Sunday, July 31, 2011

No Bake Cookies




Another hot day in Minnesota. Give me a few months and I'll be complaining about the cold. To be fair, we've been setting some records for heat around here. The hard thing about it is that I hate the thought of turning on the oven to bake anything. But we need treats. What is a girl to do?

Luckily, I remember a recipe from my past. We won't mention how long ago I first encountered them, but I'm thinking we used to get these in the high school cafeteria for dessert. I know I did try to make them once when I was in college and they didn't turn out all that great...they were kind of grainy. The recipe I'm thinking about is a no bake cookie....aptly named No Bake Cookies.

Now, I didn't remember exactly how to make these things. I knew they had peanut butter, chocolate and oatmeal--and they tasted more like candy than cookies. You know those haystack candies that come in a box of bon-bons? Yes--those are the ones---these "cookies" remind me of the haystack candies. So, I did a little search on the Internet.....

You know what? There are about a thousand No Bake Cookie recipes out there. Yikes. I decided on the one from allrecipes.com for a couple of reasons. First, no less than 19,500 people have saved this version...wow....and second, there is some very good advice to be had from the comments.

So here is the recipe, with a link to my source:

No Bake Cookies

1 3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth)
3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup shredded coconut (this is optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened. 




Something I learned from all of those comments on allrecipes.com.....get all of those ingredients together. Once the mixture boils, there isn't much time to get everything in there.

The recipe says to drop by teaspoons. That seemed tiny to me, so I used my cookie scoop. Much easier, no?


Check out this pan. My sister found it and gave it to me when she was downsizing. It comes from my dad's bakery. I heart this pan....


One of the suggestions was to add coconut. I did this.


And the best suggestion...the key to them not being grainy or crumbly....bring the mixture to a full boil and set your timer for 1 1/2 minutes. Perfect!

There you have it. Treats for a hot Minnesota day. Enjoy. 



15 comments:

  1. Cathy, this recipe showed up right on time for me, I have a bunch of Red Hat Ladies coming through the garden today and needed something for a treat. I whipped up the recipe but must have done something wrong because when I added the oatmeal, there wasn't enough 'sauce' to coat everything. Ended up making a second batch of sauce and then the oatmeal was coated well. Still, mine don't look as good as yours, though they taste good. Just wondering if you know what I did wrong? (Besides trying to cook something when I'm definitely not talented, lol!) These will be wonderful to have on hand this afternoon for the ladies.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I need to make some no bake cookies some time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. No bakes are the best desserts on a hot day. Your recipe is similar to one I use...it's delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love No Bake Cookies! I usually have a batch of these in the freezer to send with my son for his lunch - he loves them!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Red Hatterers loved the cookies, they all disappeared, which is a good thing, because I don't need any spare calories floating around the house, tempting me!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karen, so glad they worked out for your ladies! I meant to respond sooner about the issue you had, but I wasn't sure what went wrong. Assuming that all of your measurements were correct, I'm wondering if maybe you didn't add the oatmeal quickly enough? The mixture hardens pretty quickly, so any lag time would make it hard to stir in the oatmeal. Sorry--that's the only thing I can come up with...lol.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Che delizia, questi biscottini! Me ne farei una scorpacciata... :-) Mi segno la ricetta, voglio provarli! E visto che il tuo blog è pieno di idee interessanti, sono diventata tua sostenitrice. Ti seguirò con molto piacere. Ciaoooo! A presto :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Excellent cookies look amazing, I love your recipes, hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love these! Making them for munching on this three day weekend. Thanks for the burst of nostalgia! Stay cool in Minnesota! (That's all we do here in Washington! : ) )

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so happy to find this recipe, it sounds like the one my mom made for us as kids, can't wait to try it! I was also wondering where the baking pan is from. Was the Seymour Bakery in Seymour Arm, BC by any chance?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you'll like this recipe...it's perfect for this hot weather! :) To answer your question: No, it was the Seymour Bakery in Seymour, Wisconsin.

      Delete
  11. Exactly the way I used to make these! So many memories come with these delicious no-bakes!

    ReplyDelete
  12. my no bake cookies didnt harden what did i do wrong

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Once it comes to a boil, time it for a minute and a half.

      Delete
  13. These cookies are basically fudge. Hence, I wouldn't make them on a humid day, i.e. when it's raining.

    ReplyDelete