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No Bake Cookies are the easiest cookies you’ll ever make! They’re made with just 7 ingredients and come together in a flash. The peanut butter and chocolate flavor shines in these melt-in-your-mouth cookies. I’ve tweaked this recipe to give it an even better texture, while staying true to the nostalgia of the original recipe we grew up with!
Why you’ll love this No Bake Cookie recipe:
- Perfect Texture – These cookies had a more oat-y, chewy texture than I remembered when I first remade them. To make the texture more pleasant and a little less heavy on the oaty chew, I’ve pulsed some of the oats in a food processor to break them down. This makes the cookies even better than you remember!
- Easy Recipe – These cookies come together in about 25 minutes from start to first bite, with simple ingredients you likely have on hand already.
- Large Yield – This recipe makes a large batch of cookies, so its perfect for holidays and for gifting.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Cocoa Powder – I used natural cocoa powder.
- Milk – I used 2% milk but I think whole milk or skim milk would be fine too.
- Butter – I always use salted buter because in my experience, it lends the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if that’s what you prefer.
- Oats – Use old-fashioned whole rolled oats. Since we’re pulsing half the oats to break them down, you could use half whole oats and half quick oats. But, no need to buy two types if you already have a food processor.
- Peanut Butter – I prefer to use regular creamy peanut butter here. I fear natural peanut butter may be too drying for the cookies to hold together.
- Vanilla Extract – Use real vanilla for the best results.
- Salt – A pinch of salt helps balance all the flavors nad keep these cookies from being too sweet.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Gluten-free – As long as you use certified gluten-free oats, this recipe is gluten-free!
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite, trusted dairy-free butter and dairy-free milk. This also makes the recipe vegan!
How to Make Chocolate No Bake Cookies:
Step 1: Pulse Oats. Add half the oats to a food processor, and pulse until you have a mixture of fine oat flour and chunkier bits of oat. Set aside.
Step 2: Make the Cookie Base.
Add the cocoa, sugar, and milk to a large saucepan and cook to soft ball stage – 235 degrees F.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, peanut butter, oats, vanilla, and salt.
Step 2: Shape Cookies. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet. You should get about 24 cookies.
Step 3: Allow Cookies to Set. Now for the hardest part – let the cookies set up before digging in! Thankfully, that happens pretty quickly.
Serving + Storing:
Once the cookies are set, dig in! Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-6 days.
Expert Baking Tips:
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your ingredients, especially flour, are at the proper weight, since amounts can vary widely based on how you measure, as well as the measuring cups you use, as they are not standardized.
- Prep Everything – Make sure to have all your ingredients measured out and your baking sheets ready to go before you begin. The mixture will start to harden if you dink around.
- Cookie Exchange – A batch of these cookies is perfect for a cookie exchange, since it yields 24 and leaves your oven free for other recipes!
FAQs:
You can halve it, but I wouldn’t double it just because you probably wouldn’t be able to scoop all the cookies quickly enough before the mixture hardens. However, if you’re making these with a few extra helpers, you could probably get away with it. Work quickly!
Yes, however, I think it adds a much better flavor to these cookies and helps keep them from being too sweet. If you have a nut allergy, I would try sunflower seed butter.
Special Tools:
- Instant Read Thermometer –
More No Bake Recipes to Love:
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Peanut Butter Chocolate No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups old fashioned whole rolled oats, divided, 262 grams
- 2 cups granulated sugar , 420 grams
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 31 grams
- 1/2 cup milk, I used 2%, whole or skim are fine too. 120 mL
- 1/2 cup salted butter, softened , 113 grams
- 2/3 cup peanut butter, 172 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prep: Add half of your oats (1 and 1/4 cups, 131 grams) to a food processor and pulse just until you have a mix of powdery pieces and chunky pieces. This makes a much more pleasant texture for these cookies than chewing on all whole oat pieces. Set the oats aside.Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and have them ready with a few dinner spoons for dropping the cookies on with.2 and 1/2 cups old fashioned whole rolled oats, divided
- Start the Cookie Mixture: Add sugar, cocoa, and milk to a large saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Once boiling, let it boil, stirring regularly, until the mixture reaches 235 degrees on an instant read thermometer (soft ball stage). This will take about 7-10 minutes. You can also check this by dropping a bit of the mixture into cool water – it should form a sort of soft ball.I highly recommend using an instant read thermometer here! You likely have one already for meat – you don't need a separate candy thermometer as long as it's clean.2 cups granulated sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup milk
- Finish the Cookie Mixture: Once the correct temp is reached, remove the pot from the heat immediately and stir in the butter, all the oats, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt until well combined and butter is melted.1/2 cup salted butter, softened, 2/3 cup peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp salt
- Form the Cookies: Immediately drop the mixture by the spoonful onto your prepared pans, working quickly as the mixture will start to set.
- Serve & Store: Let cookies rest on the pans at room temperature until fully set (about 20-40 minutes). Then, dig in! Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-6 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
