No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

Are No-Bake Cookies just a southern thing? I follow A LOT of baking and cooking blogs and I have never heard mention of them. I have seen variations such as corn flake cookies made with corn syrup, but not the straight up, good old fashioned oat variety that uses just butter, sugar and peanut butter. That's not to say they're just a regional thing. If you are not from the south and grew up with these cookies, let me know.  My curiosity is killing me.

My mom made these cookies for my siblings and I growing up. They were a once a week thing in our house and, oh, such a treat.  Sometimes she would make them on a Sunday evening and they really made Mondays a lot easier to face. We often argued over who got to lick the spoon and pan. 

These are my go-to for a sweet fix. I ALWAYS have the ingredients on hand to make them because they are all baking basics. And guess what? You just change a couple of ingredients to make a chocolate version. Mmmm.....chocolate..... 

Let's make No-Bake Cookies!

Melt the butter and add brown sugar and milk. Whisk together and bring to a rolling boil. 

Now this is where things get tricky. If you don't boil the mixture long enough your cookies will never set and you will end up eating them with a spoon. Which really is not much of a problem in my opinion. But, it does make it impossible to store the leftovers. You would have to eat every single cookie right then. Again, not a negative thing in my book. 

This is a rolling boil:

Once you see this, set your timer for 2 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the pan from heat.

Next add your peanut butter and vanilla. If you don't have one of these, get it now.

Ever try to measure out peanut butter, or some other sticky substance using a measuring cup? It sucks. I can never get all of the ingredient out of the cup with ease. And baking, people, is all about science so if a recipe calls for a cup of something, by golly, you better have a cup and not a bit less. 

This gadget makes life so much easier. Set the cup to the amount you need, pop in the peanut butter (I use a butter knife so I can slide it across the edge of the cup and remove any excess) and press the bottom up to release the ingredients into your bowl or pan. Easy peasy!

And look how hardly any peanut butter is left! Mainly just the bit around the edges because I was messy. And I AM a messy baker. That's why you don't see many action shots. My kitchen gets too embarrassing during the process. If child services were to come into my house in the midst of my baking, there would be raised eyebrows. 

So, stir in your peanut butter and vanilla until they are well incorporated. Next, add your oats and stir well. Drop by the spoonful onto aluminium foil. Or in my case, because I was out of foil, wax paper. 

My mom always used foil and I see why. The warmth of the cookies and the condensation it caused on the bottom of the wax paper made made it stick to my table a bit. Use foil. Much easier. 

I added some chocolate sprinkles for fun. I love sprinkles. They make me happy. I would dip anything I could in chocolate and cover it with sprinkles. It's just the way things should be. But what's better than chocolate AND sprinkles? Why, chocolate sprinkles of course! And as we all know, chocolate and peanut butter are like total BFF's.

And the best part? I don't have to fight anyone for this:

This, folks, is what it's all about.

It's all mine. Come to Mama. And it did. One second after I sat down my camera.

Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup milk
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups oats

1. Add milk and sugar to melted butter. Bring to a rolling boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes.

2. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Once incorporated, stir in oats.    

3. Drop by the spoonful onto a sheet of foil and allow to set. 

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2 cups white sugar
2 rounded tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats


Follow the same directions as the peanut butter cookies, adding in the cocoa during the first step. 

Happy NO baking!