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Rich, fudgy No Bake Cookies come together in minutes with chocolate, peanut butter, and oats for the ultimate easy treat! Soft, chocolatey, and perfectly set, these classic cookies deliver big flavor with no oven required!
There’s nothing more nostalgic than an old fashioned no bake cookie!! They’re one of the simplest treats to make and arguably one of the BEST! I mean, you can’t go wrong with chocolate, peanut butter and oats piled up in perfectly chewy cookies!
But not all no bake cookies are created equal. We’ve all had ’em….the no bake cookies that didn’t set up. And the no bake cookies that were so crumbly, they arrived to the party in shambles. I tested seven different versions with different ingredients and cooking methods to ensure great cookies every single time!
Ingredients Needed for the Perfect No Bake Cookies!
- White Sugar
- Butter – I prefer salted butter
- Milk – I recommend 2%, whole milk or evaporated milk
- Cocoa Powder – Use regular or Hershey’s “Special Dark” cocoa for a deeper chocolate flavor
- Salt
- Peanut Butter – Stick with creamy peanut butter; I don’t recommend the “natural” peanut butter as it’ll affect the texture.
- Vanilla Extract
- Oats – Though my testing, I determined that quick oats perform much better than old fashioned oats.
Testing 7 Versions of No Bake Cookies to find the BEST!
|
Test |
Test Details |
Cookie Results |
|
1 |
Standard recipe, boil 2 minutes |
Great flavor, but very dry and crumbly |
|
2 |
Standard recipe, boil 1 minute |
Very good flavor and texture |
|
3 |
Replace quick oats with old fashioned oats |
Very distinctive texture; flat cookies |
|
4 |
Higher peanut butter to butter ratio and added a bit more vanilla |
Not quite as shiny, but more peanut butter flavor (and less chocolate flavor) |
|
5 |
Replace milk with evaporated milk |
No noticeable difference when changing to the evaporated milk. |
|
6 |
Cooled the chocolate mixture for 2 minutes before adding the oats. |
Cookies were quite a bit taller; however they were also more crumbly. |
|
7 |
Add 2 tablespoons corn syrup |
Beautifully shiny, but they stuck to the parchment paper and never quite set up. |
In summary, it was so interesting to see how cooking time and chill time affected these cookies. Once I have all of these options a try, I was able to determine the very BEST….the one I’m sharing with YOU!
How to Make the BEST No Bake Cookies
Start by gathering your ingredients and a timer and lining a large sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper.
Combine the sugar, butter (make sure it’s either softened or that it’s cut into smaller pieces), milk, cocoa powder and salt in a saucepan. Turn the heat to low, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted.
Turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling (not just a few small bubbles around the edge of the pan), start a timer and let it cook for 1 minute (and no longer!!).
Remove the mixture from the stovetop and add the peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until smooth.
Add the oats and stir well. Use a cookie scoop to transfer the cookies to the prepared pans.
Let the cookies cool completely then transfer to an airtight container.
Skip the Scooping and Make Bars Instead!
If you don’t want to worry about quickly scooping up the cookies, try my No Bake Cookie Bars!! Same texture, same flavor, no scooping required!
Troubleshooting No Bake Cookies
There are a few factors that could play into this. Most likely, they didn’t boil for the full minute (the cooked sugar is what helps the cookies set up). Humidity can also play a role as well as inaccurate measurements or using the wrong oats.
I tested several methods of making no bake cookies and the most dry and crumbly cookies were a result of boiling the chocolate mixture for too long (2 minutes vs just one)!
Once the cookies are mixed up, you need to scoop them right away, as they’ll start to set up very quickly. If they had a chance to begin setting up, they’ll be more round on top vs settling into a smoother surface.
Making the No Bake Cookies Just the Way You Like!
While I was testing, I had some friends stop by and it was fun to get their opinions on the cookies. I quickly learned that just because I loved a shiny, fudgy, just-set no bake cookie, that’s not everyone’s cup of tea! Here’s how to make them to your liking….
- Peanut Butter Lovers – You’ll love the “Test 4” which changed the butter to 1/3 cup and the peanut butter to 2/3 cup!
- Dry & Crumbly No Bake Cookie Lovers – One of my testers mentioned that she loves them dry and crumbly because that’s how her mom always made them. Simply boil the mixture for 2 minutes if you’d like them like that!
- More Distinctive Oat Texture – Try using 2 cups of quick oats and 1 cup of old fashioned oats for a little more texture variation!
Other No Bake Treats To Try!
- No Bake Peanut Butter Treats
- Chex Bars
- Cereal Treats
- Scotcheroos & Scotcheroo Bites
- Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats
- Haystack Cookies
- No Bake S’mores Bars
No Bake Cookies
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
- 1 Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup butter softened or cut into slices
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick cooking oats
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Gather all ingredients and have them measured out. Once you start making the cookies, it goes quickly and you'll need to work relatively quickly! 🙂
- Add the sugar, butter, milk, cocoa powder and salt to a large saucepan.2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Place the saucepan on a burner over low heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently.
- Turn the heat up to medium and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute – be sure to set a timer; you don't want to overcook this mixture!!!
- Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla and then the oats.1/2 cup peanut butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 3 cups quick cooking oats
- Scoop the cookies onto the prepared sheet pan (I use a #40 size cookie scoop).
- Let cool completely (refrigerate to speed up the process) before removing from the parchment paper and storing in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator.
Notes
- If you boil the mixture for less than a minute, it’s likely they won’t set up properly.
- If you boil the mixture for too long, it’ll result in dry, crumbly cookies.
Hi, can I use sweetener in place of sugar?
Hi Kim! I haven’t tried making these with a sweetener, so I can’t say for sure one way or the other. ~Kelsey
The purpose of the sugar is to provide the fudge texture thanks to the variable properties of sugar at various temperature points, so no. Just swapping out the sugar for sweetener won’t work.
I’m sure you could figure out a different way to get the fudge texture that also sets up like fudge while also using zero calorie sweetener, but I would advise several small test runs before scaling it up to a full recipe amount of cookies.
I can’t say it would work for certain, but maybe you could try making tiny tester batches with a little bit of gelatin and/or some sort of starch or xanthan gum instead of sugar, but the sugar is basically the glue that holds the cookies together. Zero calorie sweeteners aren’t quite sticky enough to fill sugar’s shoes.
Source: I have been a professional baker for over 2 decades
Total perfection! Yum