My Favorite Cookies...

I am not much of a "sweet" person. (I know, you're like, "Duh, Ashley. No one thinks that!") Not my personality- I mean I'm not a big fan of sweet food in large quantities. I love chocolate, cake, etc. but I'm not usually one to have a "sweet tooth". I'm much more of a salty snacks kind of girl. Give me a bag of chips and some salsa (or chex mix, or crackers, or...) and I can do some major damage. (It's just a fact- I didn't say I was proud of it!)


That's why I love these cookies, actually... they're sweet, but not too rich. Actually, they're just heavenly. (And when you try them you'll wholeheartedly agree.) And if you're not a big oatmeal person, try them anyway. I'm not either, but it's not like actually eating oatmeal. The oats just kind of hold everything together. =) Plus I love these because they're easy, but involve more than merely removing a pre-formed piece of dough on a cookie sheet (and don't think for a moment I have a problem with those, since they are the cookies we eat 75% of the time!). I just like to play Betty Crocker now and then and these are perfect, since I haven't ruined them yet! 


In the old Guin, AL cookbook, these are called "boiled cookies" but that just sounds absolutely disgusting to me, so I have always called them no-bakes, or their lesser-known, much-longer-but-more-literal name, Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies. But since I'm not a big fan of including nearly every ingredient in the title of something, let's just go with no-bakes. (BTW, these only take about 15 minutes to make, but about 30 minutes to harden.)


All you do is...

1. Gather your ingredients. You need: 

- 2 cups sugar - 1/2 cup milk -1 stick butter/margarine

- 3 tbsp. cocoa - 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal 

- 1/2 cup peanut butter - 1 teaspoon vanilla

*This makes a pretty huge batch. I usually halve the recipe and still end up with about 15 cookies. But that's because Jonathan doesn't eat these alot so I'm fortunate enough to be  stuck eating most of them myself. Whatever works for you!

2. Mix the sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa in a pan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. (Scorched chocolate = bad news!) Let boil for one minute and remove from heat.

3. Stir in the oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Then let it "hang out" for just a couple minutes, so that it starts sticking together.

*This is usually the part that I eat a spoonful or two (or more). 

4. Then cover a pan with wax paper or aluminum foil and drop the mixture in generous spoonfuls onto it. They can harden at room temperature but I usually use the fridge because I'm impatient and greedy to hasten the process. 

5. Enjoy these amaaaazingly delicious cookies! They are great, I promise! 

Happy eating, everyone!

Ash