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
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
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.
Fantastic recipe! You can make it any time since you probably have all of these ingredients on hand. It doesn’t take very long, either. Depending on how big your heaping tablespoons are, you can maybe get more than 24 cookies. Or you can make 24 big ones and eat whatever is left in the pot, which is what we did haha.
I’m so glad you liked this recipe as much as we do! Thanks so much for trying it out!
Sounds delicious
Yes, it’s a great cookie! Hopefully you enjoy!
ive had these before arnt they called haystacks when i had these they used potato shoe strings or those chinese noodles
No these are not at all like Haystacks. Look up the Haystack Recipe on Pinterest, and you’ll see the huge difference! Both are delicious, and both are very different!!
Enjoy!!
Robin
These are our favorite no bake cookies! My daughter loves to make them on her own for a quick sweet treat after dinner! So yummy!
These no bakes are so yummy!! These cookies are the only reason I have cocoa powder in my house. My kids gobble these cookies up so fast, but they are so easy and quick to make. Getting the oats the right consistency is the hardest part, so you just have to watch closely.
Yum!!
These are our absolute favorite each year. My daughters are already begging for them.
Those sound really good , id like to know if i can SUBSTITUTE rice krispies instead of the oatmeal , ( because of ALLERGIES ) ? I have used rice Krispies as a SUBSTITUTE in my baking .
I am sure that would work! I have not personally tried, but it would give it a nice crunch!
These are wonderful. I live in arizona. So really nice to not have to turn on oven. I used 1/2 regular creamy peanut butter and 1/2 BNutty flavored peanut butter. They are fabulous! Gave some to a neighbor and they loved them too.
I know what you mean about not turning the oven on! Glad you like these! Thank you!
I like every thing but a bit too sweet–I will use less sugar next time!!! And want to try Crunchy Peanut Butter!!!