Usually summer brings the joys of baking summer treats with fresh berries and light, refreshing flavors. However, lately the temps have been topping the charts at 106 degrees and the last thing I want is to heat up the house by turning on the oven. So when I had a sweet tooth I dug into my family recipes and came up with the No Bake Cookie. It’s been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. My version uses a bittersweet dark cocoa powder which gives them a deep, decadent chocolate flavor, but you can use any cocoa powder you happen to have on hand.
Summer is the perfect time for no bake cookies, and this recipe only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Plus it’s really hard to screw up a no bake cookie. Trust me, I’ve tried.
First, break out the butter and milk…
…slowly mix in some Dark Chocolate Unsweetened Cocoa and White Sugar.
When you get to the boil stage, start the timer. This is the hardest part, and it needs to be pretty close to exact.
Let it boil for 90 seconds, and keep stirring.
Immediately take it off the heat and add the Peanut Butter. After the PB melts, you can add the Oatmeal and Vanilla. Within a minute or so it will start to thicken. If it’s a little too runny, add a bit more oatmeal. Don’t go overboard, you don’t want the mixture dry, just thickened.
A note about the peanut butter. I’m not a huge fan of peanuts in my cookies and brownies, so I tend to use creamy versions when baking. However, you can use any type of peanut butter that you have on hand. I used Skippy Natural Creamy for this recipe, but in the future I may experiment with flavored peanut butters, like PB & Co., Dark or White chocolate PB.
Drop spoonfuls of the cookie mixture onto wax paper. I recommend using a cookie scoop, but 2 spoons works well too.
Wow
I understand if you feel the need to test it out now, I always leave a little in the pan for testing…ya know, just to make sure it’s safe for others…yeah yeah, that’s it.
Try to stop licking the spoon long enough to stick the cookies in the fridge. As good as they are now, they’ll be even better tomorrow.
Dark Chocolate No Bake Cookies
Approximately 35 cookies
1 stick butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
3 1/2 cups regular rolled oats (Instant will also work, but I prefer the regular for the size of the grains)
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1. Combine the butter, milk, sugar and cocoa in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 90 seconds and immediately remove from the heat.
2. Stir in the Peanut Butter. Once melted, add the oatmeal and vanilla.
3. Place spoonfuls of the cookie mixture onto wax paper and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
