Easy classic chocolate no bake cookies that are a fudgy, rich blend of chocolate and peanut butter and are sure to become a favorite! Whip up a batch of no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies in just 10 minutes without even turning on your oven.
Growing up, it was a family tradition that we made chocolate no bake cookies every Sunday night, along with a big blender full of our homemade orange julius. Yum!
These chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies are the same exact cookies my mom and grandma used to make.
Sometimes we would switch up our no bake cookies and make Special K bars (or Scotcheroos), which were another mouthwatering family favorite.
My grandmother made these no bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies for my mom’s family, my mom made them for our family, and now my daughter loves making them for our family too!
That’s four generations now who absolutely adore these delicious nobake cookies. Four generations of cookie makers can’t be wrong, right?
Chocolate No Bake Cookies
I’m about to divulge the BEST chocolate no bake cookie recipe to you. Get your taste buds ready for an explosion of chocolate peanut butter heaven!
BEFORE You Start Making Chocolate No Bakes
Classic no bake cookies are really easy to make, but sometimes people mess them up.
Do these simple things BEFORE you start making the cookies to streamline the process and give you more success!
Prep the Paper
Cut a long sheet of waxed paper, parchment paper, or foil (any of these will work), then place on the counter so it’s ready to go.
When the cookies are hot and ready, you need to be ready too. This step will get those cookies scooped faster if you do it beforehand.
Protect Your Countertop and Hands
Get out a couple hot pads and oven mitts. The pan will be HOT when you move it over to the counter. If you have a couple hot pads already sitting there next to the waxed paper, you will avoid burning your counter top.
Get out an oven mitt or two as well, so you have them ready to carry the hot pot over so you don’t burn yourself.
Chocolate No Bake Cookies Ingredients
- butter
- sugar
- cocoa
- milk
- oats
- peanut butter
- vanilla
How to Make No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
Before you start making this chocolate no bake recipe, place the oatmeal, peanut butter, and vanilla all in a medium-sized bowl.
You don’t have to mix it or stir it- just put it all in the bowl and set aside.
This simple trick will save you time and make the cookie-making process simpler.
Now let’s make some no bake cookies!
STEP 1. Stir the butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk together in a saucepan, and cook on medium heat until it boils.
Turn down the heat to low so that mixture is at a LOW boil. Boil at a LOW BOIL for about 3 minutes.
STEP 2. Remove from heat and add the oats, peanut butter, and vanilla that you put into a bowl. Stir quickly until thoroughly mixed.
STEP 3. Drop cookies by spoonful onto the waxed paper you prepared.
Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot pan.
Allow the no bake peanut butter chocolate drop cookies to cool and set.
How long does it take for no bakes to set?
It generally takes about 20-30 minutes for the chocolate no bake cookies to set.
Being patient and waiting until they are cool is the hardest part of making the cookies for me!
What kind of oats do I use to make chocolate no bake cookies?
I like to use quick or instant oats best to make nobake cookies, but I’ve used old fashioned oats before and the cookies tasted great.
Why are my no bake cookies dry?
If your chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies end up being too dry, it’s because you either boiled them for too long, boiled them at too high of a temperature, or both.
You need to make sure that your mixture is at a low rolling boil on low heat for no longer than three minutes.
Why do my no bake cookies turn out gooey?
If your chocolate no bakes end up being too gooey, that means they weren’t cooked long enough or they weren’t cooked at a low rolling boil for three minutes.
Thank you for letting me share our family’s favorite recipe for no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies!
They are the perfect easy dessert when you don’t have a lot of time and don’t want to buy new ingredients. You probably already have everything you need to make these at home.
I’ve taken these cookies to countless parties and get togethers and they are ALWAYS a hit!
Chocolate No Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 cups oats
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla to medium size bowl. Set aside.
- Stir the butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk together in a saucepan, and cook on medium heat until it boils. Turn the heat down to low and boil at a low rolling boil for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the oats, peanut butter, and vanilla from the bowl. Stir quickly until thoroughly mixed.
- Drop cookies by the spoonful onto wax paper. Let the chocolate no bake cookies to cool and set before enjoying.
I hope you enjoy this chocolate no bake cookie recipe as much as our family does!
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We made the same cookies growing up minus the peanut butter. We called them Icebox cookies. It was a recipe from my Great-Grandmother. They are so quick and so easy to do. And yes the drips are the best!!
