I hesitated to even write this post. I mean, there are probably 1 million No Bake Cookies recipes all over the internet. But, alas I found myself making my one millionth batch of these and I took a few pictures.
There are load of these recipes and lots of them have very different ratios, so I wanted to post my Mamaw’s version. I’ve seen it a few places as well…and I know it works. And I like sharing stuff that works. Because ain’t nobody got time for duds ’round here.
When I was in elementary school, the cafeteria got all weird and put raisins in these. PLEASE DO NOT PUT RAISINS IN THESE COOKIES. Thank you. I am an equal opportunity raisin lover, but dude…no raisins in these cookies.
A few notes about sugar
I’ve tried all sorts of sugars in these cookies. I’ve tried coconut sugar. Fail. I’ve tried sucanat. We just didn’t like them (but my friend Tara does). I’ve tried honey granules and they were just okay. But honey, these cookies just thrive on white sugar. It’s a truth. White sugar makes the best No Bake Cookies.
We try not to overindulge in white sugar around here…but dude, if I want a yummy cookie, I surely don’t feel guilty about partaking of the white sugar poison (insert sarcasm). Because it’s tasty. And I like it. And because white sugar is just better in these cookies. Just don’t eat the whole batch…in one day. Ahem.
A few notes about oats
I buy oats in bulk because we really do eat that many. I buy rolled oats…old fashioned oats. Whatever you want to call them. I’m not super fond of quick oats because I think they make oatmeal kinda pasty. But my mom likes them. And she can’t be wrong because she raised two awesome children of whom I am the eldest.
When I want oats I buy a 5 gallon bucket from Bread Beckers. But if I need gluten free oats to bake for a friend, I buy them from Vitacost. If I run out of oats, coffee, or eggs, I consider that an emergency. True story.
But, honey…these cookies are just best with quick oats. You might disagree with me, but it’s okay for you to be wrong. Quick oats. White sugar. Many, many years of cookie making can’t be wrong.
Miscellaneous
This recipe is written to use margarine. I used margarine for years and years until I discovered the wonderful world of beautiful butter. So, please use butter in these. But, I know for a fact that if you use margarine, it needs at least 65% vegetable oil in it for them to work…otherwise they never harden up. I buy butter from Sam’s club in bulk and freeze it.
You might not call these No Bake Cookies. You might call them Preacher Cookies. Or Chewie Charlie’s (you’re SO wrong, J.R.). Or Cow Pies (soooooooooo wrong). Whatever you call them, just eat them.
Sometimes these won’t harden. They are not happy with humidity. And sometimes they are hormonal and don’t like to cooperate. When that happens, we just eat them with a spoon or keep them in the fridge to stay hard. And in my younger days, I would actually microwave my hardened cookies to make them gooey again. Because a gooey cookie is a delicious cookie.
To get some different flavors, I make them three other ways:
- Chocolate as stated
- Leave out the cocoa and you’ll have a plain PB No Bake
- Use brown sugar instead of white sugar and you’ll have a Caramel No Bake
One final note – I like big cookies. Go big or go home. So, this recipe usually makes around 20-22 cookies for me. If you like tiny cookies (what’s that about?!) then you will get a lot more. If you like to eat batter from the saucepan, this won’t make any. Ahem.
What do YOU call these cookies?
Mamaw’s No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
- 2 cups sugar white sugar works best
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup peanut butter I always use smooth
- 3 cups oats I prefer quick oats, although rolled oats will work
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Stir in sugar, cocoa powder, and milk.
- Bring to a rolling boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla and peanut butter.
- Stir until peanut butter melts, working quickly so mixture stays hot.
- Stir in oats until fully coated.
- Drop cookies in desired size on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Let stand until hardened. Store at room temp.
Notes
My Granny made these cookies. She called them “boiled cookies”. I have her original recipe written on a torn scrap of paper. Thanks for the memories!
My mother in law called them gooey Louie’s but I’ve always called them cat crap cookies, lol.
