This has been a rough week and I’m thinking that whipping up a batch of no bake cookies will help me destress and unwind. In the dog days of summer, just the thought of turning on the oven can make me wilt. Yes, turning on a heating element on the stove is required to produce these tasty nuggets, but the heat that puts off does not compare to firing up the oven. This time next year will be a different story because the house we are building will have an awesome vent system that will whisk the heat away before it can escape into the room. Yes, next summer, I will be baking in August! Until then, it’s stove top cooking for me.
A Cookie By Another Name
Whether they are called no bake cookies, boiled cookies, or preacher cookies, the recipes are typically pretty similar and equally as yummy.
I just recently heard these delectable delights of Reese’s cup meets oatmeal cookie called “preacher cookies” and wondered where that name came from. This is what I found on Hillbilly Housewife:
“It got it’s name because it could be prepared quickly when a housewife looked out her window and saw the preacher riding up the mountain on his horse. By the time the preacher arrived, the cookies were cooling.”
To see step by step photographs of to make the recipe below, as well as read about how I turned no bake cookies into dinosaur food, visit the dinosaur food link.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 3 cups oats
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- dash of salt
Directions
- Cut butter into pieces. Place first four ingredients into a heavy pot.
- Place pot on stove. Use medium high heat to bring ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the pot is at a rolling boil*, boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, & salt until smooth. Stir in oats.
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. It may seem very loose at first, but it will thicken as it cools.
- Once the mixture has cooled long enough, use a medium cookie scoop or spoon to scoop cookies onto parchment paper.
*rolling boil is a boil that cannot be stirred down. In other words, it continues to boil as you stir.
