GF No-bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
No preamble, just steps. I will explain later.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 12 cup milk
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 14 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Large pinch kosher salt
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Parchment or wax paper
No preamble, just steps. I will explain later.
Step 1
In a large saucepan on medium heat add: 12 cup of milk, 1 stick of butter, 2 cups sugar, 14 cup cocoa powder
Step 2
Stir/whisk until fully mixed. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute.
Step 3
Remove from heat. Add: 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 large pinch of salt, 1 cup peanut butter, 3 cups oats
Step 4
Spoon onto parchment or wax paper, let cool for 30 minutes. Done!
Keep cookies in the refrigerator or freezer and enjoy!
Ok, now let’s discuss
The name “no-bake” is a little misleading — you do have to heat this recipe. But the reason is interesting. In a normal cookie recipe, gluten (from flour) provides the structure to hold the cookie together. This recipe has no flour and therefore no gluten, so we need something else to give it structure.
The answer is the butter, peanut butter, and — most importantly — the sugar. When sugar melts it turns to caramel which has a solid, gooey structure. That’s what holds these cookies together when they cool.
The reason we only boil for one minute is that if you boil too long, the sugar over-caramelizes and you get a burnt flavor. One minute is just right.