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]
These only firm up if the humidity is below 50% .. just keep that in mind. If humidity is too high than they will stay gooey I in texture…
It is so good finding children-friendly recipes. These look delicious. I often store lots of baking dishes in the oven because I run out of room in the kitchen so it is good to have no-bake recipes on hand! I’m going to make these soon.
I made these no bake cookies EXACTLY AS DIRECT. but for some reason after being cooled they are still gooey :-( what did I do wrong?
Hi Ashley, If they are still gooey, they probably needed to be boiled just a tad longer. Unfortunately, some burners can run much hotter than others.
This seems like if you get it right it would be a badass cookie! I did some things differently and they ended up sorta weird and I want to share my experience.
To start, I halved the recipe, ending up with 15 cookies, I think I made them a little smaller. From here I started substituting, but I thought it would work out! Salted butter, “organic cane sugar” (which has much larger sugar crystals than granulated), cacao powder, “natural” peanut butter (no hydrogenated oil), and this one I didn’t realize was different until I had finished, old fashioned oats (which I would have thrown the blender for a few pulses had I realized in time! The large chewy oat pieces did not bite nicely.
Did everything to the instructions. My cookies taste just like a pretty nice peanut butter fudge, but with an UNpleasant chew. I sorta think if I used quick-cook oats it would be more pleasant.
They are dull, there is no shine to them as in the photos above, telling me that the sugar didn’t set up the same. Might also say something about the kind of peanut butter. It was pretty different from what I imagined from the recipe. But I should have expected it as I used different ingredients.
Anyway thanks brown eyed Baker, I am going to try again. I think you got the recipe right, I just deviated too much. All that said I can’t stop eating them.
Hi Olivia, Thanks for the review, and for taking the time to share the changes you made!
I am India country based. Can you please explain
what is half half?
Half-and-half is a common product here in the U.S. – it is basically a combination of whole milk and heavy cream (in a 1:1 ratio).
I made this and love it
These sound super delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
Simon
Just made these today. Super easy to make and delicious. Reminds me of a no bake cookie my Mom used to make that used coconut and chocolate. Will definitely make this again.
I’ve made these since I was a little girl, 30ish years ago, and our family recipe is adding 1 cup of peanut butter, not 1/2 cup. Everything else is exactly the same.
If you are a peanut butter lover, add a full cup. You will not be disappointed!!
I’m heading to the kitchen to make these right now, but I was wondering if anyone has tried throwing some mini marshmallows in with the peanut butter? Would you have to reduce some of the sugar? And would the marshmallows effect how the cookies set up? Just curiosity on my part…I generally don’t mess with recipes for “baked” items because baking is much like chemistry; the amounts, etc are important for a successful outcome. And I have some mini marshmallows in the pantry.
Looking forward to these…browneyedbaker has never let me down!
I know I love them too but I have no parchment paper what do I do?
Hi Robin, You could use foil or wax paper coated with non-stick cooking spray.
tried this recipe and these were some runny ass cookies! I sat hear and made them word for word!!!! I hope it worked for other people because it sure didn’t work for me.
Made these last night for work today. They finished in minutes. But to be honest although I ADORE your blog and swear by your recipes I wouldn’t make this again. It was nice just not wow which is what I usually rate your recipes.
I really thank technology for giving me the opportunity to access pages like this one. I love cooking and I will be practicing with this recipe. Thank you
Mmmmm. Just like we used to make when I was a kid. Thank you!
Just made this…ooooooh so good. Best recipe Use Butter! I’ve used margarine in the past and was always gooey. Also used almond milk.. no difference.
Some recipes I see, people have complaints of not harden, and the add this or deege, or boil longer, etc. So confusing. Mine i make always too gooey. I used to make good ones. Now I’m old.. I guess I lost touch, lol. I’m wanting these soooooo bad, and scared I’ll waste products. Reassure me this is the perfect recipe. Also can I use quick oats? Any advise, welcomed. Thanks
To make them even creamier, I use evaporated milk instead of regular milk. (Not Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk, but evaporated milk in the can.)
Classic Preacher Cookies.
The very excellent cooks at my old elementary school used to make these from time to time when I was small. They called them “Raggedy Robins”. All the kids loved them, and everyone was delighted when they published the recipe in the school fund-raiser cookbook. I’ve made them many times for my kids.
I’m looking at a batch of what on my counter of what I grew up craving which is similar but no peanut butter, but flaked coconut instead. Laughing at one of the first comments posted because we also only had them at Christmas growing up. They’re “real” name was “Haystacks”, but because of their appearance and the fact that we only used to have them at Christmas, we grew up calling them “Camel Droppings!” My boys think the name is hilarious, but they are delish no matter what you call them.
Cook 3 min not 1 min.
Cooked these for the first time and they never hardened. Heres my suggestions:
I added 1c. Peanut butter instead of 1/2
3/4 would prob be perfect. Not too chocolately not too peanut buttery. I like more peanut butter, so mine was perfect!
I used 2c. Oats instead of 3
I also cooked mine for 3 minutes after everything was melted and it started to boil…i then started the 3 min timer. You also wanna check by dropping mixture in cool water. If it forms a hard ball, its ready. 1 min is not long enough on med high.
Hi Michelle,
I’m looking for a really good oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but haven’t found one yet. Do you have one? Thanks! :)
Hi Rach, I do!! Here it is :) https://www.browneyedbaker.com/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/
Made these and they turned out terribly dry. What did I do wrong??
Hi Margaret, You probably boiled the mixture too long or at a little too high heat.
These are great cookies and soooooooo easy to make
Just made these tonight–yum! Thanks for a great recipe.
Easy as 123….Turned out GREAT!!!!
Made these yesterday, and they are AWESOME! I added a 1/4 cup more oats cause they seemed a bit runny at first and I took the mixture off the stove as soon as it began to boil. Took about an hour to set and they were delicious. Even better the next morning after they’d been in the fridge overnight! Thanks for the recipe!
Can I use regular oats in lieu of quick cooking ones?
Hi Linda, Unfortunately not; they will not be able to absorb the liquid quickly enough like the quick oats can.