Choc-Oat-PB Bars

This recipe definitely hit the spot for my me (and the family). If you're new to it, boiling the milk for two minutes without stirring seems extreme, but it just makes the consistency a little bit more carmelly. I added an extra cup of oats and made these into cookies. Also, I added the cocoa powder with the dry ingredients (I've tried both ways and this sets better). I used natural peanut butter (like an earlier reviewer) and found that letting it rest in the fridge for even an hour helped them set perfectly. For those who want to indulge immediately, I agree that the consistency is gooey. Yummy either way!!

Outstanding! Did not have evaporated milk and used 1/4 c milk and 1 T honey. Boiling + stirring for long enough ensures that it will set. Solidified nicely in about 20 minutes.

I've tried several of the recipes on this site for a no-bake choc/oat cookie and this is by far the best recipe I've tasted. Be sure and stir the mixture over MEDIUM heat so it has time to thicken before coming to a rolling boil. I used fat-free evaporated milk, old fashioned oats, and adam's natural creamy peanut butter and I'm really happy with how it came out. I think what makes this recipe so good is the evaporated milk instead of regular milk and the large amount of vanilla. I was worried about putting that much in but it made it taste soooo good.

I used natural peanut butter, 1/2 cup less sugar than called for, added 2 tbsps extra cocoa, and substituted quinoa flakes for the oats. The results set up great, and were enjoyed by all. Next time I will use less butter, because the bars, came out a tad on the greasy side. No bake in bar form is definitely the way to go.

I can't really rate these, because they never set up properly for me. It could be me though. I followed the directions, even the 2 min. boiling time without stirring, which I thought was wierd. Could it be because I used natural PB? (It just contains no sugar and no hydrogenated oils). Help! I've attempted to make a few similar recipes for no-bake cookies, and in the past 5 years they've only turned out once for me. (And I used to make these all the time in junior high and high school, and they always turned out!) They didn't harden up correctly. Since they're in the fridge they are firm, but not the right texture. They stayed goopy. They'll be fine heated up in the mircorwave, but not what I was wanting!

Very good!! Even with a few substitutions, they came out great! (I had only 6 tbsp butter & used 2% milk.) The suggestion to stir on med heat until the sugar dissolved was a big help. Family loved them. So easy, so good and so going into my dessert rotation.

Tastes like a chocolate, oatmeal, PB fudge. YUM! I stirred in about 3/4 cup of milk chocolate chips just before putting mix into pan for a little extra chocolate.

My co-workers couldn't get enough! I brought breakfast and this was the first to go.

Couldn't get this to set up, and I was at the stove a long while stirring this. The picture doesn't really represent what this recipe looks like, imo. Though the flavor is ok, I won't be making it again.

My husband gave this 5 stars. Next time I think I will use slightly less sugar and slightly more oats.

These have been a favorite in my family for years but I had forgotten how wonderful they are. Thanks! They are even tastier right out of the pan! 5 Stars for you!!!!

So much more convienant in bars than the cookies.

these are great as long as you boil long enough for the sugar to compleatly disolve otherwise they will be gooy and not set properly.

Just like the no bake cookies I ate as a kid...even better in bar form. Delicious!

I think I made too many tweaks and substitutions on my first attempt at this one. It did harden for me but seems too dry and crumbly. If I had used evaporated milk, a little more sugar (I cut it too much from what the recipe called for), and a little less of the oats, I think it would be perfect. Definitely worth trying again with the correct ingredients. Good recipe but I messed it up...still edible though, it's chocolate! I might put a caramel topping of some sort on top to try to salvage it. I also want to try a version with flaked coconut instead of peanut butter, and almond extract instead of (or in addition to) vanilla. Maybe chopped dried cherries too...

Imagine a bowl with equal amounts of oatmeal and sugar poured in, and just a tad of peanut butter. That is what this dessert tastes like to me, which shouldn't have been a surprise given the ratio of ingredients called for in this recipe. I even cut the sugar down to 1 cup, but it was still so terribly sweet.

I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out wonderfully! I used Wal-Mart brand peanut butter, oats, and vanilla and used Hershey's cocoa. They were delicious!

These bars were delicious! They were quite sweet and I even reduced the sugar! I highly recommend this recipe.

Very good cookies but I think I would boil them for one minute as these did not set up well and were very gooey

I brought this to work, and people commented on how sweet it was. I will cut the sugar in half the next time I make this.

Made exactly as written with perfect results! The "Bar" idea makes these even quicker than typical no-bakes and in my opinion, they taste identical! Thanks for the recipe!

Excellent if you just want something quick for snacks... Especially if you need something for a big crowd and don't have much time. Though, I wouldn't recommend these for your 4th of July picnics! :)

YUMMM!!! They are indeed better than the no-bake cookies! I made them with crunchy peanut butter... and will be making them again! As sweet as fudge but with that "little extra"!

Love this recipe! My two year old helped me make them and it was fun doing this together. We live in the tropics, so set them in the fridge which worked brilliantly. I will make this recipe a regular - and might reduce the sugar next time (2 y/o loved them but I thought they were too sweet), and will add chopped dates. Great recipe - my first experience with "no bakes".

I made 2 batches. First exactly like the recipe, with quick oats. The second time I added 1/2 tsp salt to the chocolate mixture to softness the sweetness and used old fashioned oats and only 1 tablespoon of vanilla because I ran out. The salt is a nice addition and I prefer the quick oats. I did not notice much of a difference in the vanilla flavoring. I cooked the mixture on medium in a nonstick pot and left it alone while boiling for 3 1/2 minutes instead of 2. Everything I used was store brand except for the cocoa which was Hershey. This is very easy and I usually have all the ingredients on-hand.

Easy and tastes great. I have used the same recipe again.

Very good!!! I used chunky peanut butter, and it was amazing with the little chunks of peanuts through it!!! A must make.

My daughter loves to make these for treats. They;re easy, but taste great!

Very Good! Although I used only half the amount of sugar than the recipe said and I still found it a bit too sweet... I also added some cashew, almond, raisins and peanuts. :)

These were great. I never thought to make no-bake bars instead of cookies. I will make them this way from now on.

Sooo GOOD! no milk; so i substituded with french vanilla coffee whitener and honey. Instead of cocoa mix i used chocolate chips & NUTELLA instead!

very tastey! I agree that these taste better made as bars. I would recommend boiling the first four ingredients a little longer than two minutes (3-4) to ensure that the bars bind together really well. so quick, so easy, so good!

I had lost this recipe years ago. When I came accross it again, I was thrilled, and promptly made a double batch! We called these MISERY COOKIES, because if you eat too many, you're miserable!

These turned out pretty good. I took a suggestion from above and added the cocoa powder with the dry ingredients since they said it would set better. I let them set in the fridge for about 2 hours. Added in 1/4 cup almonds. Everything turned out well for me. They taste great. Have had better, but not by much.

Tasted great and much easier to do as bars than to do cookies.

All things considered, these were easy to make, and they did set. They set a little too well and it took a little microwave action to get them out of the pan and cut. The taste was ok, nothing magical. The oat flavor was totally there. it was like eating something sweet that won't have that nasty binding effect on you later. I don't think I'll be making these a second time.

These bars are great, so fast! Making them into a bar instead of cookie saves time and makes them very nice to cut into bar for lunches.