Aren’t they? And you don’t feel so guilty eating up all those drips 😉 Your great grandmother’s recipe sounds good, too!
We make a version that uses coconut extract instead of vanilla and slivered almonds and shredded coconut! We alos leave out the pb.
They taste like almond joys!
Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing!! Are you willing to share the recipe? I’d love to try making these… Almond Joys are one of my favorites!
I would love to suprise my husband with your wonderful recipe for his favorite cookie “improved upon”. May I please have the recipe?
We never used peanut butter either. Does it make a big change in the density of this recipe to leave it out?
I’ve always made it with peanut butter, but a lot of commenters have left it out and have been successful. Maybe read through some of the comments and see what others who have left it out have done? Please let us know how it turns out!
Was thinking that substituting chocolate chips for the pb would work. I am going to try that.
Wow, these turned out great! Thanks for the awesome recipe! 🙂
You’re welcome Torrie, enjoy!!
Coconut can replace peanut butter (about one cup), and I’ve added flaxmeal as well instead of some of the oatmeal.
Great additions, Shelley, thanks for the ideas! I need to try some variations of these cookies, just to mix it up a little since we eat them ALL the time!
I found a recipe that calls for 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey, and 3 cups of
oats. I then put homemade chocolate frosting on top and oh my goodness, they were a yummy alternative! No bakes are a hit in my house too.
Do these need to be refrigerated?
No, it doesn’t. These cookies are great the day you make them, good the next day, but don’t keep for much longer than that. I know someone who freezes hers, and says they taste great after freezing, but I’ve never tried it myself.
Why can’t you keep these longer than 2 days???
You can keep them for as many days as you like, but they do start to dry out after two days, so they’re best eaten within a day or two. Trust me, it’s almost impossible to keep them around for that long anyway! 😉
can you just leave out the peanut butter for nut allergies?
I don’t think it would be the right consistency if you just left it out, but you could substitute a peanut butter alternative, like NoNuts, in for the peanut butter. As long as the substitute has a similar consistency as peanut butter, I think it would be fine. Good luck!!
Tastes totally fine with out the peanut butter 🙂
And the consistency is good
I always make mine without peanut butter And they are delish
Good to know, thanks Ebony!
Can I just leave out the peanut butter for nut allergies? Or does something different need to replace it?
I’ve never tried it without peanut butter so I’m not sure, but several other commenters have said they left out the peanut butter and they still tasted great! If you decide to try it, be sure to come back and let me know how they tasted. Good luck!
how many does this make???
Good question! It depends on how big you make them, but I’d say from memory that it makes at least 25-30 cookies- quite a bit! Good luck. These are one of our favorites at my house!
What type of oatmeal? Old fashioned, or quick oats?
Good question! I threw away the container because I pour the oats into big jar, but I just use the regular Quaker oats- I think the old fashioned ones? Hope that helps!
My mom also made these cookies all the time as I was growing up! My brothers and I always loved them—-Except the year my parents were on a serious heath kick and she used turbinado sugar, all natural peanut butter and carob, instead of cocoa. Those were horrible!
Haha, sometimes you just have to stick with the original and eat them every once in a while for a special treat, right? Thanks for sharing!
I’m in my 70s and this is a recipe my mother used to make. Found it just in time ‘cus my oven is on the fritz. Now my sweet tooth will be happy. Thanks for sharing.
Mine turned out too dry. Did I do something wrong? I ended up adding 1.25 more sticks of butter to get them to stick.
I have made these wonderful cookes that we alwasy called boiled cookies for years and they haven’t ever turned out too dry. Did you bring them to a boil and boil for the amount of time? I make them with just peanut butter, no cocoa or without peanut butter and they always come out great either way. I of course make them exactly by the recipe sometimes too. Oh they are great if you add your favorite nut and or use crunchy peanut butter also. The high school cafe served these also and they were the best thing that was ever served in the cafeteria ever!
Mine always dry out too,they turn kind of white and fall apart. But still tastes great!
