No Bake Cookies V

My entire family loves these cookies. My family begs for them! I would suggest using 4 TBsp of cocoa, butter rather than margarine, smooth PB and 3 1/2 cups of oats. Small changes but they make a world of difference. I have tried every which way and this is the best. If you do it just right, they set up in about 15 minutes.

I've been having issues with these not turning out too! I have a different version of "rolling boil" every time I do it. According to the blog All in Good Food he decreases the sugar to 1 and 3/4 cup *this effects the sugar concentration* and brings to 230 degrees F under med-high heat. Just like fudge, if it's raining or humid, you will need to boil a bit longer (but not above max soft ball stage) so the cookie will suck moisture out of the air. Have all your ingredients pre-measured b/c this moves fast after removing from heat.

The perfect no-bake flavor. I used creamy peanut butter instead of chunky, and if you do that I suggest adding a bit more oats, as they'll be kind of thin.

This recipe is messed up. I went digging in my closet to find my orginal no-bake cookie recipe. When I compared the two recipes, I found that they had the same ingredients; however, the ratios and the cooking processes were different. The oatmeal has to be added before the peanut butter because the peanut butter cools the mixture down. If you don't, your oatmeal stays firm. The desired texture for these cookies is a slighty softened oatmeal. I would look for another recipe if you prefer a more original style no-bake cookie. I hope this helps.

These turned out absolutely perfect! Don't be afraid to use whole oats if you don't have quick oats....doesn't make a difference. I made it EXACTLY as stated. I have made no bakes in the past and had them either set up to fast, or never set up. I would say the directions to this recipe are perfectly on target!

These were a hit and easy to make! I used splenda, skim milk, light peanut butter, and light margarine, and they still tasted great.

These are just like I remember as a kid. Sometimes I just throw them into a 9x13 pan instead of drop by teaspoon. Very tasty.

I give this five stars because they came out exactly as they were meant to. Following the advice of other posters I doubled the cocoa (used good quality cocoa), used creamy PB, and even reduced the butter a bit. Boiled for about 90 seconds. They set up perfectly and were ready to eat in LESS than an hour. I love making these when I need a quicky fudgey chocolate fix. Oh forgot... I used 2 1/2 cups of oats and 1 cup of coconut. I think it would be good with just the 3 cups of oats too.

I love this recipe because it has more cocoa than other ones. It has 1/4 c instead of 2 tablespoons. This made a huge difference in the turn out. They turned out more rich and not so dried out as those recipes that call for only 2 tablespoons. My family loves these cookies, and everytime I make them I come right back to this exact recipe to make sure I make them the same way.

This is the best No Bake Cookie Recipe I've found. Have made it with both chunky and creamy peanut butter and we like it both ways. I set my kitchen timer to one minute after the mix has started boiling and have never had a problem with them setting up.

yummy! the best no bake cookie on this site in my opinion.. I use creamy peanut butter mainly because that's all i buy and I wasn't about to go get chunky just for this recipe. It is really funny how every one is reviewing to change the cocoa to 4 tablespoons instead of 1/4 a cup... because 4 tablespoons is 1/4th a cup....im sure it was a huge improvement for everyone who did that.. ha

I thought 2 cups was a lot of sugar, so I made it 1 1/2 cups and they were plenty sweet. I doubled the cocoa (per reviews) and used 1/4 cup butter and made milk 3/4 cup to compensate for the missing liquid. I also used reduced fat peanut butter. They ended up with a fudgy, slightly sticky texture but I wasn't sure what the original texture should be so I don't know if my reduction of butter did that. The only bad thing was they had a kind of raw oatmeal flavor but I didn't mind. In the end, they curbed my sweet, chocolate craving and were a little healthy to boot. I would make them again for the same reason.

Pretty tasty. I use real butter only, instead of margarine. If you only have "old fashioned oats" and want them to be more like "quick oats", just pulse them a couple of times in a food processor.

My husband loves these cookies. They are a must at Christmas at our house. The only difference I make was to increase the vanilla to 2 tsp. Very good!

