No Bake Cookies with Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oats
These easy no bake cookies with chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal are a classic; they come together in minutes and are great to make with kids. Sometimes called "preacher cookies", they are the perfect after-school treat, a must for holiday cookie trays, and the best "just because" cookie.
Why You Will Love This Recipe!
These cookies are perfect for those moments when you are desperately craving something sweet and chocolatey, but don't have a lot of time to make a full-blown batch of cookies. They are also great for the dog days of summer when the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven.
These mounds of sugary, peanut buttery, chocolate goodness are incredibly addicting (I’ve often thought these cookies taste like the icing for the Texas sheet cake I love so much). I guarantee they will on repeat at your house!
Cookie Ingredients
A short list of pantry staples is all you need for these cookies. I’ve included substitution tips in the list below:
- Unsalted Butter – If you use salted butter, omit the salt called for in the recipe. The butter in this recipe can be replaced with margarine, vegetable oil, canola oil, or coconut oil.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar.
- Milk – Whole or 2% milk is perfect for this recipe. You can also use non-dairy milk such as soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.
- Cocoa Powder – Regular unsweetened cocoa powder (i.e. traditional Hershey’s cocoa) is best! If you do not have cocoa powder, you can replace it with 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.
- Peanut Butter – Creamy peanut butter is traditional, but you can use chunky for a little crunch! You can also substitute any other nut butter (or Sunbutter), so long as it is not natural, as there will be too much oil, which will keep the cookies from setting properly. You can also eliminate the peanut butter without modifying the rest of the recipe.
- Vanilla Extract – Homemade vanilla extract or store-bought are both awesome options!
- Quick Oats – These are key to this recipe! Quick-cooking oats are smaller, so they absorb liquid more readily. They work well in this recipe because they absorb the melted mixture and give structure to the cookies; using old-fashioned oats will result in a much chewier/oatier cookie.
Add-In Ideas
Feel free to play around with different ingredients based on your preferences! Here are some ideas to try:
- Chopped nuts (pecans would be great!)
- Raisins
- Shredded coconut
How to Make No Bake Cookies
First, prep! This recipe moves fast, so having everything ready to go before starting helps everything go much more smoothly. Measure out your ingredients and line your baking sheets with parchment paper before you begin.
Now let’s go!
- COMBINE: In a medium saucepan, add the butter, sugar, milk, cocoa powder, and salt.
- BOIL: Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once at a rolling boil, boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- STIR: Off heat, stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract, then stir in the oats.
- DROP: Using a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons full), drop onto prepared baking sheets.
- SET: They can set at room temperature, which takes about 30 minutes.
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Storage and Freezing Instructions
The cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
The cookies can also be frozen (in an airtight container or freezer-safe ziploc bag) for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
Sometimes no bake cookies are also referred to as "preacher cookies". The reason?
The story goes that these can be made so quickly that a housewife could look out her window and see the preacher coming for a visit; by the time he got to the house, the cookies could already be cooling.
If your no bake cookies are sticky and gooey, then they were not boiled quite long enough.
On the flip side, if your no bake cookies are dry and crumbly, they were boiled a tad too long. You should let the mixture come to a full rolling boil and then time exactly 1 minute from there.
However, some stoves run hotter or cooler, and things like humidity or kitchen temperature can play a role in how they set, so there may be some trial and error involved as you gauge the exact boiling time for your kitchen.
These no bake chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal cookies are as easy as they sound and a great recipe to make with kids if you have any little hands eager to help in the kitchen.
I love having quick, easy recipes on hand for a simple sweet treat, and I’m guessing that you do, too. I guarantee this is a recipe that you'll want to stash away and use time and time again.
If You Like This Easy No Bake Cookie Recipe, Try These:
- No Bake Banana Split Dessert
- No Bake 5-Ingredient Granola Bars
- No Bake Butterfinger Pie
- No Bake Oreo Dessert
- No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake
Watch the Recipe Video Below:
If you make this cookie recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) whole or 2% milk
- 4 tablespoons (21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup (135 g) peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (267 g) quick-cooking oats
Instructions
- Add the butter, sugar, milk, cocoa powder, and salt to a 4-quart saucepan.
- Bring to a rapid boil and let boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth, then stir in the oats.
