Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's that time of the week again.  I'm getting my Cookie on...
It has been a long time since I've eaten peanut butter with sweetness.  I usually just use it as a thickener for thai dishes.  But it can be much more than that.  I'd say peanut butter is to Americans as Nutella is to French or Tahini is to the Eastern Med.  With that said, quality peanut butter is nothing more than mashed peanuts.  There is no reasonable substitute for Nutella,  meaning that for once, the American choice is healthier than the French one which is loaded with palm oil.
Yield 56 cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter (170g)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (I just used 160g total cassonade)
3/4 cup peanut butter (195g)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour (180g)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup oats
6 oz chocolate chips (I used 100g chunky)
Directions:
1.  Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg, vanilla, and peanut butter and beat until smooth.
2.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add a little at a time to the mixture, continually mixing to keep it smooth.
3.  Fold in the oats, then the chocolate chips.  At this point, I decided that the dough was not thick enough and would be hard to handle, so I refridgerated for about 30 minutes.  I was careful not to leave my brand new wooden spoon in it this time.
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C)
4.  On a cookie sheet, make tablespoon sized balls 2 inches apart.

5.  Bake for 12 minutes.

I have to admit I was unsure about the texture of the dough.  It is one peanut buttery mess all over my hands and face.  I've already fingerswiped it and o mon dieu it is good.  I might just keep it raw and eat it throughout the week.  It DOES have protein with the peanuts and all the goodness of oats, right?
But now that I'm all cleaned up, I'm quite pleased at how light and fluffy these are.  I thought they would feel heavier going down.  It's like eating a peanut buttery cloud with a little chocolate chunk surprise inside.  I think next time I'll perfect these with less butter, more oats, and a little more chocolate.  Now that they've cooled, they can easily replace crack.