Give the oven a break! Whip up a batch of these 8 ingredient chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies. This family favorite recipe is super simple.
Today I’m bringing an older family recipe back into the spotlight. I make these peanut butter chocolate no-bake cookies more than any other cookie recipe on my website.
Why This is My Repeat Recipe
- No mixer and no oven
- Little clean-up
- Only 8 basic ingredientsโnothing weird
- Chocolate + peanut butter
- Shockingly easy, joining 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes
- Dairy free + egg free if needed
I married into a food-loving family. My husband grew up baking zucchini bread, soft pretzels, and these no-bake cookies with his siblings. He said he made these no-bakes so many times growing up that he could mix them together in his sleep. Partly because they’re so easy and partly because everyone craves chocolate and peanut butter at bedtime, right?!
Simply put, these are awesome cookies. They’re as classic as a good batch of chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, or rice krispie treats. And after one bite, you’ll understand exactly what the fuss is about. Let’s do it!
One reader, Gretchen, commented: “I made these for the first time today and followed the recipe exactly as suggested. This beats my old recipe, hands down. They came together easily and this my new standard. They were a BIG hit. Thanks so much! โ โ โ โ โ ”
There are a billion and a half recipes for no-bakes on the internet and most of them call for the same ingredients as our family recipe. What makes each recipe a little different, though, is the ratio of ingredients. More butter, less sugar, more cocoa, less peanut butter… you get the idea. Our recipe, in my eyes and on my tastebuds, perfects that ratio. There’s just enough sugar, just enough cocoa, and definitely enough peanut butter.
Ingredients in No Bake Cookies
- Butter: Like all the best desserts, butter and sugar make the base of this recipe.
- Sugar: I swear by 1 and 1/2 cups of regular granulated sugar here. Over the years, I’ve tested several different amounts and even tried brown sugar once. For success, stick with the recipe below.
- Milk: Milk also creates the base of these cookies.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder not only flavors the cookies, it acts as a thickener and binder. Remember this post on dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder? Fun fact: Since we’re not using a chemical leavener, you can use either in this recipe. I really like this brand of dutch-process cocoa powder here.
- Peanut Butter: For best taste and texture in baking recipes, I usually push you to use standard commercially processed peanut butter. While I typically use Jif creamy here, you can substitute your favorite natural peanut butter. Same option goes for these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies, too. Give it a good stir before measuring and using. Nut-free? Scroll below.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: A little salt and a splash of vanilla extract adds flavor. Bonus: You can use homemade vanilla extract if you have it!
- Oats: I used to use quick oats in this easy cookie recipe, but lately I swear by using whole rolled oats. The difference between quick oats and whole oats is their size and that can definitely affect the success of a recipe. Surprisingly, these work with either type. (Just another reason to love this recipe!) You need 3 cups of oats.
If using certified gluten free oats, these cookies are gluten free. For my gluten free readers, you’ll also appreciate this recipe for no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars. You can also browse all my favorite gluten free dessert recipes here. After you make these cookies, of course.
Overview: How to Make Easy No-Bake Cookies
Have I mentioned yet how easy these cookies are? Besides using super basic ingredients, the method couldn’t be simpler. Whisk the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a medium (3 quart) pot until the butter melts. Once boiling in the center, start a timer. Let it simmer for 1 minute. After that, immediately remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Once combined, stir in the oats.
Grab your timer again and let the mixture cool for 4-5 minutes. This gives the oats some time to absorb the liquid, which makes scooping and shaping much easier. If you used a super thin natural-style peanut butter, let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Drop 1 Tablespoon sized mounds about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Feel free to slightly flatten down the cookies with the back of a spoon. Let the cookies set in the refrigerator for about 30-60 minutes. That’s it, we’re done.
Best Part of All
If you haven’t realized by now, there’s no turning on the oven for no-bake cookies. Instead, the cookies firm up in the refrigerator. I love that! They’re perfect if you’re having a marathon baking day and other items need the oven.
Other Flavor Variations
- Nut-Free No Bakes: Swap peanut butter for sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
- Almond No Bakes: Swap peanut butter for almond butter.
- Nutella No Bakes: I have that recipe in Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook.
- Sprinkles: Add sprinkles to the tops of each wet cookie before refrigerating.
Success Tips for No Bake Cookies
- Have your ingredients ready: Once the chocolate mixture comes off the stove, the remaining ingredients must be stirred in right away. It’s helpful to have all your ingredients on stand-by.
