Friday, March 25, 2011

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't usually buy cookies, but when Girl Scout cookie season rolls around, there's a good chance I might pick up a box or two. This year, as I was munching a Do-Si-Do, the Girl Scout peanut butter sandwich cookie (also known as Savannahs, depending on the bakery that makes them), I thought that I should work on a similar cookie. After all, Girl Scout cookie season is pretty short.

I didn't want to make exactly the same cookie, though. I wanted to improve improve upon it a little bit. Instead of an oatmeal sandwich cookie with a sweet peanut butter filling, I thought that adding peanut butter to the cookie itself would be interesting. While I was at it, I decided that chunky peanut butter would be even better.

The nice thing about oatmeal cookies is that while they're sweet, at least they've got whole grain oats. I decided to make them even a little bit better, and used white whole wheat flour instead of regular all purpose flour.

White whole wheat flour is whole grain flour, just like whole wheat flour. The difference is that whole wheat flour is made from red wheat. The red pigment in that wheat can be a little bit bitter, but since white wheat doesn't have the same pigment, many people find it a little more palatable than whole wheat.

White wheat flour is still a little darker than regular white flour, so it's noticeable in things like bread or light-colored cakes. But in cookies, chances are that no one would be able to tell which flour was used. If you're trying to get your family to eat more whole grains, you probably aren't going to stuff them with cookies, but if it's a choice between these cookies or something made without whole grains, these are a much better option.

But what good is a cookie if it doesn't taste good? These deliver. Peanut butter, bits of peanuts, and chewy-crispy oatmeal cookies are hard to resist. I made these as stand-alone cookies, but you could certainly spread a little peanut butter on the bottom of one and attach another one, if you wanted to go all the way with a sandwich cookie

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups sugar
1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the white whole wheat flour, oats, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

In another bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the vanilla, egg and peanut butter, and beat until light. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

With a small scoop, or a spoon, make 1-inch diameter balls of dough, and place them on your prepared baking sheets, leaving room for them to spread. Flatten the balls to about 1/4 thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes, until lightly browned.

Move the cookies to a rack to cool before storing.
Yum

2 comments:

Sara @ Saucy Dipper said...

Of all the cookies in the world, peanut butter cookies rank first in my book. The logical thing is to add chocolate to that PB goodness, but I like that you went for substance.

Sara said...

Found these cookies on Share Your Sweets - they look really delicious! I LOVE pb cookies with oatmeal...great texture!

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