Betty, I'm cured! I've been going nuts looking for this recipe since gradeschool. I tried others which didn't quite hit the mark. This one is it! Just as another reviewer added, I believe the key is the extra cocoa powder. These tasted wonderful, and set perfectly. My only complaint is that you didn't provide an excuse to tell my husband when he comes home to only find about 10 left! Admittedly, I ate 1/4 of the batch before actually dropping them onto the wax paper. Oops! Thank you, Betty!

I grew up on this cookie, so making them always zips me right back to my childhood. Mom has been gone for years, and this year my sister asked me to make some for Thanksgiving; they were gone in no time! The thing to remember with these cookies is that you are basically making fudge with oatmeal in it. Having it come to the FULL boil, and letting it boil long enough, are crucial to them setting up properly. If you're in doubt you've cooked it long enough, use a candy thermometer and make sure you're in the 235-240 ballpark and you should be fine. Enjoy!!

I've made these often, but due to my son having a peanut allergy I replace the peanut butter with sunflower butter. It's a bit pricey, and hard to find, but taste delicious! It's a peanut butter substitute that is made with ground up sunflower seeds. It also worked perfect in this recipe since it looks just like peanut butter and has the exact same consistency! Just thought I'd let other people know that they can enjoy these yummy cookies even if they are allergic to peanuts. Yummy for the whole family!

My family has been making this recipe for YEARS! I haven't come in contact with too many people who have an excellent No-Bake Recipe! One Tip! Omit the Cocoa for a delicious peanut butter version!

My oh my. I couldn't even wait three minutes for these to cool before trying them, much less an hour. Delicious. Divine. My tips: butter instead of margarine, 3.5 cups of oats, and I put the last four ingredients in a bowl before I started on the stovetop. Once my stovetop ingredients boiled, I poured that mixture into the bowl and mixing it all went very smoothly. I also used a medium cookie scoop, and I got 30 cookies, all the same size.

all no bake cookies are not created equal. Some recipes make cookies rubbery or tasteless and aren't worth eating. I set out to find the perfect recipe I grew up with -- and I found it! Thank you!

These are really good cookies. My little one gobbles them up. My grandmother has her own "No Bake Cookie" recipe that I use...it's very similar to this one. Just about everyone enjoys these...and they are a nice change of pace from your typical peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie. A good sweet & healthy snack for kids and their a chinch to make. Thanks for submitting an old favorite Betty.

These are great! I remember making these at girl scout camp when I was a kid. A favorite at our house for sure. I ran out of sugar and used about 1/3 c brown sugar for the rest and they turned out so delicious and not as dry when they cooled. UPDATE: 03/22/14 I made these again only this time I used all white sugar except I was out of vanilla. It didn't matter. The taste was fantastic and as good as always! I tossed in some raisins on a whim and these were even better! Now I wonder why I never thought of doing that before?

Don't believe the few nay-sayers of this recipe, this recipe is perfect as written, making it for years, if it messes up then you're doing something wrong.

This is the right recipe. I never make any substitutions, except sometimes a cup of coconut instead of one of the cups of oatmeal. I make these a couple of times a week because we are addicted! Thank you!!!

My mom has been making this for decades, and taught me when I was a little kid. It's GREAT, and a staple in our family! Although I have to disagree with Sue who posted a review a few slots down - you DO need to boil it for one full minute, or it will not harden! I've made it several times where I didn't boil for a full minute, just brought it to a boil, and it never hardened. Over the last 15 years or so, I've made it close to a hundred times - boil it for at LEAST a full minute for it to harden properly. Thanks for posting!

These are great and so easy - but I did change things up a bit. I made it 4 cups of oatmeal and 3/4 cup of splenda/sugar baking mixture, that's sweet enough for me. I boiled the cocoa mixture for 2 full minutes and instead of dropping as cookies, I spread them into a 9x13 prepped with cooking spray to set - 30 minutes in the fridge. I'll make them again and add coconut.

PERFECT! Just like I remembered. Important to time from the rolling boil stage. Too long and they will be dry, too little and they will be gooey. Practice makes perfect!

Woonderful!!!Just like my great-aunt taught me how to make them. Count to 60 six whiling it is boiling. I just made two batches but used all organic ingredients and creamy organic peanut butter.Can't wait to take them to the party this weekend I need to hide them till then.

