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No bake cookie with peanut butter frosting and ganache with bite taken out.

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeye Cookies

Yield: 24 -36 cookies
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients

No-Bake Cookies:

  • ½ cup (113 g) (8 tablespoons) butter (I use salted)
  • 1 ½ cup (318 g) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup milk
  • ⅓ cup (28 g) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup (53 g) packed light brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (191 g) creamy peanut butter
  • 3 cups (300 g) quick oats (see note)

Peanut Butter Frosting:

  • ¼ cup (57 g) (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
  • ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups (143 g) powdered sugar
  • Pinch salt

Chocolate Ganache:

  • ¾ cups (128 g) chocolate chips, semisweet or bittersweet
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream

Instructions 

  • Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • For the cookies, in a medium saucepan, add the butter, granulated sugar, milk, cocoa powder, brown sugar, and salt.
  • Set the pan over medium-low heat and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring gently (not vigorously) to make sure it doesn't stick. Once boiling, stop stirring, and cook for 60-90 seconds.
  • Remove from the heat and add the vanilla and peanut butter, stirring slowly until smooth. Add the oats and stir until combined.
  • Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough into mounds on the baking sheets. Let cool for a few minutes and pat into round balls/circles. Press a divot into the center of each mound so it looks like a cute little chocolate nest.
  • For the peanut butter frosting, in a medium bowl using a handheld electric mixer (or in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), cream together the butter, peanut butter, and vanilla until creamy and smooth.
  • Add the powdered sugar and salt and mix until well-combined and creamy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time and continue mixing if the frosting is too thick.
  • For the chocolate ganache, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat the cream to a simmer and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Stir with a rubber spatula until glossy and smooth. Let cool until room temperature.
  • Dollop peanut butter frosting (about a tablespoon) into the center of each no-bake cookie. (The frosting can be smoothed out with lightly wet fingertips.)
  • Spread a spoonful of the cooled chocolate ganache on top of the peanut butter frosting.
  • Chill cookies until ready to serve (up to 24 hours in advance). Serve the cookies chilled or at room temperature.

Notes

Oats: quick oats work best in this recipe. Old-fashioned rolled oats or steel cut oats won't work in this recipe (the texture will be too chunky and piece-y).
No-Bake Cookies: sometimes no-bake cookies can turn out grainy and/or gritty. To help prevent this, don't stir once the mixture comes to a boil. Also, when adding the peanut butter and oats, stir gently (not vigorously) and don't scrape the sides of the pan.