They remind me of home at xmas when I was growing up. That familiar chocolate smell watching them cool on the counter just waiting for my mom to give me the go ahead to take one.
That delicious sometimes still warm soft chewy texture that my mom always managed to obtain...it was like magic.
As I got older, living so far away from home, I remember one year my mom sent me some no bakes..they were just as delicious as I remembered from childhood. I teared up a little missing home of course, at only 25 and having not seen my mom in 8 years, I was admittedly a bit home sick.
I decided I would try to make them myself so my littles would be able to have the same delicious memories as I did.
Yea, easier said than done. I tried a couple internet recipes first..then I decided to ask my mom for her recipe. That was the key, I don't know that the recipes are really very different, but I did notice some people giving weird advice about vanilla vs. no vanilla versions, and some saying you should only use a certain kind of peanut butter, or that you should only melt chocolate chips instead of using cocoa powder....so many little things that people say makes the difference in whether or not these little delectable creations will set up the way they should.
Honestly, all of these pieces of advice were just personal preference...The one and only thing that makes the difference between puddles and dry rocks and any consistency in between, including that perfect chewy deliciousness is TIME.
Yea, so stop omitting ingredients or adding ingredients or changing what kind of chocolate you use...follow this recipe at the end and you will get the perfect no bake cookie every time. I guarantee it.
The big point, the MAJOR piece of this recipe is that you let the chocolate mixture boil for 1 MINUTE. Please, as soon as it starts to boil, start that 1 minute timer...I set my microwave timer for 1 minute when I start the mixture so that when it starts to boil I simply press start.
That's the big master secret...IT NEEDS TO BE EXACTLY 1 MINUTE! Don't just say "oh, it's ok, I can count a minute, I don't need a timer for a single minute, that's just silly"...uh huh, good luck on those chocolate oatmeal puddles that will soon adorn your countertops...or if you count slow, you'll end up with little dry chocolate oaty rocks on your counter...neither will bring delicious memories to your littles :)
So here's our recipe for No Bake Cookies (aka Chocodiles)- 1 stick salted butter(not margarine)
- 1/2 C milk
- 2 C sugar
- 4 Tbs cocoa powder
- 3 1/2 C quick oats
- 3/4 C peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
In large mixing bowl, put the oats and peanut butter, and set aside.
In a saucepan melt butter, add milk, sugar and cocoa powder. Stir with whisk, making sure it's blended well and there are no clumps. Bring it to a boil.
BOIL FOR EXACTLY 1 MINUTE. Please use a timer, it's just a minute..why not?
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, pour over peanut butter and oats. Stir together until peanut butter is melted and all oats are coated and blended well. Then remove by spoonfuls and drop onto wax paper, or freezer paper, on the counter, or other flat surface.
Wait a while, and you should have your own delicious Chocodiles for your family, or just yourself, to enjoy :)
I hope you love them like we do. I like to make a batch whenever we are having a difficult day, and depression is taking over. It tends to make my daughter just a little bit less sad, even if just for a little while. It helps us to just keep breathing, and just keep going.. Enjoy <3
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