Today I have given a little makeover to one of my all-time favorite recipes–No-Bake Cookies! My mom’s recipe is seriously THE BEST. Yes, I do think that about many of her recipes. Because it’s true! I’ve had lots of other no-bake cookies and people have no idea there is an exact time they need to boil otherwise you get dry, crumbly, icky no-bakes. Such a shame. Luckily my mom’s recipe uses the perfect ingredients and method and they are no-fail every time.
Like I said, I gave them a makeover…a healthy makeover. I was curious if altering the recipe with alternative ingredients would yield the same delicious cookie I grew up loving and eating way too many of in one sitting. Off to experiment land I went! I wanted them to be dairy-free because we don’t drink cow’s milk or eat cow products in our household unless it’s organic butter or Greek yogurt, so I used almond milk and coconut oil. I knew it could be tricky because coconut oil will only firm up according to the temperature in your house so these cookies needed a little help in that department. You must keep them in the refrigerator or freezer after they are done or you’ll have a sticky mess! But we LOVE them cold, straight from the freezer.
Other changes I made were using a reduced amount of sucanat in place of the refined sugar. It gave the cookies an amazingly rich, dark chocolatey, fudge taste. I also used organic peanut butter and thick-rolled organic oats. Very small changes but they make a world of difference in the nutritional content of the finished product. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t eat five of these at once because they’re “healthy” or replace your daily fruit servings with a bunch of cookies! They still have sugar after all, just not refined, processed sugar. Which is a GOOD thing. These are still meant to be an indulgence, but one you can feel pretty good about. Jeremy and I both love them so much…maybe better than the original! Just don’t tell my mom!
Enjoy!
- 3 c. Sucanat
- ⅔ c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 c. Unsweetened, Regular Almond Milk
- ¾ c. Organic Coconut Oil
- 4 c. Thick-Cut, Rolled Oats
- 2 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 c. Organic Peanut Butter (I use one that is only peanuts and sea salt)
- Line two large baking sheets with foil.
- In a large saucepan, combine sucanat, almond milk, cocoa and coconut oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute and 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Quickly stir in oats and drop by large spoonfuls onto the baking sheets. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and then place the pans in freezer for about 10 minutes to firm the cookies completely. Store in an air-tight container in the freezer or refrigerator (we like ours really cold from the freezer).
They were absolutely delish…My Grand kids said that they just the kind in the store bakery….I will take that compliment! Thanks.
Sylvia, you know they are good if grand kids approve! 🙂