No Bake “Boiled” Cookies

These No Bake Cookies are an old school recipe that my family has made for generations. I have some of my great grandmother’s handwritten recipe cards and this is one of my favorites among all of her recipes.

We refer to them as either No Bake Cookies, Boiled Cookies, or Drop Cookies. They’re my favorite around Christmas when I put together my assorted Christmas Cookie Gift boxes. These No Bake Cookies don’t require an oven so I can have a pan of cookies that need to bake going in the oven, while I’m making these on the stove and dropping them onto waxed paper.

The texture of these No Bake Boiled Cookies reminds me of fudge. They’re chocolate flavored with peanut butter and oatmeal added in. I also like to add in sweetened coconut flakes, and chopped pecans when I have a fresh bag. If you don’t like peanut butter you can leave it out of the cookies.

I just made a batch of these No Bake Cookies because when it’s hot outside I still want a little something sweet after dinner, but I didn’t want to heat up the house. My family can wipe these cookies out in a few days, but they’re super easy to make so I don’t mind.

These No Bake Cookies are made by boiling part of the ingredients for 1 minute and 15 seconds. I’ve tried lots of recipes over the years that call for longer boil times, but I like the texture that the cookies are when the ingredients are boiled for exactly 1 minute and 15 seconds. ‘

Also, I use quick cooking oats not old fashioned oats. Quick cooking oats have a better texture in my opinion so I would make sure to look for them when purchasing your ingredients. If you’re lucky, like me, you probably already have everything in your pantry and could make these cookies today.

I hope that you’ll try these No Bake Boiled Cookies today and leave a comment below. Also, for daily updates follow @lifeabovethecafe on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest using the social media icons found on this page.

Ingredients:

In a large bowl add:

• 3 cups of oatmeal (quick oats)
• 1 cup of creamy peanut butter
• optional: 1/2 cup of shredded sweetened coconut flakes
• optional: 1/2 chopped pecans

In a pan on the stove bring to a boil:

• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• 2 cups of sugar
• 4 Tbsp. of cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of milk

Other ingredients:

• 2 tsp. of vanilla after turning off the boiling mixture
• Waxed paper on the counter to drop the cookies onto

Directions:

Place the oatmeal, peanut butter, and if using the coconut and pecans in a large bowl.

Lay sheets of waxed paper on your kitchen counter to drop the cookies on.  My grandmother liked to save brown paper bags to lay under the waxed paper because the butter and peanut butter can sometimes cause greasy spots to press through the waxed paper.  (I just clean my counters with soap and water since I never have paper bags).

Have your cookie scoop ready or use two spoons (one to scoop and the other to scrape off the dough onto the waxed paper).  I dropped about 60 cookies using my small cookie scoop.

Add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and milk to a pot and over medium high heat, melt the ingredients and bring them up to a boil.  Boil the mixture while constantly stirring for 1 minute and 15 seconds (use a timer).  Turn off the heat and stir in 2 tsp. of vanilla extract.

You need to work quickly when mixing and dropping these cookies since the mixture hardens as it cools.

Immediately pour the chocolate mixture over the oats and stir it in thoroughly.  Don’t leave any dry oatmeal.  Work quickly to drop the cookie mixture onto the waxed paper.

Once all of my cookies are dropped, I like to press down on the domed top to make the cookies flatter.  You can leave them domed if you prefer.  Cool the cookies for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Store the cookies in a container on the counter or put them in the refrigerator if you prefer them cold.

 

 

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