No-Bake Cookies Revisited — with a Nut-free Variation

No Bake Cookies
No Bake Cookies

This was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and it’s also really fast if you were  supposed to bring something to a potluck/holiday party/family dinner and maybe you didn’t get it together because the holiday season is so crazy and if you have to find time to do one more thing you’re going to go off your head.  Not that I’ve been there (repeatedly) or anything.

No Bake Cookies

  • 1/4 cup of evaporated rice milk (there are two ways to make this at home using either rice milk or rice powder to be explained below or, if you can have and/or like soy, you can use soy creamer).
  • 1 stick of Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks (if you can have soy) or 1/2 cup of Earth Balance Soy Free Natural Buttery Spread (if you can’t have soy and/or flax).
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup of crunchy peanut butter (see Nut-free sunbutter variation below)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (if you’re out of vanilla and desperate, Goslings Black Seal Rum works nicely too).
  • 1 3/4 cups to 2 cups of quick oats (get certified gluten free if you need them gluten free).

This makes about 12 cookies about two inches across.

First, you need to make yourself some evaporated rice milk.

Method 1: You can take unsweetened rice milk (or other unsweetened alternative milk product of your choice) and measure out 1/2 a cup into a very small sauce pan.  Place it over medium heat and stir frequently until it has reduced in half. (You could make more than you need and keep in the fridge for other holiday baking).

Method 2 (and the one I used): Put 1 1/2 Tablespoons of rice milk powder in a glass measuring cup.  Pour boiling water into the glass measuring cup until it measures 1/4 of a cup of milk powder and water.  Whisk powder and water together until well combined.

Thanks to Alisa Fleming’s Go Dairy Free cookbook for both of these options.  For most baking you would need to wait for the resulting evaporated rice milk cooled, but not for this recipe.

Melt the Earth Balance in a 4 quart pan.  Once it has melted completely, add the sugar, evaporated milk, and the cocoa powder.  Stir mixture to incorporate all the ingredients completely, and bring the mixture to a boil for one minute, continuing to stir frequently.  Remove the pan from the heat, and add the peanut butter and vanilla.  Stir until the peanut butter, except the crunchy bits have dissolved into the mixture.  Add the oats and mix thoroughly.  Cover cutting board or a cookie sheet with wax paper.  Using spoon, portion out the mixture into two inch wide cookies on the cookie sheet and let them harden for at least 10 minutes.  I cheat and do it in the fridge, they harden faster. Or just skip the cookie part and eat them out of the pan.  I’m not here to judge.

Enjoy 🙂

NUT-FREE Sunbutter Variation!

  • 1/2 cup soy-free Earth Balance
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup evaporated rice milk
  • 1/2 cup crunchy Sunbutter or other sunflower seed butter
  • 2 1/4 cup quick oats
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 — 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  • Generous pinch of salt (less than 1/4 teaspoon)
  • Follow the directions above.
Sunbutter No-Bake Cookies
Sunbutter No-Bake Cookies

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