Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Sea Salt

By mitzzy

Don’t let the sea salt scare you. This cookie is not weird and freaky and salt-infested. It’s just a sprinkle of sea salt on top, and that extra (slightly) salty flavor is wonderful when it’s combined with the sweet. You’ve just gotta trust me on this one. If you’re totally adverse to the idea, you can always leave it out.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (or crunchy if you want crunch)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats (see *Tips below)
• One 12-ounce package chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
• sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Preparation

Step 1

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray (or line with parchment or silpat mats).

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer at medium speed to combine the butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time until they are incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and beat until combined.

4. Stir in the oats and the chocolate chips.

5. Drop the cookies in rounded tablespoonfuls onto the cookie sheet, 3 inches apart. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are set and cooked through to the middle. Timing will probably be about 12 minutes, but check first batch at 10, and then keep checking at 1 minute intervals until they are looking perfect. Then you can set timing for the remaining batches.

Tips:
*Substitute old-fashioned oats if you need to... they'll just give the cookie a bit more texture.