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The second day of September and people are dreaming of cooler weather and beginning to bake cookies, breads, and all the pumpkin things! I am over here sharing no bake chocolate cookies as my effort to squeeze in one more summer inspired recipe.
As you know, turning my oven on during the summer is something I try my best to avoid, that’s when these no bake chocolate cookies come into play. No oven needed. All you do is boil some of the ingredients for 3 minutes, exactly and then stir in the crunchy stuff.
These cookies come from my Mother-in-law, who makes THE BEST cookies EVER!!!
Seriously, you guys, her chocolate chip cookies are amazing. It’s literally impossible to only have one. My husband was sad to hear me say that I don’t think I will ever attempt to re create her chocolate chip cookies. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Not that these particular cookies of hers were broken. They were always super delicious, but I knew I could put my own little healthier twist on them while maintaining their intention and flavor. A no bake chocolate cookie that’s crunchy and full of fiber.
My Mother-in-law, Dianne, grew up on a farm where they would make these no bake chocolate cookies weekly as a quick and easy way to fuel their bodies after a long day of working on the farm. I can see why because, they come together rather quickly, about 20 minutes of active time, and they make a large batch, 28 to 30 cookies – they had a lot of hungry mouths to feed.
Dianne kept making these cookies once she had mouths of her own to feed. She was the first one to introduce these type of no bake cookies to me. She would tell me that she “boiled” them, and for some reason I would picture little balls of batter being dropped into boiling water…which made no sense to me. For some reason it took me a few times before I asked her to clarify what she meant when she said she boiled the cookies.
No pots of boiling water are involved lol.
What you do is melt the butter with a little milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in a sauce pan. Then you bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer the mixture for Exactly 3 minutes. Remove from the stove and stir in the remaining ingredients. Then you scoop and drop the cookies onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and chill in the fridge or freezer.
See? Fast!
And because I had to work so fast when making these cookies I didn’t get a chance to snap photos of the steps of simmering, and stirring in the remaining ingredients. You see, I have to walk my food from my kitchen, though my dining room, and into my living room where I have the ideal windows to photograph. Sometimes this is challenging when timing is essential.
Someone please get me a studio kitchen to work in with lots of counter space and large windows near by so that I don’t have to do the kitchen to living room run around with a bot pan of boiled sugar and butter in my hands?
Soon. Dreams do come true!
Anyways!
I know you will love these no bake chocolate cookies. They are packed with fiber from oats, and brown rice crispy cereal, which also make them chewy and crunchy. They are melt-in-your-mouth chocolate-y, and just a little bit rich.
They actually remind me of a crunch bar. You know? The chocolate with the crunchy rice cereal baked inside? Like if crunch bars were to have a baby with an oatmeal cookie. Yup, that pretty much sums it up!
As I said I tweaked Dianne’s original recipe to make these no bake chocolate cookies a little healthier, and so they would fit the niche of the blog.
I used a bit of maple syrup, which meant I reduced the milk a little to even out the wet ingredients. I swapped granulated sugar for coconut sugar, and I added a little extra chocolate-y goodness by melting some dark chocolate into the batter. I also swapped regular rice crispy cereal for brown rice crispy cereal for more fiber.
There is peanut butter in these no bake chocolate cookies, but you don’t really taste it, so as I stated in the notes of the recipe you can swap the peanut butter for any kind of other nut butter or seed butter you want. Making these the perfect cookies to pack for a nice treat in school lunches or work, or to make for a crowd.
I hope you enjoy these no bake chocolate cookies as much as we do. They are perfect for summertime when you don’t want to turn on your oven, but let’s be honest who wouldn’t want a crunchy chocolate cookie any time of the year?!
They would also be a great cookie to make for parties when you have a lot of guests, Christmas cookie exchanges, or just when you want to have a lot of delicious, slightly healthier chocolate cookies on hand.
Go ahead, go to your kitchen and get baking. I mean, not baking….cause these are no bake cookies!
CELEBRATE that it’s still officially summer with another cookie. Why not?
Hey, if you make these cookies do me a favor and leave a comment and a star rating down below. It makes me smile, and helps my recipes to rank higher in google. Also, if you share these cookies with friends you should share this recipe with them so that they can make them for their family. Sharing is caring! Thanks friends!
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Crunchy No Bake Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 4 mins
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 28 to 30 cookies 1x
- Category: dessert, chocolate, no bake
- Method: easy, boil
- Cuisine: gluten free, vegetarian
Description
Crunchy no bake chocolate cookies are the perfect recipe for when you don’t want to turn on the oven. They are a little chewy, a lot crunchy, and melt-in-your-mouth good.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or sub agave nectar or honey)
- 1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup natural chunky peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Scant 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped (I used 72% )
- 2 cups unsweetened brown rice crispy cereal (make sure it’s gluten free, if needed)
- 2 cups rolled oats (gluten free, if needed)
Instructions
- Prepare: Line one extra large baking sheet (or two regular large ones) with parchment paper or a silpat mat, set aside. Get all of the ingredients measured out as instructed above and ready to go – these cookies go fast and timing is key so you need to have the ingredients waiting for you.
- Melt: Place the butter, milk, and maple syrup in a medium sauce pot. Turn the heat on medium and stir until the butter is melted.
- Simmer: Add the coconut sugar, salt, and cocoa powder – whisk until no more lumps remain. Turn the heat up to high until it reaches a boil. Reduce to a simmer and allow it to simmer for exactly 3 minutes. Timing is important here, if you let it boil too long the cookies crumble and if you don’t let it simmer long enough they won’t set up right – so set a timer. Once the timer has gone off immediately remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir: Once the pot is off the heat immediately stir in the peanut butter, vanilla extract, chopped chocolate, rolled oats, and rice cereal and stir until everything is well incorporated.
- Scoop: once everything is mixed use a small cookie scoop, or two spoons to form (about 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls) and drop them onto the cookie sheet. Once you have worked through all the dough, if the cookies are kind of falling apart you can use your fingers, once they have cooled enough to touch, but are still warm, to gently pack them into better shaped mounds.
- Chill: Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 20 minutes, or in the fridge for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cookies are set.
- Eat/Store: Once chilled you can either serve the cookies immediately or store them in an air tight container for 3 to 4 days. They do tend to loose their crunch as they sit, so they are best within the first 2 to 3 days.
Notes
Dairy free/vegan: To make these cookies dairy free/vegan stick with almond milk, or other non dairy milk, use vegan chocolate, and swap the butter with coconut oil. I have not tested them using coconut oil, so I can’t say for sure that they will work, but I imagine that they will. Or you can try using vegan butter.
Peanut butter: You can swap any kind of nut butter or seed butter you like here. You don’t taste the peanut butter in the cookies so I think anything would work.
I have this huge urge for some tasty bites right now!
Glad the cookies sound good to you. 🙂