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| Nancy's Not Very Quiet No Bake (left) Emily's Whipple-Scrumptious No Bake (right) |
At my no-longer-new job, it's my turn to be birthday treat girl tomorrow. I got my assignment in January and was so excited I consulted the Dec. 6 birthday person right away to find out what sorts of treats he liked so I could put this in the reminder on my calendar. Without hesitation, he said "no-bake cookies."
(And before anyone gets any ideas, the birthday person is a very nice, very married man. Being the birthday treat person is kind of a big deal in our office - and this is my first time not-cooking for my co-workers.)
Seriously? NO-bake? I had a distant memory of sampling this type of cookie in the 70s or 80s. But in all the thousands of cookies I have baked in my life, I don't think I ever made the no-bake variety. Well then. I asked around the office to see if anyone had a favorite recipe. Apparently, there was a no-bake-off some years ago and several people brought in cookies. There was reminiscing. But no sharing. My copy director told me that she hadn't made no-bakes since her daughter was little. She called them "quiet cookies" because they were the only ones she didn't use the mixer for so could whip up a batch during naptime. I just love that.
So I started researching - months ago, really. I discovered so many recipes, all similar, that I shelved my research until the last minute, figuring it would be a no-brainer. I'd just get the ingredients, then close my eyes, pick one of the ubiquitous recipes and make a few minor modifications to Nancy-fy. They'd be the best darned no-bake cookies ever. Most call for 1/2 cup butter, 2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup of milk. Then things started to vary. 2 T cocoa (that just sounded too light on the chocolatey-ness). 1/2 cup peanut butter. 1 cup. 2 cups oats. 3-1/2 cups. Quick cooking oats? Old-fashioned? Oh dear! Then there were the variations with evaporated milk and margarine (oh my, no), coconut, nuts and other crunchy bits ... Of course, if I were making these for my family, there would be nuts. But I wanted these to be "traditional." Then I read one recipe that used 1-3/4 cups brown sugar. The rationale was that it was less sugar but a richer taste. Hmm. I liked that. So I thought I'd compromise.
Well, class. Here's what I did:
Recipe 1 (Nancy's Not Very Quiet Cookies)
In heavy saucepan, melt together:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups sugar (I modified: 1 cup brown, 1/2 cup white)
1/4 cup cocoa (I used 5-6 tablespoons)
1/2 cup milk
(I melted the butter, then added the other ingredients and whisked together. Not sure if that matters. I watched a video where the cook just dumped everything in all at once.)
Boil for 1 minute (start timer after a rolling boil begins)
Remove from heat. Stir in:
1 cup peanut butter (I got Simply Jif - the less-salt, less-sugar kind, which was kind of blah by itself but I thought would be fine in the company of all that butter and sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats (I used old-fashioned)
I had covered the counter in wax paper during the butter-melting stage so it was ready to go right after the boiling, etc. I started plopping out my tablespoons of hot gloopy cookie mush right away.
Result: Very soft (but very dark and rich cookie with definite peanut buttery flavor). After about an hour and no signs of setting up, I slid the cookie-covered wax paper onto cookie sheets and put them in the fridge.
Then continued to research. I read that many people cool the stuff first. Some even chill it. Did I cook it too long? Not long enough? It's definitely not too humid. I was still trying to figure out what I did wrong when my friend Deb popped up on Facebook chat like she KNEW I was having an culinary emergency. Deb to the rescue!
She had three recipes from her son's third-grade cookbook ("Whipple-Scrumptious Chocolate Favorites" - how incredibly cute is that?) and all three called for less peanut butter than I'd used in Recipe 1. Most other quantities were the same. So I chose the one with more cocoa and more oats.
Recipe 2 is Emily's from Whipple-Scrumptious
In heavy saucepan, melt together:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
Boil for 1 minute (start timer after a rolling boil begins)
Remove from heat. Stir in:
1/2 cup peanut butter (used Simply Jif again)
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats (old-fashioned again)
This time, I allowed the stuff to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. I think. I was writing and almost forgot about it. It was definitely a stiffer dough.
Result: Slightly crumblier cookie with smooth, fudgy flavor and only the merest hint of peanut butter. Set up into cookie form in less than 30 minutes.
Now I have to decide if I should make a batch without peanut butter. Just in case. Oh dear. I don't think I'm going to the grocery store tonight. I gotta wash dishes! Does anyone out there have a favorite, no-fail, no-bake cookie recipe? Do share!
