Today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day, so I thought it would be perfect to celebrate with these fudgy, chocolate, peanut butter oatmeal cookies that can be made with ingredients typically found in your pantry and cooked (from start to finish) in about 10 minutes. This video below, from the Food Network doesn’t demonstrate the proper technique for making these cookies at all. It’s funny to watch if you know how they’re really made. Read on for the proper technique!
I first learned this recipe in my 7th grade home economics class at Wicomico Junior High School in Maryland in 1983. I remember distinctly our teacher stressing two important factors in the preparation of these cookies. First, you must boil the mixture for exactly one minute. If you boil it for under a minute, the cookies won’t harden. If you boil it for longer than a minute, they will come out dry.
Well, to boil something for exactly one minute requires that you know exactly when to start counting. You need to know what “boiling” looks like. Is it when the bubbles to start to appear around the edge the pan? No. In this case, boiling means that there are bubbles all the way across the surface. Start your stopwatch then.
Once it’s boiled for one minute, then you add the oats, peanut butter and vanilla. It’s important to work quickly, because as it cools, it starts to harden into fudge and you want to have all of your spoonfuls onto the wax paper before it gets too hard.
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup milk (you can use evaporated milk)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups Old Fashioned Quaker Oats
- In a medium saucepan stir add the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Over medium-high heat, bring it to a boil, stirring to help the butter melt. Boiling means that there are bubbles all the way across the top of the liquid. Start your stopwatch now and boil it for exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat and quickly add the peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal and stir to combine.
- Working quickly, drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a sheet of waxed paper. They will cool and harden within a few minutes. Voila. You're done!
36 replies on “Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies”
Made these tonight. Turned out perfect thanks to the instruction about boil time. Was a big success at a birthday party. Luckily I made a double batch and had some leftovers!
I used Hershey’s unsweetened chocolate in big bar format (with the 1/2 oz. squares) and put the amount through my food processor to get it shredded so it melted faster.
I used a large spoon to dollop the cookie blobs onto the wax paper which was on cookie sheets. Made about 25-27 large cookies (estimate). Put them in the fridge for about 20 min. and transferred over to rubbermaid containers w/ wax paper in them just fine. Transported immediately to the party and people were happy with them. Lots of food (and sweets) there so them eating half was a big compliment to me.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Omg! The last time I had these was around 1975! My nanny used to make these & they were my favorite food on earth! I made them tonite and wow!! It’s them!! I was around 10 years old the last time I had them & they’re even better now! Thank you!!!!
Haven’t made these in years until I ran across your site a month ago. I made them three times this month. Once they did not quite get hard. I think I may have not boiled long enough as I considered them boiling before the entire pot was bubbly.
Thanks for the awesome post!
I love no bakes! The boiling tip is definitely important otherwise you will end up with crystallized, crunchy cookies instead of the nice candy texture. I recently made these and added just a pinch of curry powder and cinnamon. It gave them a rather pleasant warm taste and they were a big hit. I posted the recipe over at my blog http://homemaker4allseasons.blogspot.com/2013/03/awesome-no-bake-cookies-with-surprise.html It is something interesting to try.
[…] Recipe and photo credit to blog.streaminggourmet.com […]
They look absolutely delicious! Might have to try and make them. I am sure they taste amazing!
My mother made these cookies when I was a child and I am 72 now, so this is a very old cookie recipe and a great one.
They are rather rich but very tasty. 🙂
I made these today for an after school snack. My son has a peanut allergy so I used his Soy “Peanut butter”. They were very soft very oily. So sad . THEY HAD AN OUT OF THIS WORLD FLAVOR. THEY were delicious. But did not harden as expected. As I remembered my mother making them for me as a child. So now I have to try it with the real deal peanut butter…… and hide them for my own indulgence…..:(
[…] recette originale de ces cookies,demande du lait et du sucre,donc si pas de lait concentré sucré sous la main,ça […]
this was one of my favorite cookies to make when I was a kid. It is so great to see this again!!
Excellent! Just as I remembered from my childhood!
I had to add another tablespoon of peanut butter and 1/2 cup more of oats for them to turn out correctly.