These cookies are good and super easy to make. One mistake I made with my first batch: I almost forgot the vanilla put it in after the oatmeal, and it was waaaay too strong and they didn't taste as good. Another thing (and mostly why I gave them 4 stars rather than 5) is that they didn't hold up really well after a few days -- they dried out and got crumbly. (I made a ton ahead as Christmas presents but tossed the last bunch because they didn't keep well.)

I thought these were ok. They were worth trying. My kids didn't really like them either. I think they were a bit too sweet.

Easy as 123...these turned out FAB. Only reason I rated a 4 is because I made adjustments. Took advise of other folks and did the following added my modifications. MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS PREMEASURED AND IN SEPARATE CONTAINERS SET KITCHEN TIMER TO ONE MIN BUT DONT TURN ON JUST YET. Put milk and butter in pan turn on heat, add cocoa (4tbs) then add sugar. CONSTANTELY stir at all times mixure will come to a rolling boil even while stirring. Once rolling boil starts TURN ON TIMER. Keep stirring until timer goes off. Take pot off heat add salt, then vanilla (9 teaspoons= shot glass full) keep stirring add peanut butter (I did creamy) keep stirring then add oats. Stirring mixure until completely mixed. FINETO! Me and my son could not get them on the wax paper as we were too busy eating from the spoon! FAB FAB FAB!

Had trouble getting these to set. (Still trying to perfect them!) Decided to keep them stored in the fridge, and they taste wonderful! Make sure to measure the oats exactly according to the recipe. Recipe is a bit too sweet, you might want to cut back a tad on the sugar!

I halved this recipe and they didn't set up at all, so don't do that!! But I tried it again later on using the normal portions and they were great!

I made 1/2 a batch for the trial run. I was a little short on Oats and only had creamy peanut butter. They still set and came out great. I've been looking for this recipe for 20 years, found some but they never set properly. I'm so happy to have my recipe back. Thank you!

I thought these were ok. They were worth trying. My kids didn't really like them either. I think they were a bit too sweet.

I made these EXACTLY as written and they got hard in the saucepan before I could even get them on the wax paper. I tried to pile it all into a 9x13 and smash them down while they were still hot in hopes of cutting them into bars, but that didn't work either. Don't know how everyone else had such good luck.

Perfect! The only change I made was to add closer to 4 cups of oatmeal as they are too sticky otherwise.

Love it !!!

The first time I made these I followed some of the reviewers advice and let them sit for a little bit in the pot before dropping and also added the vanilla in with the sugar mixture at the start, and I also let them boil for 90 seconds as was recommended. They were a little too dry, but my husband loved them and they did taste great! He was begging me to make them again so the second time I followed the recipe as written except used creamy peanut butter and they were PERFECT! Don't mess with the recipe, it is just righ!

I've been making these same cookies for a long time and they are always so good! I make mine a little healthier though by reducing the sugar to only 1/2 cup and the butter to 1/4 cup. The peanutbutter already adds enough sugar (unless its natural unsweetened) and fat to the recipe. Also, you can make this recipe vegan by using soymilk and margarine.

They're a bit on the sweet side, but I like them that way. I boiled the mixture a little longer than 1 minute, but that helped them to set up quicker. Thanks for the recipe!

Perfect as is- reminds me of when I was little!

This recipe has been a favorite in my family my whole entire life. The secrets include having all ingredients pre-measured, using 4 tbsp of butter and remember that you have to have your cocoa mixture at a rolling boil (that means that even though you are stirring the mix, it is STILL boiling rapidly. THEN, you start your timing -- we go 5 minutes) And we use creamy peanut butter, not chunky (not everyone likes nuts) dump the oats a cup at a time, sometimes you need 3 cups, sometimes 3.5 cups oats. Sometimes if the weather isn't the best, the cookies won't set up. They're a mess, but we eat them anyway, and have dubbed them "Mess Cookies" - the best!

Ok.. Instead of magarine I used organic coconut oil. I also used "natural" peanut butter and 1/2 cup coconut... AMAZING!! This is our third batch in 2 days... Love 'em'!!!

ugh...maybe I just don't get the whole 'no bake' thing but I REALLY didn't like these. I followed the recipe exactly like it says, and even set the timer for a minute as soon as it started to boil. As soon as I had all the ingredients together I thought there might be something wrong since it was very stiff, not at all gooey or runny as others have stated. But I continued the recipe and placed the balls on the parchment paper thinking, "Maybe they'll spread out into cookies as the hour goes on". Never happened. They came out hard, dry, and chalky. I gave it 2 stars just because I don't think I've ever had a no bake cookie and maybe I was just expecting too much out of them.

