No Bake Cookies-Haystack Cookies

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Check out my other delicious cookie recipes:

• Peanut Butter M&M Cookie
• Inside Out Cookies
• Double Chocolate Cookies
• Sugar Cookies
• Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Eggnog Cookies

How to perfect haystack cookies:

It is all about that boiling time. You do not stir together the ingredients over heat for 1 minute for quick cooking oats and 2 minutes for old fashioned oats, and remove from heat. You set the timer for your minutes AFTER the mixture is begins a pretty rapid boil, and remove from heat IMMEDIATELY after the timer goes off. You will need a timer for best results, not just counting in your head. 

So many people make the mistake of setting the timer after all the ingredients are added or remove it from heat too soon. The boiling instructions are everything for perfect consistency. The types of oats also matter. See more information below in the full recipe card. 

No Bake Cookies Didn’t set up?

A common question after making no bake cookies is why didn’t my no bake oatmeal cookies harden? Will no bake cookies harden in the fridge? You can try to get them in harden in the fridge, but probably not. Putting them in the fridge speeds up the process, but if they are undercooked, they will not set up even in the fridge.

It is not a fail recipe. Something just happened along the way. There are plenty of reason why no bake cookies fail with very little ways to fix the problem once they are already on the wax paper. When no bake cookies won’t set, this means they should have been boiled longer. You will know this after 20 minutes of letting them set when they are still gooey to touch. You can try to put them in the fridge and see if that makes a difference. The most common issue is the boil time.

The opposite effect can also happen which covers the question of why are my no bake cookies dry. One reason could be too high of heat. You should never have the burner on high, only medium heat. If you are not paying attention and don’t catch the first few bubbles in the center of the pot and set the buzzer for 1 minute if using quick oats and 2 minutes of boil time if using old fashioned oats, then they will get dry and fall apart from the over boiling. The timer needs to be set when bubbles start forming in the center.

It is very easy to either under or over boil the cookies. Just like basketball or any other sport of always keeping your eye on the ball: with these cookies, keep your eye on the pot.

What to do with ruined cookies:

We have all been here before. Adding cookie crumbles to a bowl of ice cream or to a smoothie or malt is a way to salvage the cookies. If your cookies are gooey, you can always eat them with a spoon so your hands don’t get sticky.

How to store no bake cookies:

I put mine in an airtight container room temperature for about a week. These vanilla no bake cookies usually eat eaten up before then though because they are just that good. How long do no bake cookies last in the freezer? You can freeze these cookies in a freezer bag or a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

No Bake Cookies

No bake cookies can be difficult to make. Luckily, this recipe is for easy no bake cookies. Contrary to popular belief, you can use either quick or old fashioned oats in these no bake chocolate peanut butter cookies.

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 30 cookies

Calories 147 kcal

Recommended Products

medium sized pot

liquid measuring cup

tablespoon measure

dry measuring cups

wax paper

wooden spoon

rubber spatula

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• Dash of salt
• 3 cups old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats *see above note on cooking time*

Instructions

 

• Measure out peanut butter, vanilla, salt, and oats before doing anything else. Can place in a large bowl together or just leave in measuring cups to prepare for later. Also, place at least 3 feet of waxed paper or parchment paper on a hard surface such as a counter or table so the cookies will have a safe place to harden after being boiled. Doing both of these things will help save you the hassle later.
• In a large sauce pan over medium heat, start to melt the butter. Add in milk, cocoa powder, and sugar WHEN butter is about halfway melted. Keep stirring this sugar mixture constantly or else it could burn.
• When the mixture STARTS to boil(do not wait for a full rolling boil), set a timer for 2 minutes if using old fashioned oats, and 1 minute if using quick oats. Let it boil as you stir during those 1 or 2 minutes. As soon as the timer goes off, IMMEDIATELY shut the burner off and remove the pot from heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients (the ones you prepped in step one) quickly.
• Using a spoon and a spatula, scoop tablespoon sized cookies out onto the waxed paper you got out in step 1. Repeat until no more batter is left. These No Bake Cookies usually harden in about an hour and will be ready to eat when cooled and hard.

Notes

the debate on quick or old fashioned oats:

You can use either old fashioned or quick oats. For old fashioned, you would set the timer to let boil for 2 minutes. For quick, you would only let it boil for 1 minute. 

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcal

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All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. Nutritional facts listed are a rough estimate and should only be followed as a general idea.

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