The BEST Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
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My most favorite cookie of ALL TIME! These are The BEST Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies! They are soft, rich, and completely irresistible!
This recipe has evolved over the years. I’ve become famous amongst friends and family for making THE best no-bake cookies. I’ve also become well known for my Texas sheet cake, my (no-bake) Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding, and my brown butter chocolate chip cookies to name a few.
But these soft, rich, and decadent no-bake cookies are my signature dessert. Is it sad that something so simple is my signature dish? I mean, they are so easy to make!
But the combination of chocolate and peanut butter… it’s a match made in heaven. Everyone knows this!
How do you make No Bake Cookies
- Grab a saucepan. Melt the butter over medium low heat.
- Once the butter has melted, add the sugar, milk, and cocoa powder. Stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil (stirring occasionally) for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the delicious peanut butter!
- Add the vanilla and the oats.
- Scoop onto wax paper and let set. Enjoy!
Tips for success
- Use quick oats. The Old Fashioned Oats are too large. I mean, you can use the old fashioned oats, but in my opinion, the quick oats make for a much more delicious no bake cookie 🙂
- Don’t heat the cocoa mixture too quickly. Keep the heat around medium to medium-low. You don’t want to burn the mixture!
- Have the peanut butter pre-measured before you bring the mixture to a boil.
I rarely make a FULL batch of these oatmeal no-bake cookies. So the recipe you see below is a half batch. It will make a dozen cookies. If you make the full batch, good for you! I have zero self-control, so I’d eat all 24 cookies.
In fact, that reminds me of a story.
Here’s some background info, my husband is a medical school student. Yep. I see him a few hours a week. The first year of medical school was the most difficult. We just had our first child, and I was adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom. Our son, Bronson, was is a terrible sleeper. The days he’d refuse to nap, I’d cope by making a batch of no-bake cookies. And I’d HIDE THEM. I didn’t want my husband to know I made the same cookies 3-4 days in a row. This is no lie. Go ahead, ask him.
So trust me when I say, I’ve made these a zillion times!
What are you waiting for? Make these stat!
If you love these classic no-bake cookies, check out these reader faves:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gingersnap Cookies
- Never Fail Sugar Cookies
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brownie Cookies
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 T cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup peanut butter I use creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup quick oats, if the mixture seems too runny, add up to 1/4 cup more oats
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
- When the butter has melted, add the milk, sugar, and cocoa powder. Stir. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. I never let it sit too long without stirring.
- Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter and vanilla. Stir. Add the quick oats and stir until evenly coated.
- Lay out a small piece of wax paper. Drop by spoonfuls onto the wax paper. Let cool. Enjoy!
How about toasting the oats beforehand?
Great idea! I’ve never toasted my oats beforehand, but if you do let me know how it turns out!
Yes yes yes! I’ve been looking for a no-bake cookie recipe that makes moist no-bakes! So often I try no-bakes that are crumbly, not good! But this one is perfect. Also, you nailed the peanut butter to chocolate ratio.
I love no-bake cookies! These ones look AMAZING!!
Thanks for the small batch recipe. Turned out great! I had some leftover chopped pecans (maybe 1.5 Tbls.) from something else and threw them in too. Good consistency and taste. I got 16, leaving them more like balls. I think of them like candy, so that’s where I pinned them.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! I really appreciate it. Chopped pecans sound like a great addition, brilliant!
These are amazing! I love that it didn’t make a HUGE batch. About 12-13 cookies. So easy and delicious! Will be making them again.
These look so delicious, quick and easy! Im making them tonight ? i would like to make double portion some time (maybe even tonight) do you think these would freeze well? I would wrap them well in saran wrap
Hi Dorothy! These cookies will freeze great! In fact, most cookies on my website freeze beautifully. I would double wrap the cookies in Saran Wrap, or even place them in a ziplock bag. Just remove the cookies from the freezer and let them come to room temperature before eating them. I should note… we never have to freeze these cookies because they’re always eaten within 1-2 days ?… enjoy!!
I love this small batch recipe! It was perfect for a spur of the moment craving and easy to throw together with a toddler helping. I added a handful of random mini marshmallows that were hanging out in the pantry after mixing in the peanut butter. Then let my toddler sprinkle chopped peanuts and sprinkles on the cookies while they were still warm. Thank you so much for a delicious recipe!
What great additions to add to the cookies! I’ll have to try adding marshmallows in the future.
Thanks for coming back and commenting Jen!
Thank you! I’ve seen many iterations of this old recipe. None of them were quite right. Yours is! It set up wonderfully. By my adult tastes, these are terribly sweet, but they are just what I remember making as a child. I followed your instructions and used quick oats, mainly because it used up an almost-empty container. I also used crunchy peanut butter. I do prefer the regular oats, probably because I was making these before quick oats were developed. The half-size recipe was a real plus for just the two of us.
Elle, thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m glad these cookies took you back to your childhood!! The no-bakes are sweet, and you can cut back on the sugar to even 1 1/4 cups for the future (if you’d like). Sometimes, I’ll even add half quick oats and half old fashioned oats… just to switch it up. 🙂
Yum! I use your recipe and make these ALL the time. However, I dropped the sugar down to 1/2 cup and you would never know the difference. They are amazing. Also – love the half batch recipe. I myself eat them in two days.. or less.
Thanks for sharing the sugar tip! So glad you love the cookies Kate. Thanks for coming back to comment, I, and other readers, appreciate it!
I’ve had a no-bake recipe passed from my grandma but these are so much easier and just as delicious! Its my husband’s favorite. Thank goodness they are so quick to make and easy clean up. Thanks!
They’re amazing, right?! So glad you enjoy this recipe!
Love this small batch, love this recipe, I had not had these since I was a teen, my sister introduced them to me, I like them at the time but they were so sweet, l ended up making them twice because I introduce them to my young adult son and he ate most of them, I used 1/2 cup of sugar with the first batch, they were still sweet but good and with the second batch I used 1/3rd cup of sugar still sweet and really good.., you can use a lot less sugar and they just as good.. My son and I do not like really sweet desserts
So happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies Cheryl! Thank you for the kind comment.
Also, it’s good to know these can be turned into a low-sugar no-bake cookie 😄