There it goes again. That nagging, undefined craving comes with no hints of how to satisfy it. You search the pantry to no avail. Staring into the fridge does nothing except let out the cold air. You may do an internet search or ten to see what sparks your taste buds. The final resort is to flip through cookbooks to find that one recipe to end the craving. It’s what happened with me recently and the result was oatmeal peanut butter trail mix cookies.
Savory or sweet? That was the first question I had answer to get on the path of what I was craving. I thought about Shrimp Fra Diavolo for a second or two then crossed it off. The craving started pointing toward sweet so I went from there. I sat on the floor and started going through my stack of recipe booklets. About half way down the pile I ran across THE recipe. The list of ingredients is all it took. Peanut butter, oatmeal, butter, sugar, eggs, and trail mix – oh my! Just the possibilities of different flavors depending on which trail mix caused me to smile. There could be chocolate or bananas or cranberries or pretzel bits or whatever you think would go with oats and peanut butter.
One usual cookie ingredient was missing. Which one? Flour. I couldn’t recall ever making cookies without it. The adventure to see how they turned out was another reason to make them. They are soft right out of the oven. After cooling for a minute on the baking sheet they still need careful handling to transfer to a cooling rack. They become crunchy once fully cooled so be sure not to over-bake.
Enjoy Oatmeal Peanut Butter Trail Mix Cookies any time of the day. I’d say they might even qualify for breakfast. They are full of oats and have the protein power of peanut butter. Plus I’m sure trail mix is another healthy component. And, of course, all things are good in moderation.
What was your most recent craving? Was it specific or did you have to figure out how to satisfy it? It can be tough to pinpoint sometimes. At least you can start with cookies and go from there.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Trail Mix Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups trail mix
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking or cookie sheets with parchment or non-stick liner.
-
Beat sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
-
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat to combine.
-
Stir in oats, baking soda, and salt.
-
Stir in trail mix.
-
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets.
-
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
-
Cool cookies 1 minute on baking sheet. Carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Recipe Notes
A recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Trail Mix Cookies. These easy to make cookies are great for snacks and are made with oats, peanut butter and your choice of trail mix.
Recipe adapted from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks #117 Home Baking November 1990
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes says
January 28, 2014 at 6:03 amNo flour! These cookies are even better than what the pictures promised Renee. And they promised a LOT! I’m keeping this recipe.
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
January 28, 2014 at 10:19 amoooooh gotta hate/love those cravings. Hate when ya can’t figure em out then love when they result in delish cookies such as these!
Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg says
January 28, 2014 at 11:54 amoh my these cookies would satisfy my sweet cravings any day.
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
January 28, 2014 at 2:33 pmI’ve never made a cookie without flour before but I’ve seen lots of recipes for it that I’ve always wanted to try. These cookies look fantastic, Renee, and perfect to satisfy any craving! I had a hankering for sweets this past weekend so I whipped up some chocolate chip cookies (I’ve almost eaten them all too…for shame!). Seeing your gorgeous photos of these cookies floating around the internet is making me crave them. These will be my next baking project!
Susan says
January 28, 2014 at 5:35 pmHuh, I know many peanut butter cookies call for no flour but never heard of an oatmeal one that didn’t. They sure do look crunchy. I think I need a few testers. 🙂
The Ninja Baker says
January 29, 2014 at 6:35 amRecent craving is for sticky white rice and umeboshi (pickled plum) and futomaki (which has bits of spinach and scrambled egg.) But I may be developing a hankering for your cookies now that I’ve read the recipe!
Tina Muir says
January 29, 2014 at 7:03 amThese sound wonderful! I love your description of the craving! I feel like I was finally able to put it into words and read it on a screen! I am definitely making these if they worked for you!
I have a 6 mile hard run this morning, with 6 miles easy, surely that qualifies for a nice fresh batch of cookies? 🙂
Anita at Hungry Couple says
January 30, 2014 at 9:41 amWell, you know you had me at peanut butter. But all the rest of the stuff in there sounds good, too! 🙂
Jen @ Jen's Favorite Cookies says
January 30, 2014 at 4:05 pmI love cookies with lots of stuff in them!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
February 3, 2014 at 7:07 amPeanut butter and trail mix are two of my weaknesses. I could put away many, many of these cookies!