- Using a medium cookie scoop (or 2 tablespoonfuls), drop onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Let cool until set, about 30 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Equipment: Baking sheets / Parchment paper / Cookie scoop
- Unsalted Butter - If you use salted butter, omit the salt called for in the recipe.
- Milk - Whole or 2% milk is perfect for this recipe. You can also use non-dairy milk such as soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.
- Cocoa Powder - Regular unsweetened cocoa powder (i.e. traditional Hershey's cocoa) is best! If you do not have cocoa powder, you can replace it with 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.
- Peanut Butter - Creamy peanut butter is traditional, but you can use chunky for a little crunch! You can also substitute any other nut butter (or Sunbutter), so long as it is not natural, as there will be too much oil, which will keep the cookies from setting properly. You can also eliminate the peanut butter without modifying the rest of the recipe.
- Quick Oats – I do not recommend substituting old-fashioned rolled oats, they do not absorb the liquid in the recipe as well.
- Add-in Ideas: Chopped nuts, raisins, and/or shredded coconut.
- Storage/Freezing Instructions: The cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The cookies can also be frozen (in an airtight container or freezer-safe ziploc bag) for up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[photos by Whitney Wright]
It’s a no-bake cookie kind of day! :-) Yum!
I made these for my friends last night & they wanted to take the rest home! Fabulous recipe. Rave reviews were shared! xo
I’ve also been making these since I was old enough to stand at the stove and stir! We, however, always call them cow patties, since well, that’s basically what they look like! I love the ideas of adding pretzels and marshmallows, thanks for the tips!
Hi there I wwas just wondering can these no bake cookies be made sugar free??
I have a 5 year old with some teeth problems and I hate to deprive him of some sweet treats every once in a while but I try suger free items so is there any way it can be done and they still turn out ok? Or if anyone has done the splenda version of it please let me know before I try to do it and it turns out like my splenda rock candy (all screwed up LOL!!)
Thanks..
I have not experimented with a no-sugar version, but I do think you would do just fine with a Splenda substitution here. I’d love to hear your results!
I have to say these cookie are amazing! My friends and family went nuts over these tasty treats!
This looks amazing i will make them this weekend cant wait to try them :)
I came for the PB&J bar recipe, but ended up making these. Thank you for such wonderful memories, because growing up these were always my favorite.
I hadn’t realized until using this recipe that you actually boiled the sugar, butter mixture, as before I’d just melted everything and put it in the fridge to firm up (poorly written hand me down recipe, I’d used before) Anyway, this is a much yummier cookie.
HI, I’ll like to try this recipe but we’re no a peanut butter kind of people (wierd ) what you think we can use insted? thanks for your help….Gina
Hi Gina, You could use any type of butter – almond butter, cashew butter, even sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds).
hAS ANYONE EVERY MADE THESE COOKIES WITH ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER ANDIF SO, WHAT DIFFERENCE IN PROCESS?
When I was a little girl (I’m now 55) my neighbor, Mrs. Young (I still call her Mrs. Young even though she was widowed for years and eventually became Mrs. Troy), used to make these cookies. I could never get enough of them! Nothing tastes better than these cookies, warm and freshly made, along with a great big ice cold glass of WHOLE milk. Sometimes I used to eat so many that I would wind up with a stomachace, but oh so worth it!
These cookies are delicious!! We’ve had almost the exact recipe in my family for YEARS. I think my great-grandmother got this recipe somewhere and has been passing it down…
I used to have a problem overcooking the sugar, butter, etc. mixture. Now I use a candy thermometer and letting it get up to between 226-228 degrees F makes the cookies come out perfect!
I’m looking forward to trying your version of this old classic. :-)
My husband makes them often and calls them –” Kids Love Cookies” Cookies– He sometimes adds raisins which makes them chewier .
Love these! My Mema always called them “Lazy Housewife Cookies” LOL!
This is a very old recipe, I’m a senior citizen now and we had these fabulous cookies as a child, a friend of mine is older than me and she said her family used to call them “boiled cookies” I guess because they are boiled and not baked. Whatever you call them they are the easiest, best cookie EVER
CORRECTION: that’s supposed to be .2 cups of peanut butter.
Here’s my “perfected” version of this recipe. I LOVE THESE THINGS!
