Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Butterfinger Cookies with Chocolate & Butterscotch Chips

 

Welp, the last of the Halloween candy is finally gone! YAY!! Eight little Butterfinger candy bars went into these, and boy did they ever turn out good! I loaded these babies up with lots of goodies! Including oatmeal obviously, plus raisins, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, peanut butter, cinnamon, and a secret ingredient – – shoestring potato sticks!

Yep, not kidding! For just a little hint of salty! Absolutely wonderful! The neighbor said they were the best oatmeal cookies she’d ever had! 

If you’ve never heard of “potato sticks”, they’re just like potato chips but cut into thin sticks. Sometimes you have to ask where they are in the store if they’ve put them in an odd place, but all stores carry them.

They’re really fun to bake and cook with, and hold up a little better than chips. If your store oddly doesn’t carry them, broken pretzel pieces would also work. But don’t skip the “salty”! It’s very good in these!

Besides adding a little peanut butter, another thing that also makes these cookies better and a little chewy, is the secret to use dark brown sugar rather than light. I haven’t bought light brown sugar in more than 25 years because I got tired of it always turning into a solid brick.

The dark brown sugar never does that due to the extra molasses in it. Nothing wrong with a little extra molasses for flavor! 

So while the kiddos are at school…sneak into their Halloween candy stash and fish out 8 little Butterfingers. I won’t tell. 😉 If they’re candy hoarders like me, they should still have some left!  And don’t feel too guilty! After all, you’re baking them an extra treat, right? 😉 (And if they’re all out, the stores should still have a few bags marked down to half price!)

Even if they bust you out, they’ll LOVE these anyways and quickly forgive you! They’re LOADED with flavor and somewhat healthy…I mean – – oatmeal and raisins are good for you, right? 😀 Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside! And I must admit, my own favorite oatmeal cookie to date, too! Have a fantastic day! 😀 

 

CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN BUTTERFINGER COOKIES with CHOCOLATE & BUTTERSCOTCH CHIPS

(*Sorry folks, I forgot to write down how many I got! But count on “around” 2 – 2  1/2 dozen for  now. I’ll make them again, another version, and edit my recipe for you when I do for an exact number!)

 

1 1/2 sticks real butter, softened

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, we like Peter Pan but you can use your own personal favorite

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup regular white sugar

2 extra large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups rolled oats

8 crushed mini Butterfinger candy bars, or right about 1 cup, *crush to small chunks/pieces slightly bigger than a chocolate chip

1/2 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup raisins, lightly packed

1/2 cup shoestring Potato Styx

 

DIRECTIONS:

In large mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter and sugars until creamy. Scrape sides and bottom. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk to mix well the flour, cinnamon and soda. Slowly add to butter/sugar mixture beating well after each addition. (*Always start on low, then bring up the speed so you don’t end up with a face full of flour!)

Fold in oats well, or lightly beat in. Fold in all of the goodies evenly. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees making sure oven rack is in the center.

Scoop out a large, 2″ round ball of dough, roll with hands to shape nicely, place on ungreased cookie sheet, and lightly press with palm to slightly flatten. It should measure 2 1/2″ around and 3/4″ thick. Repeat until all dough is used placing them about 1 1/2 – 2″ apart. You should end up getting about 2 1/2 dozen….I forgot to count them! And they started mysteriously disappearing fast….!!

Bake them for 12-14 minutes. *They will not look done on top. Remove sheet from oven and let stand for 1 minute. Remove to racks to cool and set up. Store at room temp in an airtight container.