Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies with Zesty Orange & Oats
Chunky oat biscuits made with wholemeal spelt flour and rolled oats. Light on sugar but strong on flavour, these crunchy peanut butter cookies with zesty orange are both healthy (ish) and delicious. They make a good accompaniment to a morning or afternoon cuppa.
When I’m in the mood for biscuits, I want a recipe that’s quick and simple to make. I find a cookie craving needs to be satisfied fast, or I might be in danger of a trip to the shops for a packet of biscuits loaded with sugar and other unwanted ingredients. These cookies fit the bill nicely.
Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies with Zesty Orange & Oats
The biscuits are crunchy-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the-inside. What’s more they only take thirty minutes to make from start to finish. They’re made with wholemeal spelt flour and oats for additional nutrition. The cookies are light on sugar but strong on flavour and the peanut butter and orange compliment each other in a highly satisfying way.
The only bit that takes any real time is when you cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together. You could use an electric mixer for this, but as long as your butter is soft, it’s really easy to do by hand with a bowl and wooden spoon. That’s how I do it anyway.
Once the mixture is light in both colour and texture, add the remaining ingredients and stir.
When it comes to baking, there’s no need for rolling or shaping. Just use a spoon to place small heaps onto a lined baking tray. Make sure they’re placed well apart as the mixture will flatten and spread as it cooks.
They make an especially good accompaniment to a morning or afternoon cuppa and fill any holes that might be encountered through the day.
If you fancy something a bit more decadent, try these peanut butter thumbprint cookies. They’re lush.
Other Oat Cookie Recipes You Might Like
- Chocolate chip oat cookies
- Coconut chocolate chip cookies
- Cookies in a jar
- Cranberry & white chocolate cookies
- Oaty ginger chocolate biscuits
- Spelt, rye & berry cookies
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these crunchy peanut butter cookies, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more peanut butter recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Why not pin these crunchy peanut butter cookies for later?
Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies with Zesty Orange and Oats
Ingredients
- 50 g salted butter softened
- 50 g crunchy peanut butter
- 75 g light muscovado sugar
- q orange zested
- 1 egg
- 100 g wholemeal spelt flour
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 75 g rolled oats (porridge oats)
Instructions
- Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the orange zest, followed by the egg.
- Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and add the oats. Mix until just combined.
- Place heaped teaspoonfuls well apart on a large lined baking tray or two small ones.
- Place in a ready heated oven and bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 10-12 minutes, depending on how well done you like your biscuits.
- Once out of the oven, leave on the baking tray for a minute or two to firm up, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sending these heathy (ish) and scrumptious biscuits off to The Baking Explorer and Cakeyboi for Treat Petite.
I found this recipe while looking for something that would replicate the peanut butter and orange biscuits my mum used to make when I was a child. This recipe does it, but better. I didn’t have any spelt flour but did have some fig, spelt and pumpkin seed so used that instead. The tiny pieces of fig and crunchy seeds were a lovely addition. Absolutely love these biscuits, will definitely make them again.
So pleased you enjoyed the recipe Lorna and thanks for letting us know. Better than your mum’s biscuits is a massive compliment. It’s a nice combination of flavours. Fig and pumpkin seeds sound like an interesting addition, but I’m a bit confused about the spelt?
These are so good! Made with regular flour; whole wheat would be pretty dry. Definitely add chocolate chips. Double recipe only made 34 cookies. Way longer than 18 minutes prep time, by the time you grate the orange zest and weigh everything (a recipe with quantities in cups would have been easier). Made these to give away and now I don’t want to :/
Hi Jane. Glad you like the cookies and thanks for your feedback. Good to know it works well with plain flour too. Size of cookie will depend on just how much you heaped onto your teaspoon. Prep time can only ever be a guide as some people are speedier than others and it will depend on the organisation of your kitchen etc. I go by how long it takes me. As for cups, there is a cup conversion on the recipe, you just need to click on “US Customary”. But they’re probably not the most useful of cup measurements as it’s just a conversion.
Nothing beats a home-baked oat cookie! I think they were one of the first things I made gluten free! x
I like the chewiness and texture that oats give a cookie. I can see oat cookies would be a good GF one to start you off.
These look lovely and healthy! I do like peanut butter cookies and what a great idea to add a little orange zest!
Thanks Corina, peanut butter and orange may not be an obvious combination, but it’s a good one 🙂
Mmm the combo of peanut butter and orange sounds lovely, I will have to make these very soon! Thanks for linking to my cookies.
My pleasure Lucy. I’m rather wishing I had a few left in the house now.
I love oats and peanut butter so I’m going to totally love these, especially with the added interest of orange!
Yay, go for it and let me know the verdict.
These biscuits sound scrumptious! I’ve never had peanut butter and orange together but I’d love to try it! Thanks for linking up to #TreatPetite
Thanks Kat, it’s a lovely flavour combination and well worth trying.
I completely agree about shop-bought biscuits! That huge long list of ingredients, all those fake fats and sugars… and they don’t taste half as nice as home made. Yours look and sound delicious – again, it’s not really a combination I’d ever thought of but I can’t wait to try it now – thank you!
Ah, you should know me by know. I like to push the boat out and get people thinking. Having said that, I was making peanut butter orange biscuits as a teenager. No idea where I got the recipe I used to make then.
Orange and peanut butter, yes please! What a smashing combination, and I love that you’ve used a more ‘oomphy’ flour too, to make these cookies even more satisfying. Fab! xx
Hahaha, love the idea of oomphy flour. That’s pretty much what I always use 😉
Crunchy peanut butter? Win, win! Love the look of these cookies and the addition of orange sounds just perfect to me!
Thanks Sylvia. The only trouble with delicious cookies like these, is that they don’t hang around very long.
they look really satisfying – I would not think of pairing orange and peanuts in sweet food but then again I can see it easily in savoury food so I am sure it would work
Some of the first biscuits I ever made were peanut butter and orange, so I have a predilection now for that particular flavour pairing. They really are very nice though. Try it and let me know what you think.
Peanut butter is a favourite, cookies is a favourite – perfect!
But what about the orange Sus?
You can’t go wrong with peanut butter!! These sounds amazing! xx
Very true, peanut butter is such a brilliant invention 🙂
I am with you – better bake something quick and delicious than buy it from a store. Store bought cookies are usually such a dissapointment!
They are just so phenomenally sweet Lucy. I don’t understand why they need to add so much sugar AND I have a sweet tooth!
You had me at peanut butter! I love a cookie and will definitely be making these asap!
Oh, let me know how you get on if you do make these Sisley 🙂
I never thought of adding orange to peanut putter cookies
It’s a flavour combination I came across when I was a child and have loved it ever since.
Oh I the idea of peanut butter and orange in an oat cookie. 🙂
I hope it’s a good idea rather than a bad one Sarah?
These are some delicious and guilt free cookie treats, Choclette.
Delicious and guilt free are the ones for me Angie 😉
MMmm those look lovely! I like taking oatmeal cookies out cycling or trekking. They give such a great energy boost. 🙂
Yes, they are definitely good for outdoor activities. I’ve been slacking recently and need to get out more.
I have all those ingredients bar the flour, can I use any flour?
You can use any flour you like Olivia, I just prefer wholemeal as it’s more nutritious. Let me know how you get on.