Easy No Bake Cookies

4.97 from 182 votes
165 Comments

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No Bake Cookies are a great way to save time and money when you’re looking for an easy dessert. They’re also a great option if you don’t have access to an oven and they’re also perfect for last-minute get-togethers.

Plate of Easy No Bake Cookies next to a glass of milk and cookies on the table.

No Bake Cookies are super easy to make and customize with your favorite add-ins. Whether it’s nuts or raisins, or just plain chocolate chips, these cookies aren’t fussy about what goes into them!

If you want to keep your No Bake Cookies fresher for longer, you’ll need to know how long they’ll last in the fridge, or how long they can be frozen before they start going stale. We’ve put together a list of tips on how to store and how to freeze No Bake Cookies so you can enjoy them for as long as possible!

Easy No Bake Cookies

No Bake Cookies are such a yummy treat to make when you’re pressed for time or just want a little something sweet right now. Our easy no bake cookies recipe is made with simple pantry ingredients, like creamy peanut butter and quick-cooking oats, and they come together in under 15 minutes. My kids love them as an after-school snack with a tall glass of cold milk. My husband whips them up on a lazy weekend afternoon as we’re playing board games or watching movies. And no bake means you don’t need to heat up the house with your oven. Just a little stove top stirring and you’re done!

Ingredients Needed for No Bake Cookies

Chances are, you have every ingredient you need to whip up a batch of our no bake cookies right now! Here’s all you need:

  • Butter â€“ I like to use real butter, unsalted, to cut down on sodium, but you can use margarine, coconut oil, or whatever you have on hand.
  • White Sugar regular granulated sugar helps the cookies set up nicely.
  • Milk â€“ skim or whole milk work great as dairy options!
  • Cocoa powder unsweetened powder or Dutch-press cocoa.
  • Vanilla extract – just a teaspoon vanilla extract adds a rich depth of flavor to the cookies.
  • Creamy Peanut Butter â€“ for extra texture, you can try crunchy peanut butter too.
  • Rolled oats – use quick-cooking oats for best results. You can use old fashioned oats, but they will work best in this recipe if slightly blended into smaller pieces.
  • Salt â€“ a dash of regular or kosher salt will enhance the flavor of the chocolate mixture.
Bowl of oatmeal, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, butter, cocoa and milk to make No Bake Cookies.


How To Store No Bake Cookies

  1. No bake cookies do not NEED to be refrigerated, but they can be if you prefer. Refrigerator space is sparse in my house, so I like to just keep them on the counter in a large, airtight Tupperware.
  2. To keep them from sticking together, place the cookies on a single layer in the container, then add a layer of wax or parchment paper over the top before adding the next layer of cookies.
  3. You can store no bake cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in an airtight container before they start losing quality.

How to Freeze No Bake Cookies

Yes, you can freeze no bake cookies! Just spoon out the mixture on a large prepared baking sheet with a cookie scoop and place the cookies in the freezer until frozen (one to two hours).

Once frozen, place them in an airtight container or a Ziplock bag and freeze for up to two months. To thaw, just place cookies in a single layer on a pan at room temperature until thawed and ready to eat.

Cookie sheet with five warm Easy No Bake Cookies next to a cookie scoop full of dough.
  • When boiling the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa you want to make sure to boil it long enough that the no bake cookies will set up properly, but not too long or the cookies will turn out dry, hard, and crumbly. Follow the directions in the recipe card below for the perfect cooking times.
  • Try to avoid switching out ingredients in our no-bake cookies. Many recipes can swap out sugar for sugar substitutes, but these cookies need the real thing to cook up right. Everything in moderation, right? Enjoy a cookie and eat a salad later.
  • If you do want to add a little something extra, you could toss in chopped nuts, coconut, or even mini chocolate candies to give the no bake cookies an extra dimension.
  • Quick oats work best in this no-bake cookie recipe. You can use old fashioned oats, but they don’t cook as quickly so the texture will be a little off. To avoid this, blend old fashioned oats for a few seconds in the blender. The smaller oats will cook and taste better for these cookies.
  • Store these cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to a week. They freeze beautifully for up to three months.
  • Each no bake cookie should be about a tablespoon or so. You can use a regular spoon or a cookie scoop to make perfectly sized no bake oatmeal cookies.
Large plate of Easy No Bake Cookies with a glass of milk.

Frequently Asked Questions for No Bake Cookies

Are no bake cookies gluten-free?

They are gluten-free as long as you use gluten-free oats. Not ALL oats are GF so be SURE to check the packaging before preparing for someone who can’t have gluten. Otherwise, all the other ingredients are gluten-free and you are good to go!

Why do my no-bake cookies never harden?

This happens when the sugar/butter mixture isn’t boiled long enough. It should be at a full boil for one minute. Make sure you allow the cookies to cool for a full 30 minutes. You can chill the cookies after this to help them harden if needed.

What happens if you boil no-bake cookies too long?

You will have the opposite result, the cookies will be hard and crumbly. The boiling time needs to be exact for the best result.

More No Bake Recipes

When you’re looking to whip up something quick without the oven, yet still wow guests with gorgeous treats, we have more no bake recipes to choose from! Here are a few of our favorites:

How to Make No Bake Cookies

Cooled Easy No Bake Cookies on a cookie sheet.

