These chocolate and peanut butter no bake cookies can be made in less than fifteen minutes with just 7 basic ingredients. No baking skills required, either! If you can run a microwave, you can easily whip out a batch of this no bake cookies recipe. Keep reading to learn how to make the very best no bake cookies!
Jump to:
- Why this recipe works
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- An example of extra oatmeal vs. less oatmeal
- How to store no bake cookies
- Top tip for making the best no bake cookies
- What temperature is a rolling boil?
- Variations for this recipe
- Substitutions
- How to serve no bake cookies
- Helpful tools
- Recipe
- HOW TO STORE NO BAKE COOKIES
- TOP TIP FOR MAKING THE BEST NO BAKE COOKIES
- More sweet recipes
- Comments
Why this recipe works
Let me just get a feel for the room right now. Can we all agree that peanut butter chocolate recipes are AMAZING? Okay, good. We seem to be on the same page, then. Here's why I love them:
Here are my top 3 favorite things about this recipe
1. It can be made from start to finish in 20-30 minutes, without any complicated steps or fancy equipment required.
2. These just might be the easiest cookie you can make. It's a no fail recipe, because even if they don't set up correctly (but yours will, because we are going to talk about how to avoid), they can still be eaten
Ingredients
- Oats: These can be either quick oats or old fashioned oats. I use whatever is in my pantry, but the quick cooking oats will have a better texture in this cookie.
- Sugar
- Milk
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter or crunchy peanut butter will both work! My family loves crunchy.
- Butter: It doesn't matter if the butter is straight from the fridge or at room temperature, because we are going to boil it.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder
- Vanilla extract: See my tutorial if you want to save a little money by making your own homemade Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan or a large saucepan, bring the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder to a low boil over medium heat for one minute. To do this in the microwave, use increments of 60 seconds.
2. Microwave on high for a minute, then stir. Microwave for an additional 60 seconds, stir. Continue doing this until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, and then let it boil for a full 60 seconds.
A full boil in the sugar mixture is super important for the cookies to set up once they've been shaped.
3. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir well. Add in the peanut butter and mix until it disappears into the chocolate peanut butter mixture.
4. Pour in the vanilla and add the quick-cooking oats or whatever types of oats you are using, and stir well.
5. Let it sit for about a minute to thicken up a bit, then use a small or medium cookie scoop (my favorite is 1 inch). You can also use two spoons to form the cookies if you don't have a scoop.
6. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining the cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch of space between.
The cookies may spread out as the set up, depending on how well the sugar was boiled and the weight of the oats.
7. Let the no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies set up for about thirty minutes to an hour before transferring to an airtight container.
See, wasn't this an easy recipe?
An example of extra oatmeal vs. less oatmeal
Look at the picture above. See how the no bake cookies on the top of the picture are more spread out? There are less oats in that batch. The chocolate no bake cookies on the bottom have slightly more oatmeal. Both are delicious, it's just personal preference. And remember, it's easier to add oats than over do it.
How to store no bake cookies
No bake oatmeal cookies can be stored at room temperature for 3-5 days in an airtight container or ziploc bag. Refrigerating or freezing these cookies permanently changes the texture after they warm back up. You can do it, they just will go from being a 10/10 recipe to maybe a 9/10.
Top tip for making the best no bake cookies
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for exactly one minute. If it boils too long, the cookies will be dry. If it doesn't boil enough, the cookies won't set up and will be very messy to eat.
What temperature is a rolling boil?
If you want to be certain the cookies reached a high enough temperature, a rolling boil occurs at 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees celsius at sea level. It varies a bit depending on elevation, but that will get you close. You can always test it with a candy thermometer, too. When you are making a no baked cookie recipe, it still has to get hot enough to set up, even though you aren't baking it in the oven. No bake doesn't mean the same thing as 'not hot enough.'
Variations for this recipe
I recommend making this no bake cookies recipe as written the first time to get the hang of it, but then next time get creative! The best part about this perfect recipe is that it can be switched to suite your personal preference!
1. The most common variations I use for this chocolate no bake cookies recipe is the peanut butter and the oats. I'm not fussy about which style of oats or whether my peanut butter is crunchy or creamy. I switch back and forth depending on what is in my pantry at the moment.
2. Add M&Ms or other candy. During the holidays, it can be very fun to mix in crushed candy. Reese's Pieces are orange and yellow and fun for a halloween treat, while red and green M&Ms are very festive for the holidays. Take about a ½ cup of candy and put it in a ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin or something heavy to break them into pieces. Pour the crushed candy into the mixture after the oats have been added.
