Classic No-Bake Cookies (Gluten Free + Dairy-Free Friendly!)

Classic No Bake Cookies – This childhood classic brings big-time chocolate peanut butter flavor without any baking! (Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free Friendly)

No-bake cookies are one of my childhood favorites.

I love that they’re easy to make (no baking!), use minimal butter (just 2 Tbsp.!), and don’t require any flour or eggs. They’re the perfect chocolate peanut butter cookie AND they’re done in no time!

I’ve eaten LOTS of versions of no-bake cookies over the years, but these Classic No Bake Cookies are the ones my mom always made for us. I LOVE them and feel so nostalgic whenever we make them.

This is–by far–the best no-bake cookie recipe I’ve ever tried. And here’s all you need to make them…

HERE’S WHAT GOES INTO MY MOM’S CLASSIC NO-BAKE COOKIES

BUTTER OR VEGAN BUTTER. I love that these no-bake cookies only use 2 Tbsp. of butter or vegan butter. They’re great when you’re running low on butter! (In a pinch, I’ve also used coconut oil)

UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER. It’s amazing how much chocolatey flavor you can get from unsweetened cocoa powder!

SUGAR. These are a childhood classic, so they haven’t been “healthified.” I like using 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 coconut sugar, but I don’t recommend using all coconut sugar, as they won’t set up the same.

MILK OR DAIRY FREE MILK. A little milk helps loosen up the mixture. You can use dairy-free or dairy milk–your choice!

PEANUT BUTTER. Unless you have strong objections, use crunchy peanut butter. It adds one more delicious dimension to classic no-bake cookies that you just don’t get from smooth. (But honestly, smooth totally works. Just use what you have!)

VANILLA + SALT. You’ll round out the flavor of these classic no-bake cookies with a little vanilla and salt. LOVE what these bring to the table!

OATS. Lastly, you’ll add rolled/old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats to the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. My favorite is to use 1/2 rolled oats and 1/2 quick-cooking oats. (Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats, if needed!)

TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST CLASSIC NO-BAKE COOKIES. 

PREP EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU GET STARTED. Things go pretty quickly once you get started, so I recommend prepping and setting out your baking sheet and ingredients before you get going. That way you’re not scrambling later!

WATCH THE PAN SO YOU DON’T OVER-COOK THE MIXTURE. It’s important to watch the chocolate mixture while you’re stirring so it doesn’t start boiling before you notice. You *really* only want the mixture to boil for about 1 minute. Any longer than that and the cookies will turn out dry and a little crumbly.

CONSIDER A COOKIE SCOOP. Cookie scoops make it really easy to measure equal-sized cookies. But using a tablespoon (like the kind you eat cereal and soup with), also works!

LOOKING FOR A HEALTHIER OPTION? You can do 1/2 coconut sugar and 1/2 white sugar in this recipe, but I don’t recommend doing all coconut sugar as the cookies won’t set properly. Or, you can try this Healthy No-Bake Cookie recipe (naturally sweetened)

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