Been making these my whole life (and I’m old). One thing that is very important that I didn’t see stressed in the recipe…you MUST use STICK BUTTER (or margarine) and not the soft tub stuff! If you use the soft butter/margarine the cookies will not set up! They will spread out on your wax paper and never get the firm fudge texture you need to make this cookie a success. I made this mistake many years ago (in my teens I think) and ended up eating the darn things right off the cookie wax paper with a spoon!!!
I’ve made these twice now and followed the recipe exactly and they still don’t turn out right. I mean there still eatable but there more gooey then like when u buy them from the store and there kinda like caramelized. Anything that can help me would be greatly appreciated
Followed directions exactly. Cookies stayed soft and mushy.
These are so much like fudge that they will now set up correctly on a damp day.
Do you have any idea how many calories is in one cookie
I can not make these cookies for my life. It taste right but they just dont set up. They are loose and wont hold together. What am I doing wrong?
All I can say is that it is crucial that it boils for exactly 60 seconds – and boiling counts when the bubbles have moved from the edges of the pot to the center. If you boil it too long, it comes out dry and flaky. If you don’t boil it long enough, it will stay too gooey and soft. Let me know!
My mom has made these for as long as I can remember! I grew up knowing them as globs. Globs of deliciousness!!
I made these the other night without vanilla and they were perfect now I make them tonight with vanilla and they are gooey. I followed directions and made sure to boil for 1 minute, guess I just won’t use vanilla
I’ve made these cookies 3 times. Each time they turn out the same. They won’t harden. I’ve cooked as long as 3 minutes. I used stick butter. Even added additional 1/3 c oatmeal. Still won’t harden. What am I doing wrong?
To the people saying that they aren’t setting up…I have found over the years if I try to make these on a particulaly humid day they will not harden. Could this possibly be the problem?
The weather has a lot to do with these cookies turning out right. Do Not make them if it is damp and rainy. Sounds crazy I know but true!
I made these turn out great but I bibnt have enough penut butter so on I use peanut butter and jif hazelnut chocolate and it trun out great love it
I live in Washington. Lots of rain! Just made these while it was raining and they turned out great! I used quick oats , chunky peanut butter and cooked them 1 minute 30 seconds. Perfect!
Is it possible to substitute the real butter for Crisco? I’m kind of in a pinch.
Thy are called Skillet Cookies and my Aunt Linda from a little town in Arkansas called Emerson used to make these.
The first time is when my family came up from Houston Tx to visit and we all went to Hot Springs to go camping.
They are delicious and they are a family favorite.
Good cookies did not harden enough boiled for at least 2 minutes should have cooked them longer
Our air conditioner on the kitchen side of our house went out last night (weekend), so for tonight’s dinner, with my son coming over, I needed a no-bake dessert, to not heat up the house more! I had all the ingredients on hand, so this recipe won! Just made them, and even over on the hot side of the house, they set up quickly! He will love them, and I am sure will take most of them home, and the rest to his work tomorrow, where they love my baking. Thanks for a great recipe, super fast and super easy!
Hints that have worked for me. 1) Use quick-cooking oats, not old fashioned. 2) Rolling boil for a full minute, then remove from heat. 3) Stir in additional oats, 1/8 cup at a time if batter is too loose. Keep stirring and give it a a few seconds to thicken up. It will not be a dough, but should hold its shape. 4) Use a cookie scoop for beautiful, even cookies.
I don’t understand some people who has written on here saying there no-bake cookies didn’t set up but when you read what they say it’s always …I boiled mine 3 minutes more and used quick oats or they didn’t have stick butter.
Now really read your recipe it gives you the exact way to make perfect No-Bake cookies So if you do ONE thing different guess what they won’t setup or it turns to hard crystals like cookies which tastes terrible.
Please go by the recipe and you too will have beautiful tasty Cookies
I’ve been making these for over 40 years and have always cooked them for 4 minutes or just before soft ball stage on candy thermometer. I can’t imagine only one minute. No wonder so many turned out gooey.
I also made these in a school class in Thurmond, MD in 1975! I be been making them ever since! ?
I have made these several times since coming across your recipe. They have turned out perfect every time. Thank You for the boiling time instructions, it really makes a difference.
Sorry, I was trying to give you 5 star.