No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies is one of my favorite easy desserts to make! They are slightly gooey from the peanut butter, sweet from the chocolate, and filled with delicious oats. Best of all you won’t need to place these cookies in the oven.
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Easy No Bake Cookies Recipe You Must Make
This is an easy no-bake cookies recipe. With this oatmeal no bake cookie, you can make the cookies the same day you need them, with everything you need right in your pantry.
This recipe uses nuts for an added crunch. It’s a wonderful addition to the classic recipe for chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies.
When you follow this recipe, you will get the best flavor and texture for chocolate no-bake cookies.
Ingredients for No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
This is the perfect pantry cookie recipe. You can find everything you need right in there and have delicious no-bake cookies in no time.
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Sugar
- Oatmeal
- Milk
- Butter
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Peanut butter
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped nuts
Make These Cookies a Little Healthier
This recipe is already healthy in terms of being gluten-free, but you can substitute pure organic cane sugar for granulated sugar if you’d like.
Instead of using butter, you can try using coconut oil in its place since coconut oil solidifies. However, you might need to store the cookies in the fridge if you find they don’t fully set up at room temperature.
Can You Use Old Fashioned Oats in No Bake Cookies?
For this recipe, you can use either old-fashioned oats or rolled oats. Just know that if you do choose old-fashioned oats they tend to have a sturdier texture. Whereas, rolled oats work well because they tend to soften perfectly for cookies.
Can I use another nut or seed butter instead of peanut butter?
Peanut butter is my go-to for this classic no bake cookies recipe, but if peanut butter is not in your diet then, yes, try another option.
Almond butter, cashew butter, or SunButter would be great substitutes for peanut butter without compromising too much on flavor.
How to Make No Bake Cookies
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa and boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and add the oatmeal, peanut butter, vanilla, and nuts. Mix well.
- Drop the mixture from a teaspoon or a cookie scoop onto wax paper, foil, or parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator until they are cool and firm.
Do No Bake Cookies Have to Be Refrigerated?
No, when made correctly, these cookies do not need to be refrigerated in order to set up. However, you can keep them in the fridge if you prefer a cold cookie.
If you do store the cookies in the fridge they will be a little harder than if they are stored at room temperature. If you prefer them a little softer, take the cookies out of the fridge 5 minutes before you want to eat them, and they will soften up perfectly.
How Long Will No Bake Cookies Last in the Fridge?
If you store these cookies in the fridge in an airtight container then they can last about 2 to 3 weeks. Or you can store the cookies on the counter at room temperature, and they will last about 1 to 2 weeks.
Why Won’t My Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Harden?
For no-bake cookies, the biggest issue is getting the cookies to set up and harden properly. This problem normally stems from the boiling process when making the no-bake cookies.
If the sugar mixture does not boil long enough, the chocolate sauce will not thicken up enough. Then, when you drop the cookies on wax paper they will just spread out and be a big mess.
How Do You Fix Gooey No Bake Cookies?
As long as you measured everything properly, then the problem is that the chocolate and sugar did not boil long enough.
A short-term fix would be to add in extra oatmeal. However, this does not promise that the cookies will set up.
The best option would be to start over and make sure the sugar, butter, milk, and chocolate boil for 1 minute before removing the saucepan from the heat.
I hope you whip up a batch of these cookies. They are a real treat and the kid in your will love these.
Popular Cookie Recipes
- Cake Mix Cookies with Butter
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
- Cranberry Pecan Cookies
- Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies
- Pineapple Cookies
Favorite No Bake Desserts
Check out my easy cookie recipes and the best dessert recipes here on CopyKat!
This recipe is from the archives of Judy Chatham. I can remember my mother making these pretty often. We never added the peanut butter, and they came out fine.
No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 cups oatmeal
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Combine the sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa in a saucepan, and boil for 1 minute. Then remove from heat
- Add oatmeal, peanut butter, vanilla, and nuts. Stir until well mixed.
- Drop from a teaspoon onto wax paper or foil, and place in refrigerator until they are cool and firm.
Use Hershey’s dark cocoa. Makes them darker more appealing
We always called these chocolate no-bakes. If you leave the cocoa out they become peanut butter no-bakes and they’re even better.. our family has had the recipe at least 50 years.
These were also called “No Bake Girl Scout Cookies”… we always made them on campouts…