Peanut Butter Cookies with M&Ms

These Peanut Butter Cookies with M&Ms and rolled oats are going to become your latest cookie obsession… the perfect peanut-chocolate combination!

Well hello there!!! I am soooo glad you’re here, because I’m about to introduce you to the yummiest peanut butter cookies ever!!!!

A simple cookie recipe… made with basic ingredients

When it comes to baking, I’m ALL about using up what’s sitting in your fridge and pantry – and these peanut butter & M&M cookies are all about the basics: 

• butter
• brown sugar
• caster sugar
• peanut butter
• egg
• vanilla extract
• bi-carb soda
• plain flour
• quick oats
• M&Ms
• chocolate chips

…. see! You already have most of those ingredients, right?

Smooth & creamy store-bought peanut butter – why it’s the best for this recipe!

I am 100% a fan of homemade peanut butter… but when it comes to this peanut butter cookie recipe, you’ll need to use store-bought smooth and creamy peanut butter. Why?

Well because it holds the cookies together perfectly and gives them a beautiful texture. 

I’ve made these cookies a few times using homemade peanut butter and they’re just nowhere near as yummy. It’s store-bought smooth and creamy all the way for this recipe!

Tips for baking perfect cookies and biscuits

You can check out my entire 10 top tips for baking cookies and biscuits here… but here’s a few super important tips for this recipe:

• Know your oven – some ovens run hotter than others so rather than be strictly guided by the recipe, keep an eye on your cookies and take them out when you can see that they’re ready (or even better… buy a temperature thermometer and see exactly how hot… or cool your oven runs!). 
• Always pre-heat your oven – for this recipe your oven needs to be heated to 170 degrees before your cookies go into the oven. 
• Chill the dough (if you have time!) – chilling the dough in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before cooking will help to reduce spreading and keep the cookies nice and plump!

More yummy cookie recipes

Here at Bake Play Smile, I love, love, LOVE cookies!!! Click here for some of my favourite recipes. 

Peanut Butter Cookies with M&Ms

Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies filled with M&Ms are the ultimate cookie obsession! Super delicious and just 10 minutes preparation time!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: sweets

Cuisine: Biscuits/Cookies

Keyword: peanut butter cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 24 cookies

Calories: 178kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Ingredients

• 115 g butter room temperature
• 100 g brown sugar
• 50 g caster sugar
• 185 g peanut butter smooth and creamy
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp bi-carb soda
• 160 g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 40 g quick oats
• 100 g M&Ms
• 80 g chocolate chips

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Conventional Method

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
• Place the softened butter, brown sugar and caster sugar into a bowl. Beat with handheld beaters or a stand mixture on high speed until pale and creamy. 
  
• Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract and mix again until creamy. 
  
• Add the plain flour, bi-carb soda and salt and mix on low speed until combined.
• Add the quick oats, M&Ms and chocolate chips and stir through with a spoon until combined.
• Roll tablespoon-sized balls of the mixture and place onto the prepared trays. Press down slightly. Decorate with extra M&Ms (optional) and then chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to turn slightly golden on the very outside (do no overcook - you want them to be soft and chewy).
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Thermomix Method

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Line two baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
• Insert the butterfly into the Thermomix bowl. Add the softened butter, brown sugar and caster sugar. Mix on Speed 4, 2 minutes (scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally).
• Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract and mix again on Speed 4, 1 minute. Remove the butterfly.
• Add the plain flour and bi-carb soda. Mix on Speed 4, 10 seconds.
• Add the quick oats, M&Ms and chocolate chips and mix on Reverse, Speed 2, 10 seconds (or until combined).
• Roll tablespoon-sized balls of the mixture and place onto the prepared trays. Press down slightly. Decorate with extra M&Ms (optional) and then chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until just starting to turn slightly golden on the very outside (do no overcook - you want them to be soft and chewy).
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

Ingredients Info

• butter – salted or unsalted butter can be used for this recipe
• brown sugar – you can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar in this recipe. The darker the brown sugar, the chewier the cookies will be.
• caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar. Caster sugar dissolves when creamed with butter making it perfect for cookies.
• peanut butter – I love homemade peanut butter… but when it comes to this peanut butter cookie recipe, you’ll need to use store-bought smooth and creamy peanut butter (like Kraft) as it holds the cookies together perfectly and gives them a beautiful texture.
• bi-carbonate soda – also known as baking soda
• pinch of salt – omit if using salted butter
• quick oats – also known as instant oats are used in this recipe as they’re finer than rolled oats.
• M&Ms – I use chocolate M&Ms but you can use peanut M&Ms or any variety you like.
• chocolate chips – you can buy chocolate chips or chocolate baking bits from the baking section of the supermarket. These small pieces of chocolate hold their shape when baked.

Chill the dough – chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. This allows the fat in the butter to solidify and will help to reduce spreading – keeping the cookies perfectly thick and chewy!

Always pre-heat your oven – for this recipe your oven needs to be heated to 170 degrees before your cookies go into the oven.

Know your oven – some ovens run hotter than others so rather than be strictly guided by the recipe, keep an eye on your cookies and take them out when you can see that they’re ready (or even better… buy a temperature thermometer and see exactly how hot… or cool your oven runs!).

Do not overcook - you want the inside to be soft and chewy. They will still feel soft when you take them out of the oven, but will firm on cooling.

Nutrition

Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.9mg

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