No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

• 2 Cups sugar
• 4 Tablespoons cocoa
• 1 Stick butter (1/2 Cup)
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 3 Cups quick oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon peanut butter (up to 1/2 Cup – Carlyn really likes peanut butter!)

Mix sugar, cocoa, oleo and milk in a 3-quart pot and bring to a boil.  Boil one minute.  Remove from heat and add rest of ingredients.  Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Cool completely before removing from waxed paper with pancake turner or spatula.

Makes about 30 cookies.

 

Vegan version was a fail.

For a Wiess cookout in 2023, I attempted to make these cookies vegan. It was a fail. The mixture would not hold together and I ended up with something that resembled granola.

However, they can be made with Gluten Free oatmeal. The milk can also be replaced with additional vegetable spread, peanut butter, and a little more vanilla. These cookies are more crumbly than the original version.

 

Lactose Free, Gluten Free Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

Ariana in my O-Week group says oatmeal is not an ideal substitute for wheat flour because it has some of the same characteristics.  But in a pinch, she can eat one of these.

• 2 Cups sugar
• 4 Tablespoons cocoa
• 2 Sticks (1 Cup) oleo-margarine like Parkay, Imperial, etc.; this is a vegetable-based spread easily found beside butter in the dairy aisle
• 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter, creamy, crunchy, or reduced fat
• 3 Cups Quaker Gluten Free quick oats
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

In a large pot (3 quarts or bigger) over medium heat, melt margarine completely.  Add peanut butter and combine thoroughly with the margarine before adding dry ingredients.  Mix in the sugar and cocoa, when combined, turn heat to high and and bring to a boil.  Stir constantly to prevent burning.  Boil one and a half to two minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  When the vanilla is mixed in, add the oats all at once then turn over and over with a spatula to thoroughly coat the oats with the chocolate mixture.  While still hot,  drop heaping Tablespoons of the cookie dough onto waxed paper or parchment paper.  Cool completely before removing from waxed paper with pancake turner.