- Follow the recipe: Sounds like a silly success tip, but it’s worth mentioning. The cookies work because we’re using a particular wet to dry ingredient ratio.
- Avoid crumbly cookies: Don’t overcook the chocolate mixture. Doing so will over-thicken it, which inevitably leads to crumbly no-bake cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon: 1 Tablespoon of dough will give us perfectly portioned cookies. Use a cookie scoop, a spoon, or your Tablespoon measuring spoon.
Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Give the oven a break! Whip up a batch of these 8 ingredient no bake cookies. Have your ingredients ready and review the recipe notes before beginning.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk*
- 1/4 cup (21g) natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup (170g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract (yes, a full Tablespoon!)
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats or quick oats*
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a medium saucepan (about 3 quart) over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the butter melts. Whisking occasionally, bring to a boil. Once boiling, stop whisking and allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, then immediately stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until completely combined. Stir in the oats and salt.
- Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes. This allows the oats to soak up some moisture.
- During the 5 minutes, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. And make sure there is enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets.
- Using a 1-Tablespoon cookie scoop (or simply a spoon), drop a Tablespoon of dough onto the lined baking sheets. If desired, slightly flatten down with the back of a spoon. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Refrigerate the cookies for 30-60 minutes so they set. Remove from the refrigerator and enjoy!
- Cover and store leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Once completely set, the no-bake cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper
- Butter:ย Coconut oil works instead of butter because like butter, it solidifies when cold.
- Peanut Butter: (updated note) This recipe works best if using a non-natural style peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. However, you can substitute your favorite natural peanut butter if desired. Give it a good stir before using and in step 3, let the oat mixture sit for about 10 minutes to thicken properly. Nut-free? Substitute sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
- Milk: Use your favorite milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Oats: I used to use quick oats in this easy cookie recipe, but lately I swear by using whole rolled oats. Surprisingly, these cookies work with either type of oat! Do not use steel cut oats.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can you use salted butter instead of unsalted and crunchy peanut butter?
Hi Tina! You can definitely use salted butter with no other changes to the recipe. The cookies can be a little crumbly with crunchy PB, but it still works.
Hi, these are delicious, any idea how many calories per cookie?
Thank you!
Hi Tom, We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I was wondering if anyone has made these with rice krispies cereal instead of oats? I love the chocolate fudge taste but not the oats.
Hi Lori, we havenโt tried that substitution โ youโd likely have to play with the ratio of other ingredients, as the cereal would absorb them differently than the oats. If you decide to try, let us know how it goes!
The taste of these was amazingly chocolatey for only having cocoa powder! I used natural almond butter instead of peanut butter and left them to sit for the recommended 10 minutes, but they still are really sticky after a night in the fridge. I put them in the freezer and they firmed up a little more and feel more like the no bakes I grew up with. Is this recipe compatible with almond butter? Or maybe I didn’t boil the mixture for long enough? Either way, I will make these again!
Hi Dana! Almond butter should work well. You can try boiling your mixture for a little longer next time so they set up a little more. So glad you enjoyed these nostalgic cookies!
I enjoyed these, thank you! Suggestion for anyone whose cookies remained quite sticky after hours in the fridge (like mine did!): I tossed them in powdered sugar and put them in the freezer and more or less had chocolate peanut butter snowballs. No regrets!
Hi Sally,
my family likes no bake cookies to be slightly gooey not dry. How long should I boil it for gooier cookies.
Thanks!!
Hi Rose! These shouldn’t be dry. You can try a slightly shorter boil time next time to ensure they stay a little soft.
Hi Sally! To make just peanut butter no-bakes, would you just omit the cocoa powder, or would you adjust other ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Sam, we havenโt tested it ourselves, but a few readers have reported success using a peanut butter powder in place of the cocoa powder for a peanut butter cookie. Let us know if you try it!
Could you add a wee bit of espresso powder with the cocoa powder?
Absolutely!
These turned out really great! I used to love these as a kid. Iโve tried them a few times since I donโt have my momโs recipe but they never set up. These did!
I made these last night and were delicious but a little sticky. I used a timer when it started bubbling in the center. Iโm wondering if I need to let it come to a rolling boil before setting the timer? Taste was amazing, looking forward to sharing these with friends once I get the recipe down.
