Chunk Wild Cookies

Recipe by Sarah Nist

This recipe was the junior grand prize winner in King Arthur's first-ever baking contest, held back in 1991. Submitted by Sarah Nist of Montpelier, Vermont, it yields a light, crunchy/crisp cookie whose flavors of chocolate, peanut butter, and oats blend perfectly.

Prep
25 mins
Bake
11 to 13 mins
Total
47 mins
Yield
abut 5 dozen cookies
Chunk Wild Cookies

Instructions

Prevent your screen from going dark as you follow along.
  1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) four baking sheets, or as many as you have.

  2. Beat together the butter, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

  3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

  4. Using a blender or food processor, process the oats with the white chocolate until the oats are finely ground, and the chocolate is mostly ground; a few small chunks are OK.

  5. Add the oats and flour to the butter mixture, then stir in the peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and chopped walnuts.

  6. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls, 2" apart, onto the prepared baking sheets.

  7. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until they're just set. They may be barely starting to brown around the edges, but the tops won't be brown at all.

  8. Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool.

Tips from our Bakers

  • This recipe is easily halved. In fact, we like to halve the recipe, then scoop the cookies into teaspoon-sized balls, using our teaspoon cookie scoop. You'll end up with about 5 dozen 2" cookies, a kid- and diet-friendlier size.
  • Not fond of peanut butter chips? Substitute butterscotch, cinnamon, cappuccino, or your favorite flavor chips; or dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots.
  • Want to get a head start? Make and shape cookie dough now, then freeze and bake later: see our favorite freeze and bake tips.

  • Refrigerating cookie dough for as little as 30 minutes can make a big difference in your cookies’ texture and flavor. See the details in our blog post, Chilling cookie dough.