I finally made the award winning Mrs. Fields cookie recipe. My guests (sister and mother-in-law) gave the cookies thumbs up and took some home – not too many though, because I only made about twenty.
Interestingly, when I scaled the recipe down it was almost identical to the scaled down King Arthur Monster cookie. But I like these cookies better because they have a solid butterscotch/pecan theme and don’t have any flour – which makes them more monster-y since real monster cookies don’t have flour.
I used quick cooking (not instant – those are different) oats rather than “old fashioned”. Oat cookies made with quick cooking oats taste less health foodish, which is good if you’re serving them to children. Not that my child would care, because she’s inherited her father’s sick peanut butter aversion gene. Argh.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Scotchies (Scaled Down)
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 2 teaspoons, room temp
1/2 cup peanut butter (Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan – kind with sugar)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract,
1 large egg
2/3 tsp baking soda (strange measure, but you can eyeball it)
1 1/2 cups quick cooking (not instant!) oats
2/3 cup of butterscotch chips
1/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter, peanut butter and both sugars. Add salt, vanilla, egg and baking soda and beat for about 30 seconds. Stir in oats, then add butterscotch chips and nuts.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls or smallish tablespoons on a greased cookie sheet or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (brown on bottom and some browning on top). Cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
Makes about 20 cookies
I have mixed feelings about this cookie. I have made it several times, and I like it OK, but just OK. However, everybody else who has tried them LOVES them. I had them specially requested to take to a baby shower. As far as oatmeal cookies go, I much prefer the browned butter-praline ones — I just feel like they have more flavor. The Mrs. Fields ones, I just feel like I want to add … something. But everybody else loves them, so maybe it’s just me.
Kristin, I don’t know if you noticed (and I didn’t mention it), but I added salt. The original recipe didn’t have any salt at all. I added 1/8 teaspoon to my recipe, which would be 3/8 teaspoon if you were to make the whole. I think the salt really bumped up the flavor.
Anna,
Would it make a difference if you use Old Fashioned Oatmeal instead of the quick cooking? Just wondering…
Thanks! BTW – Love your blog
Anna –
I’m sorry – After posting my above question – I re-read your post and saw that you used the quick cooking because it made them taste less health foodish – which I completely understand as a mom!
Other than that though – would it be okay to use the old fashioned if that is what you have on hand?
I made these today, too. and I just HAD to add salt. can’t fathom making a cookie with no salt.
I used rolled oats and should have used the quick cook or a combo of quick and rolled.
I thought they were quite good, but I don’t know that I would have given them the grand prize. I’d say good, but not great. maybe they’d be closer to great with the quick oats.
Hi Bonnie, thanks for commenting! And yes, I liked the quick cooking oats a lot. I usually use old fashioned oats, but there really does seem to be a difference in cookies made with quick cooking and old fashioned
Valerie, as usual we are in agreement here. Without salt or salted butter, a lot of cookies taste flat. Glad you added the salt. Also, you might be inclined to like these more if you used the quick cooking. I think I’m going to start making all monster cookies with quick cooking instead of of old fashioned.
That was an extremely competitive contest, so I guess the judges had something particular in mind. These were great in that they are really easy to throw together and the lack of flour is kind of interesting. But there were SO many good cookies. My favorite was probably the candied cashew cookies, but those did require a bit more work. I’m pretty sure that I would make these again because 1) people liked them so much and 2) they came together quickly.
I knew it! I knew reindeer loved Oatmeal Peanut Butter Scotchies.
Yeah, my dad told me this. He learned it from Santa, who was a buddy of his in the army.
These sound just delish. I agree, I like them better than the KA monster cookies. Thanks for the scaled down recipe, as always!
Julie
I made these according to the original recipe. TOO sickening sweet for my taste. My Husband loves them??