These cookies DID NOT last long in my house!!!! The kids devoured them. Great recipe and very easy for the kids to make!

These are my husband's favorite! We loved this recipe. When I first made them, I did not have an hour to let them cool, so put a bunch in the freezer for about 15-20 mins and they came out great.

The taste was great, but they didn't set properly. I added a handful of chocolate chips like my mom used to do in her recipe and added some wheat germ and coconut. I will have to keep trying!

I love this recipe because it's fast, easy and there is no fuss in making them. Make sure to bring the sugar/butter/milk/cocoa to a FULL,ROLLING BOIL for exactly 1 minute, or the cookies will be mushy and the shape will not hold. Either smooth or chunky PB works well - I prefer smooth. MY ADDITIONS: added 1/2 c. more oatmeal (to avoid mushiness), milled or whole flax seed is great for more nutritional value, and for added flavor I throw in 1/2 c. coconut. Yum!

Eco-friendly and time saver idea - I doled out my no bake cookies on silicon baking mats which were on top o wire cooling racks. This saved time in cooling, and nothing to throw away! I also used real butter, stirred constantly throughout cooking, used creamy peanut butter, and 3 1/2 C oats. Turned out much better....

They taste really good, but I followed the recipe exactly, and they are way too sticky. I've made No Bake Cookies before and they shouldn't be so sticky.

I followed the ingredients list exactly, and made sure that I boiled the cocoa mixture ( a full rolling boil) for about 1 and 1/2 minutes. I guess I'll have to try again, because the final result was so dry and crumbly that there was no way to spoon these out - I had to squeeze teaspoon- full amounts of the mixture together with my hands, and pray that the mixture will hold together in some sort of shape. They're cooling now, so I'm hoping the end result will not be too crumbly to eat. Very disappointed, because the ones I remember from my childhood could be spooned out onto waxed paper. I rated 4 stars because it must have been something I did wrong ! UPDATE: I made this exact recipe again, except I used 2 and 1/2 cups of oats....turned out perfect. I'm certain that I mixed the first batch according to the recipe, so my advice to others would be to start with less oats and add more if needed. I have noticed other reviews here where other people actually used MORE oats; I have no explanation for that. It's true that you don't want them runny when you spoon them out, but my first batch was too dry !

This was exactly what I was looking for! Obviously so was the rest of my family, we didn't made it through the one hour wait though. Used smooth pb, no xtra oats, perfect, just the way they are. My new fav, for sure. Just a little note, I messed up on the first batch and they looked a bit dry, so I just added some more milk until they started sticking together properly. I know some of the reviews said they were dry, so if this happens to you just add milk until it looks right.

These cookies have a rich choclatey flavor and are just like the cookies I used to make back in high school. I only had creamy peanut butter around so I used that and they were still delicious. I'll use crunchy next time for the added texture. My husband went crazy and couldn't stop eating them (and he's not much of a cookie person).

I lost my recipe and decided to look on here for another...this one is great! It was too thin after all was done, so I added another 1/4 c. peanut butter, and 1 c. oats...wow! Delish! Everyone at work loved them.

These were easy and delicious...exactly as I remember them from childhood. For those of you having trouble with this recipe, just try not to over think it! This was the first recipe my mom ever taught me to cook on my own as a kid. Just keep it simple!

Made as directed except that I poured them into a 9x13 as was suggested by another reviewer. Had to allow them to set up overnight. They could have used the extra 1/2 cup of oats but they were still delicious! I will definitely try these again.

I would not reccomend making these in a hot and humid environment. Mine stayed soggy and unable to hold shape. Maybe I will try them again somewhere cold and dry.

We make these all of the time. THIS IS THE BEST RECIPE ON THE SITE. I have doubled the PB, used crunchy and smooth, I have doubled the chocolate, I have used dark chocolate. I have used 1/2 the white sugar. They always turn out great regardless of the choices you make. If you want a more candy like cookie then boil for one min only, you may want to freeze. If you want a drier cookie, then boil a little longer. YUMMY and EASY.

