These easy no bake cookies are classic! The combination of chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal is delicious, they come together in minutes, and are great to make with kids.
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.
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.
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.