OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES, adapted

This recipe, from allrecipes.com and submitted by Michele, was rated 5 out out 5 by 840 members. So I decided this would be my peanut butter cookie for my friends' grand opening. The recipe looked bland, so I added vanilla, cinnamon, and chopped salted peanuts on the top; and I used chunky peanut butter instead of smooth. I wasn't disappointed. These are not as good as Lalee's Peanut Butter Cookies (see my previous post for these, my #1 fave), but they run a close second. They're not as thick as Lalee's but they are chewy, and the texture and flavor are great. The chunky peanut butter and the salted peanuts on the top really set this cookie off. I only made a half recipe, and I got 2 dozen 3-1/2" cookies, which was more than I needed. I heartily recommend these.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies, adapted
Rating: 9 out of 10
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. molasses
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 large egg
3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, lightly spooned and leveled
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup quick-cooking (1-minute, not instant) oatmeal
1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, molasses and peanut butter until smooth. (I did this with a wire whisk, by hand.) Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and oatmeal; stir into the creamed mixture; do not overmix. (You can switch to a spatula for this, as the whisk will have too much batter clumping. The finished dough will be kind of fluffy, and a small teaspoonful will do quite a bit of spreading.) Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top of each mound of dough and slightly press in. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just light brown. Don't overbake. Yield: 24 large cookies.