Good recipe with no modifications needed. I scaled the recipe for 24 and got 26 uniform cookies! I like mine small enough for 1-2 bites. Super easy - Just remember to time your rolling boil and you'll be fine. I did mine for 90 seconds.

I used 1/4 cup less sugar and didn't miss it. Great recipe!!

I have made this many times and I will many more. I let it cool off in the pan a little before dropping it onto wax paper, which seems to make them thicker, when I drop them out right off the burner they seem to stay sort of wet and thin. I have started adding other fun stuff to them, like butterscotch chips of toffee chips which is delicious and sweeter.

LOVE these! I double the peanut butter because I love the stuff and then decrease the margarine accordingly. YUM!

Even though I set a timer when it began to boil mine came out pretty crumbly and a little dry. I'll try again another time, boiling for a bit less and maybe using less oats, as mine seemed not to have much "filling" and was densely filled with oats. I did cut the recipe in half so maybe that contributed to the questionable results. I might also try using my candy thermometer and see if that yields a positive outcome.

These were great!! Just like the kind I had as a kid. I do prefer them without the chunky peanut butter, though.

Not sure where others are getting their reviews, but these cookies are extremely runny. I had to put them in the freezer and then they were still gooey. I've made them twice in case I messed something up. The taste is good, but they are just too runny and messy to bother! You have to eat them with a spoon.

Made these for my friend's birthday (they are her favorite). She (and our coworkers) loved them! Just like the ones I remember from childhood. Be sure to follow the cooking instructions precisely, and there should be no problems with set-up.

I used 2 squares (1/4th of the 8 oz. box) of Baker's semisweet chocolate, because I didn't have cocoa powder and it still turned out great. I first melted the butter in the pan, added the chocolate, and then slowly stirred in milk. I also added the peanut butter to this mixture before adding the oats, and this probably made it easier to mix in the oats.

Perfect! Definitely one of those recipes that you should have completely prepped before you begin - have the first set in the cold pan, then another bowl with the oats, salt & PB, plus the vanilla on the side ready to go. I used butter rather than margarine because I think it sets up more reliably, a tad more than 3c oatmeal, and some Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa powder (a generous 1/4 c). Oh mama, is it GOOD! I will use chunky PB next time just because that's what we typically have on hand, but creamy was definitely delicious. All in all, exactly what I was looking for. Om nom nom. :D

Made exactly as the recipe reads - came out perfect! I often have problems with too hard or too soft, but boiling for exactly a minute after it starts roiling is just right.

Quite good! I never used chunky before with this so I gave it a try. Not bad! My husband has never had these before and my mom used to make them for us kids growing up.

I love no bake cookies! Mine didn't set up totally firm (but can passably be called cookies after a day of sitting there), but that's a perennial problem with me. I reduced the sugar by 1/4 and doubled both the cocoa powder and peanut butter. I used butter instead of margarine. I only had old-fashioned oats, not quick cooking, and the cookies turned out fine, just a little chewier than usual.

These are so easy and delicious! I recommend letting the mixture cool a couple minutes before spooning it onto wax paper, so that they can have a little form as opposed to being glob-ish.

These cookies are really good. I've made them a few times and the only thing I changed was I decreased the sugar to 1-1/2 cups and increased the peanut butter to 1 cup. Excellent!

These were my 2nd try at a no bake cookie recipe from this site. THE BEST so far! I followed the recommendation of the reviewer "Shay", not changing any of the ingredients, just changing the order in which the ingredients are put in the pan. These are delishioso!! My daughter is the only kid I know that doesn't eat chocolate, and she ate 2 cookies right away! Of course, she helped make them,too.

Really good recipe for the flavor, my husband requests this one a lot! I too used smooth instead of chunky peanut butter. I do find that they can be a bit dry, so I use 2 1/2c of oats and then add a bit more if it needs it. It's a rare day that I use the entire 3 cups!

I am so happy to have found this recipe! I used to make no-bake cookies just like these many years ago, but I lost my recipe. I tried others, but they were never quite the same. Now I realize that the difference is the extra cocoa. Excellent!

great recipe - definitely need everything measured out and ready. I made these with my kids and shaped them into nest shapes and put chocolate eggs in them for Easter. Very fun AND yummy.