Loved reading your post, Stacy – I laughed my way through ? I’ve been making these the past few years (mom calls them haystacks, me it’s mudpies), but haven’t been able to get them to harden properly. Thanks for the note about butter vs. margarine, and especially the part about min. 65% vegetable oil in the margarine (I usually buy olive oil based margarine) – that was IT!!
I’m so glad to hear this recipe helped you! Sometimes all it takes is just one little tweak to get a successful finished product! Hope you enjoy for years to come 🙂
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
So, to make them caramel cookies, do you still add the peanut butter? Or omit the PB and use brown sugar only?
I still use the PB in all the cookies. I just change up the sugar.
Thank you!!!!
I’ve had these all my life, with “real” sugar of course. I’m curious as to what happened when you tried coconut sugar?
It’s okay – it’s not my favorite. It works great with unbleached sugar! Or white sugar. lol That too. I love cookies.
No bakes here too. And the only acceptable add-in (on occasion) is coconut flakes. ?
Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
These are No Bake Cookies in our house. Although I make mine with almond butter becauseof allergies. And it has to be the crunch type. It just doesn’t taste right if you use the creamy kind.
We would say the opposite. LOL 🙂
Preacher cookies, the name came about because most of the ingredients are pantry staples and they can be whipped up quick when the preacher dropped by unexpectedly.
Or when you have a cookie craving at 10pm and you’re a preacher. LOL
We call them Dinosaur Cookies. A friend passed along the recipe years and years ago. Ingredients include crushed bones, mud, swamp water, etc. It sounds disgusting…but they ARE yummy!!!
That’s awesome!
I made these today with my son and he loves them. I can’t believe I’ve never made them!
Oh, that makes me sooooooooooo happy! 🙂 🙂
We call them Preacher Cookies and/or No Bakes. My granny always said…and she is usually right… 😉 That if you have a high humidity day you do a drop test on them. You do this by getting a bowl of cold water, and while the mixture is still boiling you “drop” a small amount of the chocolate from the spoon into the bowl of cold water. If the “drop” of chocolate will form a ball easy, then they are ready to go. If the chocolate just mixes in with the water, then keep on boiling, test again until you get the ball.
She was a cook at the Elementary School and she NEVER put raisins in them. She says that some of the cooks would do it, but not her. She couldn’t ruin a good batch of Preacher Cookies. 🙂
AMEN! Your Granny was a smart woman – no raisins!
Haha! Yep. these are definitely No Bake Cookies. A farmer friend astonished (and amused, I admit, me by calling them cow pies. I guess they ought to know…)
Raisins? RAISINS??? You’ve GOT to be kidding!… except it’s not funny. Some people are so messed up. It’s probably the raisins in their cookies… don’t blame them, feel sorry.
I love no-bake cookies, but my girl LOOOOOOOVES no-bakes. We eat our share of these. …And all my parent-of-scrawny-little-undersized-kids friends wonder why our kids are so big and healthy… It’s called no-bakes and ice cream, people. : )
Together even. Yep. Together.
: ) You got that right! In fact, last time my girl made these they came out funny. She called me in for a consultation, and I gave her the bad news: I don’t think these cookies are going to make it. She grinned and replied that they would be good ON our ice cream then! : ) See? No-bakes make you smarter too.
Cookies and Cream!!!
Yum !!!!! I must try these !!
Yes, you must!
In our family we call these Missouri cookies. We have it down to about 15 minutes to make these cookies, including clean up. The hardest part is waiting for the cookies to cool.
Well, how awesome! I have never heard them called that! 🙂
We call them no bake cookies. I sometimes get heavy handed with the peanut butter….once I made a huge batch and had them cooling all over my dining room table…my Golden Retriever, Buddy, pulled a chair out and helped himself to quite a few. True story! We were so worried with all the chocolate and called our vet. He said to watch him. All he did was sleep with a goofy smile on his face! He checked that table for months…
LOL Oh my goodness! This really made me laugh!!!
