No Bake Cookies Recipe

No Bake cookies bring together that universally loved pairing of peanut butter and chocolate for a simple oatmeal based cookie that is prepared on your stove top with no additional baking required.

These cookies are a quick treat that your family is sure to love, and the ingredient list is short and sweet making them a simple bake for everyone.

Although they are quick to make with very few ingredients they can present some problems with texture and setting when the recipe isn’t followed. We have all of the best tips you need to make the very best creamy, well balanced no bake cookies ever.

Why do my no bake cookies never harden?

The most common problem people encounter with no bake cookies, is a gooey, unset cookie blob. This is due to the mixture not being boiled long enough. When you have a cookie recipe that is simple and very basic, the magic is in the details. Boiling the no bake cookie mixture allows the sugar to reach what is known as the ‘soft ball stage’ and this is necessary for your cookies to set properly.

Our best tip is setting a timer for the boiling time to ensure the mixture is cooked long enough, but also not over boiled.

Why are my no bake cookies dry and crumbly?

This would be the second most common complaint with no bake cookies, and it is also attributed to the boiling time. If the no bake cookies are dry and crumbly, very likely you over cooked the mixture. One thing about these cookies is that they really are more of a fudge confection, as opposed to a true cookie.

This is why the boiling time matters so greatly. Sugar is one of the main ingredients in this recipe, and it requires precise cook times. Too long and the sugar crystals have been broken down and over cooked; not long enough and the sugars have not reached that all important stage of caramelization and structure.

More cookies to Love:

There are many delicious cookie recipes on this blog. If you are looking for a more traditional cookie, explore our cookies recipes.

Do you have to refrigerate no bake cookies?

No bake cookies can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container or bag for about 1 week. You can also store them in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks. It is important to keep them out of direct sunlight and not store them in a hot environment as they will soften and melt due to their high sugar and chocolate content.

They can be stored in the freezer as well. Be careful to ensure they are in a freezer safe, air tight container to avoid freezer burn. No bake cookies can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months, longer than this and the texture and flavor could be compromised.

Can you substitute old fashioned oats or steel cut oat for quick oats in no bake cookies?

Quick oats are the oatmeal that is used in no bake cookie recipes. Quick oats are soft and have a palatable texture even when unbaked. Because no bake cookies are just that, not baked, you would not want to substitute them with old fashioned, or steel cut oats.

Old fashioned oats have more body and texture to them; they can be used in no bake cookie recipes but will give the cookies a much stronger texture that many find unpleasant. Steel cut oats would present a very harsh, firm and gummy texture that would make no bake cookies inedible. They would not be an appropriate substitution for this recipe.

No Bake Cookie Recipe:

• You need a medium soup pot
• A few measuring tools
• Your ingredients
• Tin foil or wax paper for the cookies to cool and set, and 10 minutes to complete a batch of these chocolate cookie treats.

Recipe Tips:

• You need a minute timer or clock near by you can easily read from your stove.
• Once the wet ingredients have reached a boil, the timing of the cooking is the key to success.
• If you undercook the mixture the cookies will be wet and gooey.
• If you overcook the mixture the cookies will be dry and crumbly.

Ingredients:

• Granulated sugar
• Cocoa powder
• Butter
• Milk
• Creamy peanut butter
• Nanilla extract
• Quick oatmeal

Substitutions:

• Rolled or old fashioned oats can be used in place of quick oats but will present a stronger texture.
• Dutch Process dark cocoa powder rather than light.
• Almond butter in place of creamy peanut butter.
• Coconut oil can replace the butter since they both solidify.
• Non dairy milk can replace the milk in this recipe.

Joy And Sunshine Blog has a yummy version of Healthy No Bake Cookie for this recipe. If you want to replace the sugar see how she did it.

YOUR PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD:

Here is your printable walkthrough of this cookies recipe. If you print the recipe out the pictures will not print. This is to save you paper and ink.

Please also watch our recipe demonstration video at the bottom of this recipe card.