PERFECT PEACH PIE OATMEAL COOKIES
We just love a good cookie, it doesn’t matter what kind – chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, sugar – when those medallions of sweetness cross our paths, we can never say “no”. Oatmeal cookies are one of our favorites; they’re chewy and hearty, and can be accompanied by any of a number of add-ins, like chocolate chips or raisins. For something a little more fresh and spring-like, we decided to give chopped fresh peaches a try, and we’re here to tell you – this was probably one of our best ideas yet. Each layer of flavor compliments the next, resulting in a cookie that’s sweet but not too sweet, hearty but not too dense, and just too darn easy to eat.
These are very good oatmeal cookies. I just bought nice quality dried apricots and dried peaches last week, so I used the peaches. I will not use dried peaches again unless I buy some that have a very strong peach flavor, because I could not taste them in the cookies. They were just chewy chunks.
We know it’s hard to resist a cookie, but it’s equally hard to resist biting into a sweet peach, so it seems only natural to combine the two. The result is an irresistibly chewy and sweet cookie. Our recipe is similar to creating a peach pie filling: sugar, flour, and peaches are the fundamentals of making a good scratch filling. We’ve got the same here, except we add even more depth of flavor by using brown sugar instead of granulated. The “filling” is held together by a “crust” of sorts; the oatmeal binds everything together while adding a hearty chewiness. It really is like a peach pie has become a cookie!
I made another batch and used dried apricots, which did “hold their own” in the middle of all the other ingredients. I may try fresh peaches next summer once the sweet ones are in season, since one reader recommended fresh peaches. The cookies were too big for me when you make 20, so I made them smaller in my second batch. I also added a heaping 1/2 cup of apricot pieces and a heaping 1/2 cup of white chips in the second batch (instead of a leveled off 1/2 cup.) The original cookies were about 3.5 inches in diameter and a good size for a hungry teenager…or a hungry adult for that matter. My smaller cookies are about 2 inches in diameter.
When we think of spring baking, using fresh fruit always comes to mind. That’s what makes this cookie so good! Sure, we could use canned or packaged peach product, but those often have added sugar, and we prefer the natural sweetness that comes with using a fresh peach instead. Two of our favorite desserts come together into one perfect little cookie, and just like we would with a slice of peach pie, imagine how good this cookie would be with a scoop or two of cool vanilla ice cream. We hope you enjoy a peach pie oatmeal cookie as much as we do!
They are small, but with the creamy white chocolate chips, the chewy apricots and the very chewy oats, three bites are enough. And I can always eat more.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peaches, finely chopped
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 325º F and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg and salt until combined.
In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar together for 2 minutes, or until creamy, then mix in egg and vanilla extract.
Gradually stir in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then fold in diced peaches …