Half-size Recipe:
3.3 tablespoons butter, organic
.5 cups sugar, Raw organic Turbinado cane sugar (less sugar, but still very sweet)
¼ cup milk – Goat milk, of course!
2¾ tablespoons cacao powder (Dagoba organic) – extra choco!
.4 cup peanut butter, bland tasting, organic creamy or chunky (a little too much makes cookies crumbly/coarse tasting and PB overwhelms chocolate flavor. PB has to be melted well into the choco)
1 heaping teaspoon vanilla, organic
1.25 cups oats, organic (more will make the cookie too dense and dilute the goodness)
1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1.5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, KEEP WARM, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto lightly oiled (sunflower, tasteless) glass plate.
6. Pop in the fridge.
where are you from ? how to convert decimel point to cup or tbs measures
The Lunch Ladies in grade school made the BEST no-bake cookies ever….haven’t had them since, but wiull surely try your recipe….just wish the pictures would print along with the recipe. Thanks!
Just to let everyone know, you can use almond milk, stevia, and any nut butter of your choice and they come out great- and super healthy. I add coconut and ground up nuts to add more nutrition and protein. Hope this helps!
I have a twist to this recipe from our school lunch lady! A Blonde No-Bake!
Omit the cocoa and substitute 1 1/2 cups white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar
in place of the 2 cups of white sugar. The only other difference in my recipe is 1 tsp vanilla instead of 2 tsp. vanilla and add a dash of salt. So Yummy!! Love your site.
We ( four daughters) and myself make these cookies quite often. We love to eat them along with a bowl of warm salty popcorn.
I made a recipe very similar to this one, but I cannot get them to set up…any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?? Thanks!
They need to boil longer than 1 minute. If it’s humid in your area or it’s a rainy day these cookies will be “fussy”. I live in a fairly humid part of the country and if I don’t boil these for about 5 minutes they just don’t set up. I see many recipes that say to boil for 1-3 minutes, and that’s still not enough.
why do i always read the comments afterwards :-( just boiled them 1 minute and now I have 24 very sticky ( but very tasteful ) cookies.
i just found out, i have an intolerance to wheat and gluten. soo, i cant eat anything with gluten and flour in it. which is basically the same thing as wheat. but i loved these cookies!
I made these gluten free with gluten free Quaker Oats. They were delicious! Awesome recipe!
I just made a batch, they came out well but my family didn’t really care for them. Cocoa powder left a bad after taste, I used unsweetened as recipe did not say but thought with all the sugar unsweetened made sense. May be if I used sweeten it would taste better.
Just made a batch but threw them in a greased 9×13 pan.
This recipe brings me back to 2nd grade and the thrill of making them in class.
i love these cookies!!! ive been craving these for such a long time, but couldnt find a good recipe!! this website is the best for baked goods, since i love to bake. i have tried many of these recipes and these are my favorite!!
I’ve been making these cookies for years and they are so good! I don’t boil mine at all. Just heat the first 4 ingredients until the butter is melted, stir in the peanut butter, remove from heat and stir in oats. Super easy. For another shortcut, just pour the “dough” into a 9×13″ pan and let it cool at room temp then cut into bars. I’ve tried to speed up the process by placing the pan in the refrigerator right away, but the oats didn’t cook completely so the texture was off a little. The bars are easier to cut if they are cold, so I let mine cool at room temp and then chill them for a bit before cutting. These cookies are so addicting!
My mom used to make these! Thanks for the memory. :-)
Most welcome, love the warm fuzzies :)
Help!!! Can I somehow bake a pumpkin pie in my slow cooker, I want one so bad and oven is still broke. I don’t like boughten pies.
Hi Barbara, I don’t have any experience baking in slow cookies, but hopefully some other readers may have some ideas!
I remember eating these cookies at school (was desert for the hot lunch) back in the mid-fifties. Never could find a recipe so made them from memory. These hit it right on. Thanks.
Aw what lovely memories! Thank you for sharing Jane, and great to know the recipe is spot-on!
In case anyone is wondering, these work great with canola oil and almond milk if you are like me and can’t have dairy or soy. Delicious, although life isn’t really lived if you don’t have butter in it.
Heather, Thanks so much for the tips on substituting canola oil and almond milk!