If you use the soft ball stage methods instead of timing them for 3 minutes they always turn out. When it passes the 2 minute mark, have a cup of cold water near by, drip cookie batter off wooden spoon into cold water. With finger try to push droppings into a soft ball. If it doesn’t, keep boiling while you replace cold water with clean cold water. The mixture all of the sudden turns shiny in the pot, drip more mixture into cold water. It should be able to be pushed into a soft ball. Take off heat, add vanilla and peanut butter, stir quickly to practically dissolve peanut butter then add in quick oats. Have wax paper or parchment laid over top a kitchen towel and plop the cookies out with wooden spoon or use a medium ice cream scoop immediately. We called these Quick Boiled Cookies. You’ve got to be quick at the end. Lol
Never had these cookies but looked good, I didn’t use quite 2 cups of sugar but everything else same measurements it has been 40 mins when I pick one up it is sticky and starts bending in my hand kind of starting to falling apart
Boling too long will make them dry & fall apart
Yes, very true! Definitely boil no longer than 3 minutes, and at a low boil, too, for the best texture. Thanks for the reminder!
You’re welcome Liz! This recipe is an oldie but definitely a goodie!! 🙂
can’t wait to try these! Look so good. What kind of cocoa do you use?
Oh good, they are so yummy! I just regular old Hershey’s cocoa, and they taste amazing. Good luck!
I tried these with regular old fashioned Quaker oats, but I think I will try them again with quick oats. My oats are still a bit firm with the old fashioned oats.
Just wanted to thank you for posting this recipe for these glorious treats. I can’t believe I’ve never had or heard of these before in all my life–I now feel as though my parents cheated me out of a childhood! But considering how tasty these are I can’t say I blame them, because once you take a bite it’s difficult to restrain yourself from eating the whole plate! I followed this recipe almost exactly, except I just used an instant hot chocolate packet (dark chocolate). They turned out divine! Took awhile to drop them in spoonfuls on the wax paper. Once the pot cools the stuff starts drying out a tad, but if you can bunch them up in time they are just perfect. Using a regular spoon and just sort of scooping and dropping without paying too much attention to size, I got 72 cookies out of these puppies. Not a bad haul at all. 🙂
I made these but added 1/2 cup coconut and 1/2 cup pecans to the recipe, they turned out great and best of all the easiest cookies I’ve ever made.
My mom always made these cookies also.. The only difference is we used i cup coconut instead of peanut butter…I now make them for my family…Love these…
Do you use quick oats or regular old fashioned?
I use quick oats… works very good..
An absolute fave at our house. Sometimes I chop up some snickers or candy bar with a little caramel and stir them in at the very end.
has anyone used natural peanut butter? the kind that has to be stirred?
Yes, we have used the “have to stir” natural peanut butter and it works just as well. We now use the Natural Jiff Peanut Butter and it works great as well. It doesn’t have to be stirred, but some containers need to be stirred a little.
I don’t know what I did wrong. I followed the directions, but I ended up with a pot of chocolate dusted oats. Can’t get any of it to stick. I even added a half stick extra of butter, but it didn’t help. I was hoping to have these for a cookie exchange at work tomorrow. Looks more like I can use it for ice cream toppings. 🙁 Any tips if trying this again in the future?
Hello,
I’ve made them what must be half a dozen times since I last posted on here, and I have also had a batch turn out so dry it was basically just crumbs! I think maybe I had either turned the heat on a little too high or else boiled it for too long (or maybe it was both); I hadn’t been as diligent keeping track of the time as I normally am. Next time I lowered the heat a tad and used a timer-they turned out great!
I’m now in my early 60’s and I too grew up on these cookies. My mom got the recipe from the Quaker Oats box when I was a little kid. (In the 50’s)
Because I had such good memories of them, I made them for my kids and now they make them for theirs. Somewhere along the way my kids changed the name from No Bake cookies to Poop cookies! LOL.
I still love them and if I’m in need of a serious chocolate fix, they more than fill the need!
Was reading some of the comments and remembered a couple things. We’ve always used quick oats and Hershey Cocoa but I’ve also used generic cocoa and it was fine.
Also my mother-in-law exchanged the cocoa for a small box of instant butterscotch pudding and those are the best butterscotch cookies ever!
Sounds to me like you overcooked the sauce. They won’t stick then…
I made them….they were perfect! Just follow directions and SUCCESS! I’d like to post a pic.
I also had these cookies growing up. I first tasted them at my aunt’s house. I thought this was the best cookie ever. I now make them as part of our yearly cookie swap.
