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    Home » Recipes » Dessert

    June 20, 2022

    No Bake Cookie Bars

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    No Bake Cookie Bars are a quick and easy treat made with simple ingredients!! Perfect for a bake sale, potlucks and after-school treats!

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    Close-up of a no bake cookie bar.

    One of my first recipes I remember making as a kid is No Bake Cookies. They were easy to make, had just a handful of ingredients and always cured my sweet tooth!

    Well I've taken one more step at making No Bake Cookies easy by turning them into bars! No more scooping into cookies or worrying about getting them to all look uniform. Just put them into a square pan, let them cool, cut into little (ehhh or big) squares and enjoy!!

    And the best part is that you can eat the "dough" without worrying about raw egg or raw flour! My three siblings and I would always fight over the saucepan and spoon to make sure we all got our fair share! 🙂 Ok now, let me show you how simple these no bake treats are!

    Ingredients needed to make no bake cookie bars.

    Ingredients Needed

    • Butter
    • Sugar
    • Corn Syrup
    • Milk - I use 2% milk, but you could also use whole milk, half and half or heavy cream)
    • Cocoa Powder
    • Peanut Butter - I recommend creamy peanut butter
    • Vanilla
    • Quick Oats - I do not recommend old-fashioned oats as it makes it a less-appealing texture
    • Toppings - I like to use extra peanut butter to drizzle on top of the bars! You could also drizzle melted peanut butter chips on top and/or sprinkle with chopped peanut butter cups or mini M&M's for a fun twist!
    Squares of no bake cookie bars.

    How to make these No Bake Cookie Bars

    First, you'll want to line a square baking pan with parchment or waxed paper and gather all of your ingredients.

    Butter, sugar, milk and cocoa powder in a saucepan.

    You'll add the butter, sugar, corn syrup, milk and cocoa powder to a saucepan and heat on low until the butter is melted. Then, you can turn the temperature up a bit and stirring occasionally, bring it to a boil.

    Once it's at a rolling boil (pay close attention!), you'll let it boil for 1 minute. Be sure to keep a close eye on it, because if you cook it too long, it'll produce more dry and crumbly bars.

    Chocolate mixture boiling in a saucepan.

    Once the minute is up, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and peanut butter.

    No bake cookies being mixed in a saucepan.

    Lastly, stir in the oats and dump it into the lined square pan. Use a spoon or spatula to spread it into an even layer.

    Add toppings while the mixture is warm, such as a drizzle of melted peanut butter! (I just put some warm peanut butter into a little baggie, cut the tip off and squeeze it out.)

    Peanut butter being drizzled on a pan of bars.

    You can either let these cool on the counter (which will take a couple hours to completely set up) OR refrigerate them to speed up the process. Once they're cool and set up, cut them into squares and enjoy!!

    How do you store no bake cookie bars?

    I recommend storing these at room temperature in an airtight container.

    Troubleshooting: Why are my No Bake Cookies Soft/Gooey?

    If you've given them a chance to cool (and even have tried to refrigerate them and had no luck with them setting up), the sugar mixture likely needed to be boiled a little longer!

    Troubleshooting: Why are my No Bake Cookies Dry and Crumbly?

    My guess is that the sugar mixture was boiled too long. Next time, just be sure to start the 1 minute timer as soon as it boils and remove it from the heat as soon as the minute is up.

    Stack of no bake cookie bars.

    More No Bake Bar Recipes

    No Bake Smores Bars - This great recipe uses milk chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and Golden Graham cereal to bring together all the flavors of campfire smores!

    Scotcheroos - These no bake bars are always a delicious treat!! They've got a peanut butter and Rice Krispies base and are topped with melted butterscotch and semisweet chocolate chips!

    Loaded Scotcheroos - These "loaded" scotcheroos are different from the original recipe in that they're a little bit caramelly, thanks to a mixture of caramel topping and brown sugar. They've also got a melted chocolate topping and toffee bits which adds a little crunch.

    Cereal Treats - This is one of my kids' favorite easy recipes! They're full of cereal, chocolate chips, M&M's and peanut butter!

    Hand holding a no bake cookie bar drizzled with peanut butter.

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    Hand holding a no bake cookie bar with a drizzle of peanut butter on top.

    No Bake Cookie Bars

    kelsey
    No Bake Cookie Bars are a quick and easy treat made with simple ingredients!!
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prevent your screen from going to sleep.
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 5 mins
    Cooling Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 25 bars
    Calories 174 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ cup butter
    • 1 ⅓ cup sugar
    • ¼ cup corn syrup
    • ⅓ cup milk
    • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
    • ¾ cup peanut butter (+ additional for drizzling on top, optional)
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 3 ¼ cups quick oats

    Instructions
     

    • Line a 9x9 inch square pan with parchment paper; set aside.
    • In a saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup, milk and cocoa powder.
    • Heat on low until the butter is melted, stirring frequently.
    • Turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
    • Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla.
    • Stir in the oats and then pour into the prepared pan; smooth out the top.
    • Drizzle with additional peanut butter (I like to microwave a couple tablespoons peanut butter for 10-15 seconds so it's runny and easy to drizzle).
    • Refrigerate until set then cut into bars and serve!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1barCalories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 3.8gFat: 8.5gSaturated Fat: 3.4gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 64mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 2gSugar: 12.5gVitamin A: -3IUCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword no bake
    Tried this recipe?Follow me at @dancearoundthekitchen.kelsey and let me know how you liked it!

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    about kelsey

    About Kelsey

    Combining my love for food and family is a pretty easy calculation. Almost all family gatherings include food… After all, a party without cake is just a meeting right? Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Aeil says

      December 19, 2022 at 6:41 pm

      5 stars
      Cookie bars
      There are gooey delicious awesome
      In a short time simple recipe that
      Really works I made three batches
      Gave to neighbors today Kelsey
      a awesome recipe thank you
      So much
      Five stars 10 of 10

      Reply
      • kelsey says

        December 27, 2022 at 3:13 pm

        Awww thank you!!! So happy you (and your neighbors!) got to enjoy these! ~Kelsey

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Kelsey! I am a wife, mother and BFFs with my KitchenAid mixer, happy to bring you easy meals and decadent desserts! Welcome to my blog!

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