No Bake Cookies without Peanut Butter (2024)

If your no bake cookies turn out dry you probably simmerered the sugar, milk and butter mixture for too long. The sugar did then reach a too high temperature, which dries out the cookies instead of just making them set.

Making no bake cookies is a delicate balance between not simmering long enough - and simmering too long.

5 from 4 votes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: North American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Author: Emmeline Kemperyd

• ▢ ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or vanilla extract / vanilla powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 cups oatmeal
• ▢ 1 cup shredded coconut
• ▢ ½ cup salted butter or unsalted + a pinch of salt
• ▢ 1¾ cup sugar
• ▢ ½ cup milk whole milk or 2%

US Customary - Metric

• In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, vanilla sugar and salt. Mix well then add the oatmeal and shredded coconut, and mix until everything is well combined. Set aside for now.

  3 cups oatmeal, ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 cup shredded coconut

• Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat, then mix in the sugar and milk.

  ½ cup salted butter, 1¾ cup sugar, ½ cup milk

• Bring to a boil, mix once, then simmer for 3 minutes without stirring.

• Pour the butter mixture in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients, and mix well.

• Place a piece of parchment paper on a heat resistant surface, then use two spoons or an ice cream scoop to drop the mixture onto the parchment paper, creating about 30 cookies.

• Allow to cool and set for at least 30 minutes.

Ingredient notes & substitutions

• Oatmeal- I find this recipe worksbest with quick oatsor instant oats, but you can also useold fashioned / rolled oats. The latter option makes the cookies chewier, and a bit wetter, which means they will turn out a little bit flatter.
• Make them gluten freeby making sure to use gluten-free oats
• Add nuts for extra crunch- ½ cup ofchopped*nuts (I preferhazelnuts) is delicious

Tips & tricks

• Quick oatswill make the cookies higher and they will set a bit faster
• Old fashioned oats or rolled oatswill give the cookies a chewier texture. They will also be a bit flatter and might take a bit longer to set.
• Do not mixthe butter, sugar and milk mixture while it's boiling, to avoid sugar crystals
• Do not boil less than 3 minutesor the cookies might not set - when in doubt, it's better to add an extra minute
• Do not boil too longor your cookies can become crumbly. 1-2 minutes extra is usually fine though.
• Change the sizeas you like - you can make the cookies bigger or smaller. Just keep in mind that larger cookies will take longer to set.
• Store leftovers in room temperaturein an airtight container, with wax paper or parchment paper in between layers. They are best eaten within a few days.

Do no bake cookies need to be refrigerated?

No, they do generally not need to be refrigerated - but you can store them in the fridge if you want.

How long are no bake cookies good for?

They will be OK in room temperature (stored in an air tight container) for about a week. However, the main issue with no bake cookies is that they go dry after a few days. SoI recommend eating them within 2-3 days.

How do you fix no bake cookies that didn't set?

If your no bake cookies didn't set, you can justcover them and leave them for longer. In my experience, unless the sugar was simmered for a far too short time,they have set by the next morning.

Another option is to refrigeratethe cookies, which can help them set quicker.

Why do my no bake cookies turn out dry?

If your no bake cookies turn out dryyou probably simmerered the sugar, milk and butter mixture for too long. The sugar did then reach a too high temperature, which dries out the cookies instead of just making them set.