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Stack of chocolate no-bake cookies on white plate with one cookie broken in half.

My Favorite Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

Yield: 16 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooling Time:: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup creamy natural or regular peanut butter (see note)
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • ¼ cup Dutch-process or natural, unsweetened cocoa powder (sift before adding if the cocoa powder is lumpy)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • ½ cup quick oats

Instructions 

  • Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a medium saucepan, add the peanut butter, coconut oil, honey and maple syrup. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbles just start to simmer on the bottom of the pan (don't let the mixture come to a boil).
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa powder, vanilla and salt until well-combined.
  • Add the oats and stir until evenly combined. Spoon or scoop the no-bake cookie batter into mounds on the prepared baking sheet. (I use a #40 cookie scoop.) Optional: lightly flatten the mounds with the back of the cookie scoop or spoon, if desired.
  • Place the pan in the fridge and let the cookies set up and cool, about an hour. The cookies can be enjoyed chilled or at room temperature keeping in mind that the cookies will soften quite a bit the longer they are at room temperature.

Notes

Peanut Butter: I've made these no-bake cookies with Trader Joe's creamy natural peanut butter (fairly runny in consistency) and also with Skippy creamy peanut butter (separate batches). Both work well in these cookies. Other varieties of peanut butter may produce slightly different results, especially if the natural peanut butter you are using is thick and stodgy. 
Coconut Oil: Butter can be substituted for the coconut oil.
Honey/Maple Syrup: I prefer the flavor and texture of the cookies using both honey and maple syrup; however, all of one or the other can be used. 
Oats: I highly recommend the combination of quick oats and whole oats for the best texture. If you only have old-fashioned rolled oats, coarsely blend 1/2 cup. 
Add-Ins: Other ingredients, like shredded coconut or chopped nuts can be added. For shredded coconut, decrease the old-fashioned rolled oats by the same amount of coconut added. For every 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or dried fruit, decrease the old-fashioned oats by 1/4 cup.