Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

No-bake recipes come in very handy when the weather is hot and humid. And since I was wanting to make something chocolate, I thought Chocolate No-Bake Cookies would be perfect!

I remember the very first time I had a No-Bake Cookie–I was probably about 7 or 8, and a friend had given me some her mother had made. My mom had never made these cookies and I wanted to find out how to make them. My friend said it was easy–just mix cocoa powder, peanut butter, and oatmeal together and let them set. That’s how we exchanged our simple childhood recipes back then–word of mouth, no specific amounts for the ingredients, and the ingredients were minimal. So I did what my friend said and was so disappointed when the cookies never set! Of course I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong and my friend insisted that was the correct way to make them, so these cookies were a mystery to me for awhile. Eventually I forgot about trying to make them and went on to make other more dependable recipes…like Chocolate Chip cookies!

But recently, I’ve been noticing some no-bake recipes on different sites and decided that these No-Bakes were worth another try. I found a recipe at FoodNetwork.com that looked pretty fool-proof–and it is! I just made mine a little larger than the original recipe. These no-bake cookies set up just fine!

CHOCOLATE NO-BAKE COOKIES by NancyC, very slightly adapted from FoodNetwork.com

Makes 50 to 60 cookies, depending on size

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter (or substitute unsalted butter and add a dash of salt)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper; set aside.

In a medium size saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa and stirring occasionally, bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute; remove from heat. Add in the peanut butter, vanilla, salt, and oats; stir to combine.

Drop rounded 1/2 Tablespoonfuls (or rounded teaspoonfuls for smaller cookies) of the mixture onto prepared baking sheets and let cool for 45 to 60 minutes. Store refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.

Note: For oatier cookies, add an extra 1/2 cup of oats or decrease amount of peanut butter to 1/2 cup.