These Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies are more peanut butter-y, chocolate-y, healthier & easier than other no bake cookie recipes! Perfect for the holidays, or as a simple & quick dessert with my roasted vegetable kale salad or my sweet kale salad.
As much as I love my own cookie recipes – namely my healthier sugar cookie recipe, chewy gingersnap cookies, and the classic healthier chocolate chip cookies – sometimes I just don’t feel like baking!
Or more lately, I don’t have the TIME to bake!
That’s why everyone needs a tested, proven and loved no bake cookie recipe… like this one I’m sharing today!
Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
I’ve shared a no bake cookie recipe with you before, and that cookie is indeed delicious!
But the one I’m sharing today is a bit different… it’s:
- More peanut butter-y
- More chocolate-y
- Less work
- More addicting!
- More classic!
This recipe is similar to the classic no bake cookies, but I made a few minor twists so that it’s just a bit healthier (and hopefully offers less guilt for eating a handful off the pan!)
Ingredients for Peanut Butter No Bake Cookie Recipe
You only need a few staple ingredients for this peanut butter no bake cookie recipe, and you probably already have them in your pantry!
- Butter
- Sugar (I recommend coconut sugar)
- Cocoa
- Milk (any kind)
- Vanilla
- Peanut butter (any kind)
- Quick oats (not traditional rolled oats)
- Salt (optional)
How to Make this No Bake Cookie Recipe
This recipe comes together CRAZY fast, perfect for satisfying your cookie cravings!
- Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan.
- Add the vanilla, peanut butter and oats and stir well.
- Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet and let the cookies cool.
That’s it! You can enjoy them as they cool off and set on the pan, or you can place the dough in the fridge so they set quicker.
Tips for Making Healthy No Bake Cookies
- You can use natural peanut butter! Most no bake recipes that call for peanut butter REQUIRE that you use conventional peanut butter because natural peanut butter tends to be more oily. I found that with this recipe and my method, you can use natural peanut butter without any problems!
- Use quick oats, not traditional rolled oats. Quick oats are essentially traditional rolls oats that have been chopped up into smaller pieces. We need the small pieces for the cookie to hold it shape, so if you don’t have quick oats, give your rolled oats a quick pulse or two in a food process or blender so that they’re smaller.
- Make sure you DON’T STIR the butter/sugar mixture when it’s boiling. When sugar boils – undisturbed – it goes through the sugar syrup stages. By NOT STIRRING, you’re making sure your cookie hardens properly in the end.
A few things could go wrong, but if you stir your natural peanut butter well, measure everything correctly, let the sugar boil for a full minute and DON’T STIR it as it cooks, your cookies will harden properly!
There’s no real “fix” for this, other than to store them in the fridge or freezer. They should still taste amazing though!
At room temperature, no bake cookies will last 1-3 days. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to one week, or the freezer for 3-6 months (if they last that long!)
Other Easy Cookie Recipes
- No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
- Healthy No Bake Cookie
- Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie
- Molasses Breakfast Cookies
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These chocolate peanut butter no bake cookies are more peanut butter-y, chocolate-y, healthier & easier than other no bake cookie recipes!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar (I recommend coconut sugar)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder (I recommend raw cacao powder)
- ½ cup milk (dairy or non-dairy is fine)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 3 cups instant quick oats
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with a silpat mat.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup of butter, 1 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir often to melt and combine the ingredients.
- When the butter has melted, bring the mixture JUST to a boil and let the mixture boil undisturbed for one full minute. Use a kitchen timer!
- When the timer beeps, remove the pan from the heat and add 1 tsp of vanilla, 2/3 cup of peanut butter and 3 cups of oats. Stir well until everything is combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop either 1 or 2 scoops per cookie directly onto the cookie sheet, leaving 2-3” between each cookie. The cookies will spread slightly upon scooping, but they will stop spreading as they cool to room temperature.
- When the cookies have cooled completely, store in a sealed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Notes
For longer storage, freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet for one hour and remove the cookies to a freezer-safe container. Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
I don’t use dairy…could I use coconut oil for the butter?
You could, it will not be exactly like our cookies, Kristina.