So I wanted a chocolate fix, and I had a kid over at my house who wanted to bake something while her mother was at a meeting. But there are no eggs in my refrigerator currently, which kind of puts a cramp in my baking style. (We really need to put chickens in our landlord's backyard. I'm sure he'd love it.)
No-Bake cookies can be a decent idea when these two factors come into play, but most often the ones I have had taste more of sickeningly sweet white sugar and cheap chocolate. After reading up on a bunch of different versions, I decided to come up with my own. I have to say it turned out pretty yummy, so it seemed like a good idea to share it here. It's easy and quick, and you'll have your chocolate fix in minutes. Plus you can feel all giddy inside because most recipes called for another 1/2 cup of sugar and double the butter. You can almost feel yourself getting skinnier just reading the recipe. =)
*****When I say "loosely packed" it means that you just take your 1/2 cup measuring cup and scoop it into your ingredient without packing it down or leveling it perfectly.
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 c. Brown Sugar (or Yellow Sugar if you are in Canada) loosely packed
1/2 c. loosely packed Cocoa
1/2 c. 1% Milk
1/4 c. Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Salt
2/3 c. (heaping) Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter
2.75 c. Quick Oats
1 c. Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In medium sauce pan, melt butter and peanut butter together over medium low heat.
2. Add in sugar, vanilla, salt, milk, and cocoa and stir to combine. Bring to a light boil for just a minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3. Add in oats and coconut, stirring to combine completely.
4. Using a small cookie scoop (about a tablespoon size), drop mixture on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Let set until solidified. If you are like me, eat two while the rest are setting up. Sigh contentedly that you have just eaten what could be argued as oatmeal with chocolate and peanut butter. Wonder if it could count as a healthy breakfast. I feel almost like saying "rinse, repeat" at this point. But I'll just say "the end".
Makes about 38 small cookies.
