not your typical PB cookie

This cookie has a little bit of everything.  Usually foods that have a little bit of everything either taste magically delicious or inevitably horrendous.  You see, I personally try not to add everything but the kitchen sink into a product because then I end up having several competing flavors that either cancel each other out or are duking it out on my tastebuds.  But this cookie is just right...as Goldilocks would say.  It contains dark chocolate peanut butter from the one and only Peanut Butter & Company.  The chocolate and the peanut butter flavors sing in harmony.  And because this is primarily a peanut butter cookie, I up-ed the ante by chocking in some peanut butter m&ms.  And lastly to provide a subtle contrast in texture and to "healthify" it a tad, I've included some cooking oats which provide a nice nutty addition that also lends another additional chewy capability/quality to it.  I tend to add oats to a lot of my baked goodies only to regret it, but not this time!

The final result is a chewy bakery style cookie (i.e. fist sized cookies that aren't dry).  The kind that is chewy soft yet sturdy dense.  It tastes more peanut butter than chocolate.  The crumb is moist like that of a perfect brownie, but don't misunderstand - this is not a cake-like cookie at all.  The crunch comes from the outer edges and the outer crisp shell from the m&ms.  Overall, I declare this cookie a delight.  I've made this recipe several times and tweaked the recipe each time.  This recipe that I'm posting is the one I'm sticking with for future dark chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cravings....  

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal M&M cookies

Recipe adapted from BrownEyedBaker

Ingredients for 10 large bakery sized cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 cup rolled oats, then pulverized in a food processor

1 cup peanut butter M&Ms

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or a silocone baking mat) and set aside.

2) Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3) Pulverize the cooking oats in a food processor until its almost as fine as flour.

4) On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the m&ms.

5) Dough will be thick.  Roll approximately 3 tbsps worth into a golf ball shape and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies have developed a crisp looking shell on the outside. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.