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.
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
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]
These are my absolute favorite! They’re so easy to make and even easier to eat!
This is my family’s absolute favorite cookie. It’s so easy to make and I love that I can “clean out the pan!” MMM!
i love these! however, i have a non-chocolate person in my house, could i just leave out the cocoa, or would i need to alter any other ingredients?
Absolutely! Cook the butter, milk and sugar according to recipe. Then add 3/4 cup peanut butter instead.
I have a very old recipe from my mother-in-law in 1966. The main difference in yours and hers is coconut instead of peanut butter. She sometimes added nuts but not often. They were delicious but not quite as cookie shaped as yours. They were more random and more like miniature haystacks. I will be happy to try yours and see how they work. Everyone loves peanut butter!
Thanks for the new recipe.
My mom makes these – they’re called plop drops in our house and family and friends all love them.
By the way if you follow the recipe up to step three and don’t add in peanut butter or oats, it makes a fabulous ice cream topping. It’s really thin till you spread it over the ice cream then it thickens up and tastes great
Very yummy
Grew up eating these in school lunches in Texas
How many calories.. I am on a diet but am craving something sweeeeet.
I’ve made this recipe twice and its outstanding!
does anyone know what the weight watchers points for these tasty lil buggers would be?
I replaced the butter with coconut oil to make them “healthy.” I reduced the sugar to 2 cups and added a little more oats. They have a slightly coconutty taste, which I love!
I just made these cookies tonight but substituted two packages of high fiber instant oatmeal and an entire bag of puffed brown rice cereal….contains nothing but brown rice. (6ounces). I also added about a half of a cup of pecan pieces. Can I say these turned out PERFECT? I love this!
Thank you! Have looked everywhere for this recipe..
try them with a cup of peanut butter and no cocoa!!!! Peanut butter no bakes …mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
These are so good – I got a batch as a thank you for volunteering, I made a batch with this recipe, and threw in some raisins. Healthier, chewier & yummier…
Thanks!
My mom all versions. My favorite was with raisins. They tasted like chocolate covered raisins! Has anyone tried making them with chocolate syrup?
I just made these using this recipe and four hrs later… They still aren’t hard. They’re gooey and messy. Not like my grandmas. What did I do wrong?? I followed the recipe exactly…..
Hi Rose, If they are not setting, then the mixture was not boiled long enough. Unfortunately, stoves can vary so much by the amount of heat they put out. I would try again, and let it boil for a bit longer the next time.
Also, for the ones that aren’t setting, you could press them into a pan and refrigerate them, then cut into bars :)
My mom used to make these. She used to modify the recipe sometimes. We had peanut butter only and white chocolate. We used to call them hamburger cookies. Technically, I think they are really candy. No flour in them and they rely on crystallization of the sugar to set.
This is a staple for my allergen filled house. With gluten allergies & severe peanut allergies for at least 2 of us that normally eat them, we don’t use peanut butter. We tried almond butter at first, but it didn’t give the right texture. Cashew butter, on the other hand,gives them the perfect consistency. We also decided we liked them better with old fashion oats, because they have a bit more heft to them (ran out of quick oats one day).
We keep ours in the fridge. It does something to the texture that we really like, plus they last really well in there. Hope our prove useful for others.
im not sure what going on im trying to get these to hard it been 20 and the still soft and not any were close to being done and a follow the directions
I know this comment is like years are the post was made, but I love using the sauce over ice cream or cake
Made these last night with my eldest daughter. They were fun to make. Since she has a peanut/nut allergy, we substituted the peanut butter with soy butter. They turned out flatter than the pictures show, but that’s probably because of the soy butter. I think they’re super yummy, but my kids aren’t thrilled about them. I just think they’re used to crunchier, baked cookies. Oh well, more for me. And they go great with tea. :)
Mine did not set? :-(
I cut the amount of sugar, do you think that was why??? Help!
How long did you wait? Mine took a long time to set. I let mine sit in the fridge uncovered overnight.
Hi Birdi, Depending on the temperature and humidity in your kitchen, it can take longer. However, if you omitted some of the sugar, then that removes some the structure, which could absolutely be why they did not set.
I just made these and am pleasantly surprised at how easy they were and how great they turned out. I had read so many reviews on the net about no-bake cookies not setting properly unless all the circumstances (even humidity?) are exactly perfect and the directions/measurements are followed to a tee. Well, I had to convert all the measurements to deciliters (as I’m currently living in Sweden and that’s the only measuring cup I have), and I also have no idea if “havregryn” means rolled oats or quick-cooking oats (I’m going to assume the former), and these still turned out exactly how I had hoped!
How long does it take to cool?
Less than an hour at room temperature.
so a quick tid bit… my mom and I used to make these and I haven’t seen anyone else do this… instead of just letting them set in the fridge then taking them out and putting them in a container, we used to set them in the freezer and when they were set we put them in a container and keep em frozen! we ate them straight out of the freezer! they are still nice and chewy! I believe they are sooo much better this way especially in the summer! also they last for about 2-3 weeks instead of one! that is if you can keep them around that long! lol
I only have a bag of granola, no quick-cook oats. In theory, should be able to work as a substitute, but I’m not sure how. Any suggestions? It’s just grains in the mix, no berries or nuts.
Hi Esther, Granola will definitely not work here. Granola is made with oats that have been coated and baked. The quick oats absorb the liquid in the recipe, which is what helps set the cookies. If you use granola, that won’t happen.
My mom made these cookies all the time when we were growing up. They still bring back wonderful ,memories of her. The only difference that she made was that she used nestle quick instead of cocoa, probably due to having 4 girls she always had nesquick but seldom had cocoa on hand. They turned out great, and I can’t make them any other way now.
Mine did not harden. Any thoughts?
Hi Christy, It was probably due to the boiling time. There are a lot of tips from other readers in the comments above about boiling the cookies. Good luck!
I’m going to try these right now!
I made these with 1 cup sugar and truvia (about 1/3c substitute for the other 1 cup sugar).
They did not harden at all.
Do you think this happened because of the truvia or because I didn’t boil long enough?
Hi Amanda, Unfortunately there is no way for me to say for sure. If you hadn’t substituted, I would say it was definitely not boiled long enough. I’m not sure how using Truvia would affect the cookies, as I don’t ever use sugar substitutes.