I made these..way to sweet. Should cut it down to 1 cup. I couldn’t even eat one cookie and everyone else I shared it with agreed on how sweet they are.
Delicious! Taste just like a perfect no bake! Recipe was spot on. I used Old-Fashioned oats.
I made these last night and followed the directions but mine turned out sticky and they bend, they never hardened even after letting them sit out for an hour and then overnight in the fridge. Even an hour in the freezer didn’t make them the hard almost crumbly no bake cookie like I’m used to. Can you tell me what I did wrong?
I actually like the cookies sticky and when they “bend” as you call it but I think maybe you did not cook the sauce long enough.. Good luck on the next batch…
You didn’t boil it long enough. My mother taught me to check the sauce by dripping a tiny bit into a bowl of cold water, reach into the water and try to roll the sauce into a tiny soft ball. If you can roll it in a mushy ball type shape it is done but if you can’t it needs to boil a little bit longer.
Mine won’t set well either. I boiled for 3 minutes like the recipe said. They still seem like they want to fall apart. What can I do next time to make them set up properly?
Hi Tracy, Did you boil them at a low boil? It should be a very low boil with small bubbles. Next time you can either turn the heat down so there are just small bubbles or boil them for a little less time, between 1-2 minutes. Enjoy, they are so delicious!
Have you tried substituting coconut oil for the butter?
No, but I’ve thought about trying, and am curious as to how they would taste and how the texture would change. Maybe I’ll need to try it out. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes!
AMAZING!!! They taste exactly like the ones my grandmother used to make. My sisters and I used to fight over the last of the cookies. We each would get our very own batch for our birthday. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
I tried this cookie recipe for a party two weeks ago, and now I’ve had to make three more batches. 😉 delicious!
Awesome, so glad you loved them! They’re so addicting, aren’t they? 😉
This is the recipe my mom always used and I use now. I love them! I actually undercook them on purpose. After spooning out most of the batch into soft cookies for the rest of the family, I’ll add extra milk. Then I pour it out into one giant cookie that I have to eat with a spoon because it’s so sticky and gooey. Seriously good stuff! 🙂
Oh, YUM!! And now I’m craving milk and chocolate no bake cookies… Thanks for the yummy idea!
Is it better to use unsalted or salted butter? Do you think it makes a noticeable difference?
Thanks!
I ususally use the salted butter because that’s what I have on hand. I’m sure that either one would work just fine. Enjoy!
To take this recipe up a notch, add a few pinches of sea salt immediately after taking the chocolate mixture off the heat.
Ooooh, great idea! I need to try this next time! Thanks for the suggestion!
In regards to the comment that these are (were called by her family) ice box cookies; These are not ice box cookies. They have nothing do to with the ice box. Try reducing the sugar by 1/2 cup. It makes them much more flavorful.
Can you make them without vanilla?
I’ve never tired them without vanilla, but I’m sure that they would taste just fine without it. These cookies are pretty flexible. Let me know if you try it without and how they tasted!
We made these too growing up. They work just as well if you leave out the peanut butter
I have been looking for the “cow dabs” recipe for years. This is what they called them here in NC years ago. You call them No bake chocolate cookies. Thanks !!!!
Haha, that’s a great name! I’ve never heard them called “cow dabs” before. 🙂
Is the cocoa powder sweetened or unsweetened?
Unsweetened cocoa powder. I just use Hershey’s cocoa powder, and it works great! Hope that helps.
Me me-maw made these. They are from an old Government Commodity Booklet Recipe. When you would pick up your commodities, they passed out recipes for cheap and healthy food.
Interesting, I had never heard that before. My mom has made them for years, but I have no clue as to the original origin, as they are something that has been passed down in our family. Thanks for sharing!
I just made these for the first time fir my two kids, ages 3 and 17 months. I could’ve (should’ve) halved the recipe and been just fine. They went CRAZY for these. I used just a tad less sugar based on some previous reviews, and it was indeed perfect. More like 1 3/4c. I also omitted the peanut butter, and next time will add finely chopped nuts and coconut flakes for a different texture. I’ll definitely be making these again soon!
Great, I’m so glad you and your kids loved them! It’s amazing to me how versatile these cookies are. Thanks so much for sharing your variation! I think I need to try adding coconut to one of my batches. That sounds amazing!!