3. I came upon this variation by happenstance one day when I started making this no bake cookie recipe and realized I didn't have any cocoa powder. Since I'd already mixed the butter, milk and sugar, and didn't want to waste it. I went ahead with the recipe, but simply omitted the cocoa. The final result was the most unexpectedly delicious batch of peanut butter no bake cookies! If you love peanut butter more than chocolate, try this! You won't regret making no bake cookies with crunchy peanut butter.
4. For a crispier cookie, substitute ½ cup of oats for ¾ cup of puffed rice cereal to make a rice krispie treats type no bake!
Substitutions
I love making this recipe with whole milk. It is creamy, thick and adds a nice amount of full fat to the cookies.
For a dairy free version, try substituting almond milk or oat milk instead of whole milk and use a dairy safe margarine instead of butter. Make sure to read the labels, because not all margarines are completely dairy-free.
If you need to make a nut-free no bake cookie, you can substitute sun butter.
I frequently get asked if this can be made with a natural sugar, like honey. The honest answer is that I just don't know. I haven't tried it. If you do, please leave a comment and let us know how it worked for you!
And you can use a little less sugar than the recipe calls for, but remember the sugar acts like the sticky glue that holds the cookies together. I wouldn't reduce it too much.
For a gluten-free cookie, use gluten-free oats and make sure to double check the labels on all of your ingredients. If you are not eating a gluten free diet, but are making this recipe for someone who is, it's easy to assume that oats are gluten free because they are, well, oats. This isn't the case! Please please please read the labels.
How to serve no bake cookies
If you are able to resist eating one before they set up, then you're doing better than my family (ha!). We like to keep them as an after school snack or grab-and-go little protein pick-me-up. Make a batch for a bake sale or even just to take to a friendly neighbor.
These cookies make a nice teacher gift or hostess gift when stacked neatly in a mason jar with a ribbon and note. I like to tuck a few of these on holiday cookie tray with peanut butter blossoms, sugar cookies, cranberry orange cookies, snickerdoodles, and even a plain sourdough chocolate chip cookie. Any cookie goes well on Christmas cookie trays!
Helpful tools
- baking sheet
- wax paper
- parchment paper
- microwave safe bowl or saucepan
- food processor (to roughly chop old-fashioned oats, if desired
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Recipe
No Bake Cookies
Equipment
- sauce pan or microwave safe bowl
- Cookie scoop or two spoons
- baking sheet & parchment paper
Ingredients
- 3 cups quick oats or old fashioned oats
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup peanut butter crunchy or creamy
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan or a large saucepan, bring the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa powder to a low boil over medium heat for one minute. To do this in the microwave, use increments of 60 seconds.
- Microwave on high for a minute, then stir. Microwave for an additional 60 seconds, stir. Continue doing this until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, and then let it boil for a full 60 seconds.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir well. Add in the peanut butter and mix until it disappears into the chocolate peanut butter mixture.
- Pour in the vanilla and add the quick-cooking oats or whatever types of oats you are using, and stir well.
- Let it sit for about a minute to thicken up a bit, then use a small or medium cookie scoop (my favorite is 1 inch). You can also use two spoons to form the cookies if you don't have a scoop.
- Prepare two cookie sheets by lining the cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch of space between. The cookies may spread out as the set up, depending on how well the sugar was boiled and the weight of the oats.
- Let the no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies set up for about thirty minutes to an hour before transferring to an airtight container.
Notes
HOW TO STORE NO BAKE COOKIES
No bake oatmeal cookies can be stored at room temperature for 3-5 days in an airtight container or ziploc bag. Refrigerating or freezing these cookies permanently changes the texture after they warm back up. You can do it, they just will go from being a 10/10 recipe to maybe a 9/10.TOP TIP FOR MAKING THE BEST NO BAKE COOKIES
Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for exactly one minute. If it boils too long, the cookies will be dry. If it doesn't boil enough, the cookies won't set up and will be very messy to eat.Nutrition
I hope you love these cookies as much as we do! I've recently passed the torch to our oldest son, and now he likes to make these cookies whenever we need to take a dessert to a party. It's pretty cool to watch our kids grow up and develop cooking skills!
Enjoy!
Meg
More sweet recipes
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Marie
Oh Meg! We definitely loved these cookies as much as you do! I made a single batch for our family of 8 and they were gone in one night! I used chunky peanut butter! I think it made them more enjoyable to have that extra crunch!
Edith
I have never made this kind of cookie before. I can not believe how incredibly easy they were to make! They took me about 10 minutes and then the cooling time. They are perfectly soft/hard once set. Soft enough to chew without a crunch and hard enough to not fall apart!