My grandmother used to make these often - I was happy to find a recipe that matched my memory.

This is the exact same recipe I was given in my 6th grade home economics class and I've been making them ever since...without giving away my age I'll just say that's been a long time. I would say the one most important thing about this recipe is to boil the ingredients for exactly one minute. Any longer and your cookies could come out dry any less and they may not set right and be gooey. I like to use a mixture of half creamy peanut butter and half crunchy. Sometimes I use all of one or the other and sometimes I'll add a little less oats and throw in some coconut. A great, easy recipe.

Super yummy and easy. I used creamy verses chunky peanut butter and real butter verses margarine but followed the measurements. Brought to a rolling boil for 90 seconds then added the rest of ingredients right to the same pot after removing from heat. Cookies set well. Note if you reshape them with your fingers they sort of leave a finger print look instead of shiny so don't touch them once you drop them.

This is the recipe my mom made when I was a kid. I had lost it and so glad to have found it again. I made them exactly as the recipe states and they turned out perfectly. The absolute key to the success of the cookies is to begin timing only after the mixture has come to a rolling boil.

This is the recipe I was looking for. Tastes like the cookies that my elementary school cafeteria served with lunch - and believe it or not, that's a good thing! Be careful not to cook too long or they get crumbly.

Couldn't keep my fingers out of the bowl while I was scooping it onto waxed paper. It's hard to wait for these to cool. Although they didn't set up as well as I had hoped, they tasted delicious--just like I used to make as a kid.

Mine came to a rolling boil for 3 minutes. Worked perfectly.

wow!! my friends and I all are OBESSED with this recipe!! it is a must have everytime we get together! but it doesnt seem to take us and hour to make, it seems like waaaay less time. just cooling takes up alot. also, we never use chunky peanut butter, smooth is the only way to go for this recipe!! anyway, i would reccomend this recipe to everyohe, they are amazing!!

I've tried several different No-Bake recipes over the years and this one is perfection! The cookies set up, but retain their fudginess, they hold together, but are melt-in-your-mouth, and they are splendidly easy to make, but taste like they should have been complicated. Superb!

Cooked 1 1/2 min. Also traded out some coconut for oats. Very good recipe.

These tasted good but didn't set properly. I have no idea what I did or didn't do, but I ended up with a wet, sticky mess.

Beautiful, simple. This is a perfect recipe as is. UPDATE: Make it easy on yourself. This is what I did. Instead of spooning these cookies out, pour them. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper, and pour the whole pan onto the baking sheet. Let them cool 10-15 minutes, and then score them with a table knife into squares...whatever size you like. Then, pop them in the fridge for a bit. When they are completely cooled, break them into pieces and pull off the paper. Store as you normally would. Hope this helps make your holiday cooking a little simpler! ;)

Delicious! Lots of yummy flavor! I used cornflakes instead of oats because that is all I had on hand. It was great!

My kids love these and I love that they have some what of a nutritional value to them.

To say these cookies have "some nutritional value" is a stretch, as they are pretty much candy. I used smooth peanut butter (personal preference), but otherwise followed recipe exactly as is. Very easy, and very delicious. Will definitely be making these again!

Used butter instead of margarine and creamy peanut butter instead of chunky. I used my smallest cookie scoop and scooped them onto silocone mats. Set up quick and were the perfect size. Yum!

Very good for not having to bake them. I put them in a muffin tin though, to get more of an even shape. Everyone loved them and I had to make another batch the next day!

Good recipe! Read the directions very carefully! Make sure the chocolate comes to a rolling boil, and to stir it for the right amount of time! I failed to do this properly and the chocolate took forever to harden once I set them on wax paper. They still tasted great, however!

I used butter instead of margarine, and they were still a hit with my son.

Reminds me of when I was a kid and my younger brother use to make these all the time. Great recipe but I usually add more about 1 more cup of oats than what the recipe calls for.

I use to make these with my dad all the time about 15 years ago when I was a kid. They are his favorite. Everytime Father's Day rolls around I always make him a batch or two just to let him know how special he is and how I haven't forgotten what his favorite cookie is.