Hi Jerry, it doesn’t need to be a rolling boil. Is it humid/hot where you live? If kept out of the refrigerator, they will stay a little tacky/sticky if itโs particularly warm. We wonder if more time in the refrigerator to help them firm up would help. We’re glad you still enjoyed them!
Can I use maple syrup instead of sugar
Hi Dina, we recommend sticking with granulated sugar here for best results.
How long do these cookies last? Can they be frozen
Hi Sharron! You can find these details in the recipe card: Cover and store leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Once completely set, the no-bake cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
I just made these. The only milk I had was Fat Free so I used it.I used 1 tsp of orange emulsion and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.I like a little orange flavor with my chocolate. They are perfect. Not dry at all. I did use a timer while making these. Delicious. Next time I might add some toffee bits as well. For a little crunch. Thanks Sally
I love this recipe. I just had a thought, though. I’ll bet it would be delicious with almond butter as well. Has anyone tried this variation?
Made the no bake chocolate peanut butter cookies. I have made a lot of variations.
This one is the best! Thank you for the detailed directions, and explanations. Will make this recipe again.
This recipe was an epic fail for me! I followed the recipe to a T, but the cookies were so dry, they wouldnโt hold together. Definitely needs more liquid or something. Very disappointed as the grandkids were delivering these to a kind man that gave them free rodeo tickets.
Hi Sammie, the cookies shouldn’t taste dry; I wonder if you accidentally over-cooked the butter/sugar/cocoa mixture on the stove?
These were so easy and delicious to make. I made them for my grandkids and now I’m going to make some for myself. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Easy to make but way too sweet for my taste even after I sprinkled sea salt on top. Next time Iโm cutting the sugar down to 1c or even 3/4c.
Use Smuckers Natural peanut butter! No extra sugar and more peanut flavor. This is what I use.
I was thinking the same, I just donโt want that much sugar. Can they be made with just 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup and still come out ok?
Thanks!
Hi Tom, you can try reducing the sugar, but keep in mind that it plays an important role in the overall taste, texture, and spread of the cookies. We’d recommend starting small and then adjusting further for future batches.
I love this recipe and will be making this soon. My two fav things are in it. Chocolate and peanut butter. Thank you and I love your website
Sorry but this recipe did not work. I followed it to a t and they came out dry and crumbly! I have never had this happen. It needs more liquid. Hopefully they will taste ok but not hopeful.
Hi Stephanie, this usually happens if the mixture has been cooked too long on the stove or if youโre using a natural style/thicker peanut butter. Also, a little more milk can help thin out the wet ingredients if you decide to try it again. Thanks for giving it a try!
These were AMAZING! We made them with dairy free butter and natural peanut butter and it was truly perfection! My other haystacks always crumbled and fell apart. Everyone that has tried them asks for the recipe- LOL! Fudgy- tasty- perfect!!!!
I just made these. Subbed Monk fruit sweetener for sugar. I think I found another go to recipe.
Thanks very much.
My cookies are still sticky and a little soft. Is that normal? I was expecting them to harden up once in the refrigerator. Any idea how to make them firmer?
Hi Sarah, Is it humid/hot where you live? If kept out of the refrigerator, they will stay a little tacky/sticky if itโs particularly warm. I wonder if more time in the refrigerator to help them firm up would help.
The texture of the cookies are perfect. Next time I’ll try just 1 C of sugar, or maybe a 1 1/4 C, they were just a little sweeter than I expected from making these in the past.
These sound delicious but can I use a sugar substitute?
Hi Linda, Weโd love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you donโt waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. But let us know if you give it a try!
My sister made these often, but called them Missouri Cookies.
This recipe is PERFECT as-is, but if you want a little more crunch and protein, you can add toasted/popped quinoa and shredded coconut! I also used full-fat plain Greek yogurt (1-1 for milk), and it makes for an even fudgier cookie with a deeper, almost tangy taste.
The taste gets a 5. But I used regular oats and the texture was too chewy. So took a star off. Next time will use quick oats for softer. Really tastes good.
Great cookie! Question, they came out a little fudgey. Which isnโt a bad thing but if I want them to be a bit more dry like store bought, would I boil the mixture for longer?
Hi Rini, yes, boiling for longer will set the cookies more.
Turned out great! Other recipes I have tried just donโt set up. We used Wow butter a soy based peanut butter alternative due to a peanut allergy and it worked great with this recipe.