We call them No Bake Cookies. I have never made them, but oh how I love them. One of our managers ALWAYS brings these for food day. And we all sneak to her desk before lunch to make sure we get one. I guess I really need to get to try my hand at making them. Although I’m scared…. If I find out I can make them (or if hubby finds out I can make them), will I be “required” to make them more frequently? Will my waistline forgive me? hehe. I like the sound of the caramel no bake… yum.
But even if you do well at making them, you can comfort yourself with the fact that they’re super fast so you’re not wasting much time. LOL
We call them Fudgies 🙂 And our recipe is identical, as I recall. (My mom can do these blind folded due to many a last minute “Mom!! We have a bake sale as school today!” But I still have to haul out the family cookbook every time.) I also like to eat the “batter” or microwave them and eat them with a spoon and huge glass of ice cold milk. I do, however, prefer mine with margarine *gasp!* Although, butter is better for most everything else in life. 😉
Honestly, margarine works really great in them. Ha ha! 🙂
We love No Bakes Cookies! However, we have had to adapt them in recent years since our youngest has a peanut allergy. We have made them successfully with almond butter and sunflower butter, but Nutella is better. Even Biscoff makes great No Bakes. 🙂 I do NOT recommend soy nut butter (for anything really – It is gross.) And my husband does like raisins in them. :-/ I don’t put raisins in them every time because I prefer them without, but I do put them in a good bit, because I like having a happy hubby.
On a different note, the video ad box on the top right of the screen is irritating. It won’t let me scroll to read the blog posts until it finishes playing multiple commercials. But I know ads are helpful for you and your blog so I put up with it…kind of like raisins in a No Bake Cookie. 😉
Oh dear – your husband is so wrong. LOL But that’s okay. He must be pretty awesome if he married you.
I’m not sure why the ad is doing that for you because I’m able to scroll past it every time. I’ll pass it along to Barry to see if he knows. 🙂 Thanks!
Oh my goodness! Now it’s doing it to me too! That has to GO!
Fry Pan Cookies
Well, that’s another one I’ve never heard!
these are no-bakes. there IS no other name. lol…..
sp, any easy way to sub the PB? … we have (all nut, including coconut) allergies 🙁 so sad, I know, she and I lament it often. I want to cry for her. just this morning she told me she had a dream remembering how PB with cinamon sugar on toast tasted.
anyway, I’m not into “soy butter” and have tried a sunflower seed butter, but i just could never get it REALLY smooth (ideas on that?) thanks!
I’ve had several people (and a commenter here) tell me that almond butter works great and so does Nutella. 🙂
We call them No Bake Cookies too! I should make a batch…..no heating up the kitchen with the oven when you make these babies! I may try your version (I think I’ll get out my Momma’s recipe and compare, they look very similar). Oh, I’ve heard them called Skillet Cookies too (we used to make them in our iron skillet but discovered they just seem to turn out better in a pot….I guess people who make them in a skillet call them…well, you know).
I haven’t heard them called that either! So many different names. 🙂
I make these with coconut oil in place of butter and honey in place of sugar..I think they taste great..in fact I get great reviews from my coworkers.
I tried that one time, but they wouldn’t stay nice at room temperature because of the coconut oil…but if you want to refrigerate them, that’s great. I just don’t like the chocolate evidence on my hands…otherwise, my kids get suspicious. 😉
Also, I’m not a huge fan of the flavor of honey, so I don’t use it where I know I”m going to taste it much. 🙂
I’ve been making these for years. We love them. We call them no bake fudge cookies. Thanks for posting. I think I need to make a batch!
I agree!
I’ve made these since I was a little girl (in my 60s now) and my grandma introduced them to me. Sweet memories when I make them. I have 2 granddaughters that are highly allergic to peanuts so I substitute the peanut butter with sunbutter and they’re just as good.
Thanks for chiming in with the substitution!
We call them No Bake Cookies. My recipe is almost identical to yours – I use 1/3 cup cocoa and 1 tsp. vanilla. These are my husband’s FAVORITE cookies! When I make these he is one happy guy…..Mentioning of, I should probably get on that!!
Gotta keep those hubbies happy! 🙂