I first blogged this recipe three years ago. It’s a childhood favorite that I keep returning to. This time, though, I used one of the options: adding a cup of shredded coconut. A very good cookie was elevated to sweet perfection.
This cookie recipe has three special features. No baking. No flour. No eggs. For someone with food allergy issues, this may be just your treat. If you are “baking” with kids and want something fun and safe, there is no more delicious cookie than this one. Parents will have to boil the sugar and dairy part, but children love to stir up the oats at the end. With no baking, they just have to spoon the batter out and wait just a few minutes for the batter to dry. The batter is sticky so children will have to be instructed to periodically lick the spoon. In my experience, that is not a major problem.
I had this cookie a zillion times as a kid. I grew up, went to college, moved away, and for thirty years had this fond memory of some cookie that did not have to be baked. But I had no idea what it was. Fifteen years ago, while browsing through a bookstore, I opened up Cookie Time by Marilyn Miller Wasbotten. This fond memory was on the first page I looked at.
You should let the mixture cool just a bit if you are going to add chocolate chips if you want them whole; they will immediately melt if you have just made the syrup-oat mixture.
Nuni’s No-Bake Cookies
Yield: 40 cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
¼ cup [2 ounces] butter
¼ cup cocoa
½ cup milk
3 cups uncooked quick rolled oats
½ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1 cup of nuts, raisins, chocolate chips or shredded coconut
Preparation:
Stir the sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan and cook until the mixture comes to a good boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Add optional ingredients. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with foil and let cool.