We love to make cookies all year long! One of our favorite recipes, especially in the summer, is our classic No Bake cookies! They’re simple, quick, and we love that we don’t have to turn on the oven.
Whenever we are looking for a quick treat, the kids like to whip up a batch of these easy no bake cookies, not only because they’re delicious, but because they’re easy and take less than 10 minutes to make. The result is a super delicious chewy treat, perfect for an after-school snack, a party, or even an upcoming cookie exchange.
If you’ve had these oatmeal no bakes before, you know that they’re easy and quite addicting! For more no bake cookies, check out our Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies and Cornflake Cookies.
Why we think you’ll love them:
- No bake. Chocolate no-bake cookies are great to make all year long, and perfect for hot days or quick cravings.
- Allergy-friendly. Many of the ingredients can easily be substituted for alternatives.
- Pantry friendly. You likely have everything on hand.
- Fast to make. Just boil for one minute and stir.
No Bake Cookies Ingredients
- Sugar (2 cups): Sweetens and helps the syrup set into a fudgy base.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (¼ cup): Deep chocolate flavor that balances the sweetness. Use unsweetened natural cocoa powder, cacao powder, or Dutch-processed cocoa.
- Unsalted butter (½ cup): Adds richness and helps the cookies set smooth.
- Milk (½ cup): Loosens the syrup and keeps the texture creamy.
- Creamy peanut butter (1 cup): Brings nutty flavor and helps bind the cookies. Other nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter may be used. Note that they will add their own unique flavor and texture to the cookies. If using crunchy peanut butter, add an extra ¼-½ cup or the cookies can turn out dry.
- Vanilla extract (1 tablespoon): Rounds out the chocolate and peanut notes.
- Quick cooking rolled oats (3 cups): Give classic chewy texture and help the mounds hold shape. Quick oats are small and absorb liquid more easily, which makes the cookies softer and chewier. Larger old-fashioned oats can be used, the cookies will have a less chewy texture but still be delicious. For a gluten-free cookie be sure to buy gluten-free oats.
How to Make No Bake Cookies
PREP. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper.
BATTER. Add ½ cup butter, 2 cups sugar, ½ cup milk, and ¼ cup cocoa powder to a saucepan. Bring to a full boil and boil for 1 minute over medium heat (use a candy thermometer to make sure the mixture is at 230 degrees).
Remove from heat and stir in the 1 cup peanut butter and 1 tablespoon vanilla until smooth. Add 3 cups oats and stir.
COOL. Use a cookie scoop to drop heaps of the mixture onto wax paper or parchment paper. Let cool.
No Bake Cookie Recipe
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
Instructions
- Combine sugar, cocoa powder, butter, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, start a timer and boil for 1 minute (use a candy thermometer to make sure the mixture is at 230 degrees).
- Remove from the heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in oats.
- Drop heaping tablespoons onto a parchment paper–lined cookie sheet and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Store at room temperature, in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Keep at room temperature for 3-5 days, in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, or freezer for up to 3 months.
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This recipe was first shared December, 2014.
Good basic recipe. I add 1/2 tsp of salt to balance the sweetness. Tip for those whose cookies didn’t set: 1 minute of boiling is not enough. Aim for 1.5 minutes. If you do a minute as suggested here, start your timer when it’s really boiling with entire top foaming, not when you first start seeing the bubbles. I always start the recipe on LOW heat, that allows all the ingredients to combine properly. Once the butter is melted and everything is fully combined, add the heat to medium and bring to boil. Hope this helps someone.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe!
Didn’t harden. Threw them away. What a waste of time and ingredients
I’m sorry they didn’t set for you. This usually happens when the mixture doesn’t boil long enough,
Everytime I try this cookie, it turns out gooey.
Going to try again this winter, and no rain.
Baking is a science, and I love that you have continued to try to master this recipe. It’s delicious and worth the effort. High humidity can play a factor in keeping the cookies from setting. You will also want to make sure that you boil the sugar mixture long enough for it to reach the “soft-ball” stage. If you have a candy thermometer, that would be around 235-240°F or 118-120°C.