Why this recipe Matters

I love peanut butter, especially when it’s in a PB&J sandwich! I’ll admit, that peanut butter, plays a role in an almost daily, simple joy of mine.

Simple Joy Explained:

I‘m in the pantry, my hand reaches for the jar of peanut butter. I stand there, dipping a large spoon into the jar. Suddenly, I’m savoring each taste from the spoon. I wonder, how is something so simple, so delicious? Seriously though, who thought of this??? I’ll have to google that one later…for now, a moment of gratitude for the culinary creation that I so enjoy eating from a spoon.

Not only do I eat it straight from a spoon.

I like it spread thinly on a piece of warm toast.

In a peanut butter cup.

On a S’more.

In my ice cream.

Layered with blueberry jam on a piece of soft white bread, folded in half. Similar to the classic PB&J.

You get the gist of it.

I like peanut butter.

Second to peanut butter….

Cookies.

(I’ll spare you the cookie rant)

But, one afternoon while eating my spoonful of peanut butter, I decided I also needed a cookie.

It got me thinking, what if I combined the two?

A good old PB&J….but in a cookie?

The idea made perfect sense in my mind. After some testing in the kitchen, I created this recipe for Chewy PB&J Oat Mini Cookies.

Prepare your Taste Buds

Each bite of a Chewy PB&J Oat Mini Cookie is an explosion of flavor reminiscent of the classic sandwich. In fact, you can close your eyes and be transported to a childhood lunchroom…sounds of a brown paper bag crumpling in front of you. Suddenly, you open a plastic sandwich bag and bite into a slightly mushed sandwich. But wait, it’s not a mushy sandwich, it’s better. You are biting into a soft chewy cookie with all the flavor of that classic PB&J.

Mikey often makes a PB&J when he packs his lunch for school. So it made sense that he was my expert taste tester when it came to creating this recipe.

Leaning over the counter next to me, he smiles as bites into the different test batches.

Then he tells me, “Mom you should sell these. I’d buy these cookies!”

Oh Mikey. He’s always there to give me kind words of encouragement.

He’s almost 14 now and as I look at him, I’m intensely aware of time as it whizzes around us.

I pause to commit another moment in the kitchen with him to memory.

Then I blink, and my mind returns back to the cookie samples before us.

There are cookies in different sizes. Various jelly flavors are spread on top of each. We have a gallon of milk and two glasses between us. We taste. We sip. We nod in agreement that the cookie with the grape jelly undoubtedly wins over the strawberry one. Also, that the mini versions have just the right amount of sweetness to curb that cookie craving…and have maybe just one more.

Try this recipe and see for yourself just how delicious these Chewy PB&J Oat Mini Cookies are!

Handy Hints for Chewy PB&J Mini Cookies

• Different types of flour have varying levels of Protein.  For the best texture in these Chewy PB & J Oat Mini Cookies, I use Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour.

•To get eggs to room temperature quickly, place in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 10-15 minutes. You will know they are ready when their shells are not cool to the touch. They should be the same temperature as your hand.

•To portion the dough for these cookies, I recommend investing in a Small Cookie Dough Scoop. It will provide consistent results in the baked cookies and makes it a breeze to portion the dough evening.

•There are a few tricks to making these cookies. First, spread the peanut butter over the cookie while it is still warm, but not hot. This will allow just the right amount of the peanut butter layer to melt into the cookie. Next, allow the cookie & layer of peanut butter to cool completely before adding the dollop of jelly.

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