Peanut Butter Spiced Oatmeal Cookies
I may have gone a little crazy with this one! This recipe combines all of the best kinds of cookies; Peanut Butter, Pumpkin Spice and Oatmeal! This truly is the perfect combination of all three, and will have you wondering where have these been all my life!? Once you try these, you’ll never look at ‘regular’ cookies the same way again. A fun little game to play is to make these for others, then have them try to guess what kind of cookies they are. Will they just guess one kind, or be able to pick out a few of the different flavors?
Any way that I can incorporate oats into my meals is a win to me, as they’re so healthy, and you truly do feel the difference in energy and satiety after having them! My Apple Pie Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Everything Oatmeal Bars and Pumpkin Pancakes, which all have an oat base, can attest to that!
I love combining oatmeal and peanut butter; I make warm oatmeal bowls at home often and like to swirl in a spoonful of peanut butter once the oatmeal is hot and ready to be served, ensuring that the peanut butter is fully melted. Add some cinnamon, chopped dates and maybe a bit of maple syrup, and you’ve got a delicious breakfast that is healthy, filling and the ultimate high-protein comfort meal.
These Peanut Butter Spiced Oatmeal Cookies were created out of my love of this combination. I decided to kick it up even further by adding some delicious warm spices; cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Another beautiful thing about this recipe is that all of the ingredients are easy to find and commonly used, you probably already have all of them at home!
These cookies are moist, satisfying, and of course very flavorful. This recipe makes a large batch, and they freeze and reheat so well, so feel free to keep them in the freezer. You can either pop a couple in the microwave, or allow them to thaw on the counter for 15 minutes before indulging!
Enjoy them for dessert or even breakfast with your morning coffee, you’re going to love them!
Oatmeal: The true base of these cookies, they lend a chewy and hearty texture. For less of an oat texture, use quick oats rather than rolled oats. Oatmeal is packed with fiber, which aids in digestions and helps keep you feeling full for longer periods. Additionally, it contains essential nutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc, contributing to overall health and well-being.
Whole Wheat Flour: The whole wheat flour helps the cookies rise a bit and have a lighter feel, balancing out the heaviness of the oatmeal. Whole wheat flour, rather than refined white flour, also provides fiber and healthy, complex carbs.
Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg and Cloves: This combination of spices is the perfect balance to create a deep, satisfying flavor that also doesn’t overpower the peanut butter or oatmeal elements, and instead complements them! These warm spices also provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and improve digestion, as well as support healthy immune function, blood circulation and heart health.
Baking Soda: Baking soda serves as a leavening agent in this recipe, helping the cookies rise and achieve the perfect texture. It reacts with acidic ingredients like molasses, resulting in light and airy cookies.
Salt: Adding a pinch of salt balances the sweetness of the other ingredients and enhances the overall flavor profile of these cookies. Additionally, it helps strengthen the dough and improve its structure.
Applesauce: Applesauce is a wonderful sweetener for this recipe because it’s also a warmer flavor that compliments the different tastes in these cookies such as the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. It also acts as a binder, as applesauce is a common egg replacer in baked desserts, and in this recipe in particular, it negates the need for oil, too!
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar provides sweetness and caramel notes to these cookies, and compared to white sugar, brown sugar retains more moisture, resulting in softer and chewier cookies.
Peanut Butter: You’ll want to slightly melt the peanut butter before you mix it in with the other cookie ingredients. If you have powdered peanut butter instead, you can certainly use that, just mix it with water in a separate bowl first; enough of the powdered peanut butter and water to make 1 C of peanut butter that’s extra soft or even slightly runny.
Molasses: Molasses is often used in oatmeal cookies to complement the warm spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg. It provides even more moisture for these cookies, and deepens the overall flavor.
Ingredients
(Makes about 25 cookies)
Dry Ingredients
2 C oatmeal
1½ C whole wheat flour
1 T cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 C applesauce
Wet Ingredients
1 C brown sugar
1 C softened peanut butter
1 T molasses
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or greasing lightly.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the applesauce and brown sugar, stirring until well combined.
3. In a separate larger bowl, whisk together the oatmeal, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
4. Add the mixed applesauce and brown sugar to the bowl of dry ingredients, as well as the softened peanut butter and molasses. Stir until a thick dough forms.
5. Using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie, roll the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten the dough balls slightly with the palm of your hand, as the cookies won’t spread very much during baking.
6. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until they start to brown around the edges.
7. Once they’re finished baking, remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Stefanie is the founder of Life, Veganized, and a passionate vegan and animal advocate. She creates vegan recipes for all palates and resides in Los Angeles with her adorable puggle, Zeus.
