No-Bake Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk No-Bake Cookies feature chewy oatmeal, creamy peanut butter, and chunks and swirls of chocolate that come together in mere minutes with no need to turn on the oven!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Text Overlay


 

Well, summer is officially in full swing, and across much of the country, temps are nice and boiling. I don't know about you, but about the last thing I want to do on a hot summer day is turn on my oven and burden my already-taxed air conditioner. So instead, we do a lot of of outdoor cooking on the grill, make a meal of our favorite salads, and I even continue to use my trusty crock pot through the summer months.

It's a little more challenging figuring out ways to avoid turning on the oven when you crave a little sweet treat, but believe me...it can be done!

Placed on Decorative Floral Napkins

No-bake cookies are a fast, easy solution to this hot weather, summertime dilemma. This classic concoction has been around for decades, and the recipe goes by a variety of names (Preacher Cookies, Boiled Cookies, Funeral Cookies, Cow Patties, and many more). These cookies are quickly made in a pot on the stove by boiling butter, sugar, and milk for a specific amount of time and then stirring in the peanut butter, oatmeal, and remaining ingredients. Plop them on some wax paper, let them cool, and DONE! The resulting treats are chewy and very sweet, with a flavor almost reminiscent of fudge.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies on a White Square Plate

Now, there is a bit of a debate out there as to whether No-Bake Cookies should be made with quick-cooking or regular rolled oats. Honestly, I think it's a matter of personal preference. Since the oats don't technically cook, they are going to remain chewier than they would in baked cookies. I personally enjoy the chewier texture attained by using regular rolled oats, but some prefer the more tender cookies that result from using quick oats. So I leave it up to you! If your ideal is somewhere between tender and chewy, you can always use half quick oats and half regular oats.

Close-Up

The traditional no-bake cookie recipe call for cocoa powder but, wild and crazy baker that I am, I decided to change things up a bit. So in lieu of cocoa powder, I took a cue from my S'mores Crispy Treats, which have chocolate chips stirred in at the last minute. For these cookies, I started with big chunks of dark and milk chocolate, some of which melted and streaked into the oatmeal mixture, and some of which cooled back into solid pieces. Because I didn't have a bag of chocolate chunks handy, I sacrificed a leftover milk chocolate Easter bunny (whose time had clearly come) plus a handful of individually wrapped dark chocolate pieces, chopped into large hunks.

The resulting cookies? Decadent and delicious, as any combo of chocolate and peanut butter typically is!

On a White Square Plate

The key to this recipe is boiling for the exact amount of time specified in the recipe. Not long enough, and your cookies may not set up. Too much boiling time, and they may end up dry and crumbly.

And one final note...if you need to avoid peanut butter, you can make these cookies with nut-free sunflower seed butter instead (SunButter is one available brand). Or if you're okay with another variety of nut butter, that would work as well.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies on Floral Napkins

So beat the heat this summer -- or make quick, easy, homemade cookies any time of year -- with these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk No-Bake Cookies! They're perfect for everything from back-to-school teacher gifts to a sweet something for last-minute guests. I can guarantee that they whip up in a jiffy...and they'll disappear even faster!

No-Bake Cookies Recipe

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies ~ come together in minutes...no need to turn on the oven! | FiveHeartHome.com

No-Bake Cookies

No-Bake Cookies -- featuring chewy oatmeal, creamy peanut butter, and chunks and swirls of chocolate -- come together in mere minutes with no need to turn on the oven!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Chilling/Setting Time:: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies (approximately)
Calories: 157kcal
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, NOT margarine
  • 1 ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup milk, preferably 2% or whole
  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups oats, quick oats OR regular rolled oats (for chewier cookies)
  • 8 ounces chocolate chunks, milk OR dark chocolate, preferably frozen

Instructions

  • Line two cookie sheets with waxed paper. Measure out all cookie ingredients and set aside.
  • Melt butter in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Stir in sugar and milk and bring to a rolling boil. Set timer and continue stirring as mixture boils for exactly 1 ½ minutes.
  • Remove pot from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, salt, and oats until mixture is well combined. Add chilled chocolate chunks and stir just a few times so that chocolate is incorporated and starts to streak, but it should not melt completely.
  • Drop oatmeal mixture by tablespoonfuls into little mounds onto prepared cookie sheets. You may leave them rounded or use the back of a spoon to slightly flatten them. Allow cookies to set and cool. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature (for up to a few days) or in the refrigerator (if you prefer them firm and chilled).

Notes

  • You have to work quickly when making this recipe since it sets up quickly, so I recommend measuring out all ingredients ahead of time so that they're ready when you need them.
  • Sunflower seed butter may be used in lieu of peanut butter, for those with peanut allergies.
  • You may use quick oats for more tender cookies, regular rolled oats for chewier cookies, or a combination of the two.
  • If you use chocolate chips/small pieces of chocolate, or chocolate that hasn't been chilled/frozen, it may all melt when you stir it into the warm oatmeal mixture. It will still taste great, but you won't have any chunks of chocolate remaining in your cooled cookies.
  • I like to use a small cookie scoop to quickly scoop my cookies into little mounds.

Nutrition

Calories: 157kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 87IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

Recipe originally posted at Or So She Says on June 17, 2014.

More No-Bake Desserts

You May Also Like

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




18 Comments

  1. These look delicious! My daughter is always looking for yummy no-bake recipes she can make 🙂 Yum!

    1. Thanks so much, Shannon! These cookies are definitely fun to make with the kiddos...hope your daughter has fun with them and that the whole family enjoys them. 🙂 Have a great rest of the week!

  2. I made these for my friends children but I think we parents ate the most serious addiction in the making

    1. Ha, Leelou...I have the same problem when I make them! I limit the number of cookies I'll let my kids have, and then I find myself stuffing them in my mouth after they go to bed! 😉 Glad y'all enjoyed them...hope you're having a great week!

    1. Thank you, Winnie! These cookies are easy and tasty for sure...hope you enjoy them! And thanks for stopping by! 🙂

  3. Yay, no-bake rocks my socks in the summer! Especially when there is chocolate involved. I'm over from Hit me with your best shot, thanks for sharing this recipe! Pinning to my desserts for future reference. 🙂

    1. Thank you, Amanda! No-bake desserts are great, aren't they? Especially when it's 100-degrees outside and the air conditioner is already struggling to keep up... 😛 I'm so glad you stopped by and I really appreciate the pin. Have a happy Thursday! 🙂

  4. I have a family reunion to go to where I am going to bring numerous things. This would be perfect, because everyone will like them and I don't have to do any work.
    I like it!!!

    1. I agree, Carol...the 'no work' part is arguably the best part of this recipe! But they do taste pretty dang good, too. 😉 Have a great time at your family reunion!

  5. You know you are speaking my love language with these chocolate and peanut butter cookies, Samantha! I'm drooling, really!

    1. Chocolate and peanut butter really is a love language, isn't it, Julie? 😉 Hope you get to try these soon...it sounds like they'd be right up your alley. 🙂 And I hope you're having a wonderful week!

  6. Oh my! These look delicious! I will keep these in mind next time I am looking to bake or not bake something. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Jamie! I appreciate the pin and I hope these are a hit when you make them! 🙂

  7. Oh I wish I could pop a few of these in my mouth right now! They look fantastic - and no bake - how great is that!

    1. Thanks, Jessica! That's actually the problem I have when I make them...it's way too easy to pop a few of them in my mouth...and then a few more...and then a few more. 😉 Hope you enjoy them just as much as we do if you have a chance to make them!