No Bake Cookies

4.97 from 182 votes
Easy No Bake Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Be sure to follow the recipe exactly to get the best result.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Cooling time 15 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Servings 30 cookies

Video

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Measure out oats, peanut butter, and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Don't mix.
    Bowl of oatmeal, peanut butter and vanilla to make No Bake Cookies.
  • Mix butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa together in a heavy saucepan and bring to a full boil. Allow to boil for one full minute (set a timer). Remove from heat.
    Pan of chocolate mixture with a wooden spoon to make No Bake Cookies.
  • Quickly stir in the rolled oats, peanut butter, and vanilla.
    Pan with mixture of chocolate and oatmeal to make No Bake Cookies. Wooden spoon is on the side.
  • Drop by spoonfuls or cookie scoop onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or wax paper as quickly as possible. Cool 20-30 minutes.
    Cookie sheet with five warm Easy No Bake Cookies next to a cookie scoop full of dough.

Notes

Recipe tips:

  • Measure ingredients exactly to get best results.
  • Watch boiling time carefully to get best results.
  • Use a quality unsweetened cocoa powder for a rich chocolate flavor.
  • Any nut butter can be substituted for peanut butter.
  • Optional additions: ¼ cup coconut, chocolate chips, chopped nuts.
  • Store no bake cookies at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in an airtight container.
  • Place cookies in an airtight container or a Ziplock bag and freeze for up to two months.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 142kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 3gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 45mgPotassium: 76mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 102IUCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I am confused where you say “How To Store No Bake Cookies”….what do you mean STORE! I can eat a whole batch in one sitting! There is never any storing!

  2. 5 stars
    My family has made no-bakes for years! My dad was in charge when I was younger. I taught my hubby to make them now! Try the special dark cocoa from Hershey’s! We had to one night because we had run out of the regular unsweetened. Now we swap or even use half and half of the two!

  3. My mom has made these cookies since before I can remember. They are always favorites at bake sales and/or dessert auctions. This recipe is almost exactly like hers, but it asks for too many oats. 3 cups is just the right amount. And I’m not sure why is says to boil the oat mixture after it is all mixed. Not necessary at all! Creamy or crunchy peanut butter works and I use premium bakers cocoa. We flatten them out just a bit like regular cookies.

  4. 5 stars
    I don’t make enough no bake cookies. This one looks so simple and delicious! Bookmarked for the summer, for when it is WAYYY too hot to turn on the over 😉

  5. 5 stars
    No bake cookies always remind me of my grandma, she always makes them and sends them home with us when we come visit. They are always a favorite cookie of mine!

  6. I went bye the book on this recipe an my cookies did not come out like your picture! These cookies are peanut butter no bakes! Not chocolate no baked! They are peanut butter color not the color like I make, so redue your posting to the right accurate picture of what they will look like, not what you say they will look like, they don’t taste like classic no bakes..

    1. I am sorry yours didn’t turn out! It sounds like you may have left out the cocoa powder. The cocoa powder is what gives the cookies that dark brown color and the chocolatey taste. Your cocoa powder may also be expired! That happened to me once. I made a chocolate cake with expired cocoa and it didn’t taste chocolatey at all!

  7. 5 stars
    Has anyone tried Stevia in place of sugar?.
    My mom was keeping 3 of her grands, one being about a year old, while their mother was out shopping. The mom brought two caramelized suckers for the two older girls….nothing for the baby. Evidently the mom was not thinking or thinking the baby was asleep. To stop the baby from crying, the grandmother said I’ll make you something better than the sucker. After tasting these the baby stopped crying and the older girls laid the suckers down in preference of these. The girls still remember the time and continued making these.

    1. haha I like these cookies better than suckers too! These kids have good taste 😉 I haven’t used Stevia in place of sugar for this recipe. If you have had success using Stevia in other cookie recipes, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it! Sorry this wasn’t much help! If you try it let us know how they turn out!

    2. 5 stars
      I’m 71 and my Grandmother and mother made these a lot, My sister and myself and our six daughters continue to make these (same recipe) in the summer for camping, for birthday treats, for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone needs a little healthy chocolate treat for any occasion. Don’t you agree 💗💗💗
      Grama Debbie

  8. 5 stars
    I make these occasionally and always for Christmas. Your recipe is exactly the one my mom gave me years ago, even down to the 1 minute boil.

    I see a lot of posts about substituting for this ingredient or that. One thing I’ve learned about cooking is when a recipe works (and this one works) there is a certain science to it that determines the outcome. This recipe is actually a candy to me, and when you understand the chemical reaction that occurs based on the butter sugar milk and boil, (you’re actually boiling it to softball stage) you then understand how fickle the recipe can be. So don’t mess with the ingredients or instructions with this one!

  9. 5 stars
    I’ve had this recipe for years and haven’t made this in long time. My recipe is called Scotties. I bet it would be good with white chocolate, but would change the color. You could also add nuts

  10. Regular (sweetened) cocoa or unsweetened? Most recipes for these cookies say Unsweetened but I only have regular and your’s didn’t specify. I’m going to give it a shot. Wonder if I should lessen the sugar by a half cup just in case. Any ideas anyone? 🙂

    1. 5 stars
      I used a little less sugar not a lot 1/2 cup because of all the sugar in peanut butter followed directions to the T unsalted buterr a must

    1. We haven’t substituted with honey before, I am not sure if it would work.. but you can definitely try it and let us know how it turns out!

  11. Would love to make these, Is this an American measurement for all ingredients, not sure what a stick of butter is equivalent to ,I’m in Australia,would I have to convert the whole recepie?

  12. 5 stars
    Love these. I no long drop mine wax paper ,I just pour them in a 9 x 13 and cut them with a pizza cutter. Les time~~~ 😉

  13. 5 stars
    We have always made them with 1/4 cup shortening (Crisco) instead of butter. Tried them with butter a few times but we didn’t think that they were as good.

    1. I’ve never tried these cookies with shortening. Thank you for your comment – I’ll try it next time.