Ingredients
- Makes 20 small balls, 16 medium, or 12 larger (I prefer smaller balls and roll mine smaller which is a bit more tedious but I like one-bite or two-bite balls, not three+ bite balls)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/8 cup butter, softened (2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup whole rolled old-fashioned oats (quick cook is probably fine)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (use a gluten free flour blend of your choice if keeping gluten free; or grind oats and use exclusively oat flour)
- pinch salt, optional
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (or regular size chips are fine)
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or baking chocolate bar, melted for final drizzle
Preparation
Step 1
In a small bowl, whip the peanut butter and butter until creamy. I did this by hand but you can do it in a mixer if desired. Add the sugars and whip until creamy. Add the vanilla extract, salt, oats, flour (add the flour slowly in case you need slightly less than recipe indicates) and stir until just combined.
The dough should be easy to work with and form into balls at this point, but if the dough is too dry or crumbly and not coming together, add a touch more peanut butter until desired consistency is achieved. Conversely, it dough is too wet or sticky, add slightly more oats or flour. Also, chilling the dough in the freezer or refrigerator for 20 minutes prior to shaping it into balls can be helpful if the dough is a little wet or sticky.
After appropriate dough consistency is reached, fold in the chocolate chips and then roll the dough into ball shapes. After the balls are rolled, if you choose to apply a chocolate drizzle, I recommend chilling the balls in the freezer for about 20 minutes prior to drizzling with melted chocolate so it hardens on contact.
Store extras in the refrigerator for weeks or in the freezer for many months. I have successfully stored batches of cookie dough balls for many months in the freezer but do as you see fit and use common sense.