Oh you definitely need to! Chopped pecans and sweetened flaked coconut is almost like German chocolate cake frosting. My daughter still can’t eat hard almonds really well (6 teeth lol), but as soon as she can, we’ll try the “Almond Joy” version.
We made these cookies when I was a kid.
We called them hamburger cookies, because
They look like cooked hamburgers.
Cindy
Apopka, Fl
I’m a college student living on campus so I don’t have much money. My boyfriend is a little older than me and very picky!!! Been worried about making him anything ever since the way he is. Made these and he said TA the best no bake cookies he has ever ate. Thank you for sharing your recipe!!!
That’s awesome, thanks so much for sharing Emily! Yep, these cookies are pretty awesome when you have a tight budget, since most people probably already have all of the ingredients already in their cupboard. I’ve made these cookies for a few decades now (which makes me feel really old), and they’re hands down one of my very favorites! Thanks for sharing!
Delish! No bake cookies rock, especially when we don’t feel like heating up the oven. Thanks for sharing!
Agreed! There’s no excuse not to make these cookies when they’re so quick to make and taste so darn good! Thanks for reading!
I made these last night and used chunky peanutbutter. They are a hit in my house! The peanut butter added to the cookies isn’t over powering which I like. I really wanted to manage my chocolate craving and was hesitant about the pb but it was really good and added a balance to the chocolate/sugar. My hubby says he really liked the bits of peanuts 🙂 thanks for the recipe Laura !
I am looking forward to making these and to use your tips! I have tried making them in the past and they either dry too much (crumbly) or not at all.
Thanks!!!
Thank you for this recipe, it’s one my mom always made for the holidays and we used to steal them out of the freezer. My only complaint is the layout of your blog. Having the ingredients on one page and the directions on another required me to flip back and forth several times. It was quite annoying and would stop me from trying other recipes of yours.
I made these today, omitted the peanut butter. Brought mixture minus oats to a rolling boil, boiled for 1 1/2 minutes. Turned heat off and added the vanilla, then stirred the oats in. They set up fine, and are very good.
Great idea to put the oatmeal, PB and vanilla in one bowl. I’ve been making these for years for my nephew for Christmas. I can’t believe I never thought of doing that step to streamline the process. Your recipe is exactly the same as mine, including boiling for 3 minutes
Mine did not harden.
You can try boiling with the temperature a little harder next time, or add a little more cooking time to them. Don’t give up, these are really delicious cookies and are pretty quick to make, which is always a good thing. 😉
I can’t thank you enough for posting this! My mom used to make these cookies all the time. She called them “5 min cookies” lol! and I lost her recipe. She passed away in 2013 and I couldn’t find anybody that made these before you! Thanks again!! Have a blessed day 🙂
Oh that makes me so happy to hear! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I’ve made these tasty cookies for years and was taught by my mom, who made them for years, who was taught by her mother who made them for years. Now my daughters make them too. Such a wonderful recipe that has definitely withstood the test of time.
This may be a stupid question, but the recipe says “1/4 cup of butter (1 stick)”. 1 stick is 1/2 a cup of butter, so I’m not sure how much butter this recipe actually needs. Can you clarify?
Not stupid at all! I made a mistake on the recipe card when I updated it recently and it’s fixed now. So sorry about that! It’s definitely 1/2 cup, which is one stick of butter.
Made this Tony.. there is a discrepancy in ingredients listing.. it says 1 stick of Butter and in brackets(1/4 Cup Butter) . 1 Stick ofButter is actually 1/2 Cup but I used the 1/4 Cup stayed.. Just need clarification..
No Bakes turned out.. kiddos loved them but wondering if they would be even better if used entire stick of butter if that was the intention.
So sorry about that Kathy! The recipe card is updated to reflect that it should be 1/2 cup of butter, one stick.
Your recipe looks good except you said 1/4 cup of butter (1 stick) 1stick of butter is 1/2 cup
Thanks Brenda, I updated the recipe card recently and must have made a typo. It’s all updated now, thank you!
This question may have been answered before. I didn’t read all of the comments. Does this recipe use a stick of butter which is a half cup or a half stick of butter which is a quarter cup.
Thanks for catching that! I updated the recipe card to show that this recipe uses 1/2 cup butter, which is one regular stick of butter.
I added cinnamon as well and gave it a nice spice note.
Great idea, and perfect for fall! Thanks for sharing.