 cups of whatever add-ins you like…nuts, candies, chocolate, etc)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In a small pan over low heat (or in a microwave, in 15 second increments), melt together the butter and peanut butter. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.

Separately, mix together the cooled peanut butter and butter mixture with the sugars.

Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, and mix until combined.

Add the wet mixture into the dry. If you find there is too much flour not getting mixed in, add the optional milk 1 tablespoon at a time (I needed the full 2 tablespoons to form a cohesive dough).

Add in the white chocolate and peanut butter chips, or whatever mix-ins you choose. Your hands are your best tool here.

Start forming the dough into golf ball sized cookies. Spread them on a cookie sheet with about 2 inches in between the cookies.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until slightly firm.