This may be my favorite peanut butter cookie ever. I’m not sure what it is, but something about the texture of the oats and peanut butter combined with the flavor and texture of the drizzle just does it for me. Plus, the cookies aren’t too sweet – just rich and packed with flavor.
This batch was for today’s Girl Scout meeting and while they had some competition from Toffee-Studded Snickerdoodles, they disappeared by the time the meeting was over. It’s also worth noting that the moms who stopped by seem to love these as much (maybe more?) than the kids.
I followed the directions from the Hershey’s test kitchen, but used a stick of I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter instead of butter. One thing I noticed was that the cookies didn’t spread much, so if you use something other than regular butter, you may want to pat the balls of dough down so they’ll bake flat.
Tip: The microwave is a great tool for melting chocolate, but things have changed in the past few years. Most home microwaves are more powerful and using the high setting may turn your chocolate (and especially other flavors) chips into a grainy mess. The trick is to adjust the power to 40 or 50% . When I’m melting chips that are really high in sugar, like white chips, I often use the defrost setting.
Double Striped Peanut Butter Cookies
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened**
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups quick-cooking oats, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate Chips
2 teaspoons shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)
1/2 cup REESE’S Peanut Butter Chips
Heat oven to 350°F. Beat peanut butter and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together 1/2 cup oats, flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining oats; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with tines of fork to form a crisscross pattern.Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Place chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon shortening in medium microwave-safe container. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred. Drizzle over cookies. Repeat procedure with peanut butter chips and remaining shortening. Allow drizzles to set.
About 4 dozen cookies. **If you use unsalted butter, you may want to add an extra pinch of salt.
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened**
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/3 cups quick-cooking oats, divided
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate Chips
- 2 teaspoons shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)
- 1/2 cup REESE’S Peanut Butter Chips
- Heat oven to 350°F. Beat peanut butter and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together 1/2 cup oats, flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining oats; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with tines of fork to form a crisscross pattern.Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Place chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon shortening in medium microwave-safe container. Microwave at MEDIUM (50%) 30 seconds; stir. If necessary, microwave at MEDIUM an additional 10 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred. Drizzle over cookies. Repeat procedure with peanut butter chips and remaining shortening. Allow drizzles to set.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
These look fabulous, can’t wait to bake a batch. (Should it just be 1 teaspoon of shortening added to the peanut butter chips?)
they look wonderful! i’m glad everyone enjoyed them!
Not all cookies are meant for the children.
these look so so yummy. peanut butter cookies are my fav.
the cookies look yummy, I wish I can have a few pcs now!
With a review like that this recipe is definitely going on the list to try!! The cookies look wonderful!!
You’ve been having a peanut buttery couple of days! And peanut butter is a weakness of mine. There are too many wonderful recipes to keep up with!
Do you think the two tablespoons of shortening are completely necessary? I never use it and do not keep any around my house so it would be easier if I could omit it or use a substitute.
But these cookies look delicious and I would love to make them!
Nina, it’s actually 2 teaspoons not 2 tablespoons. The original recipe on Hershey’s.com has a typo on it. They say to use 2 teaspoons in the ingredient list, but in the instruction list it says to use “remaining tablespoon of shortening”. Having melted my share of chocolate chips, I can tell you a teaspoon will go a long way. Rubbing the shortening over the chips when you melt them helps give the melted chocolate a better texture for drizzling and I think it helps it set up a little softer. Also, I noticed Hershey has advised against using oil or butter.
Now since you don’t buy shortening, you’ll have to try another way. Maybe try skipping it altogether? It might work if you use a very, very low setting on your microwave — like defrost or level 2 if you have that. And I know they say not to, but I might try coating the chips with a little oil and then using the low setting.
Looks good, though I wish you had a “Print” button, so we could print only the recipe and not the entire page. Wish list for 2011 maybe?
ok..I’m an idiot. You do have a print button that prints just the recipe! You’re the best!
I made these last night and am shipping them off to my son in a care package today. At first I wasn’t sure I liked the oatmeal on the outside, but after they set up both my husband and I decided we like them a lot. It’s a good thing they’re not sticking around to stare us in the face!
After much thought, ok – just a little, it occurred to me that Nina should ask a neighbor for a little shortening. I don’t know about you, but I’m always giving my neighbors all kinds of things from the pantry.
Can you really go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter?
My son received the cookies in his care package and called just to say how much he LOVES the cookies!!
Out of curiosity – are these still one of your favorite peanut butter cookies?