Chocolate-Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

2 2/3 cups uncooked “quick 1-minute” oats*
1 stick butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup milk*
1/4 cup baking cocoa
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place 2 sheets of wax paper about 18 inches long on the counter. Measure out oats and set aside.

Cut butter into 4 pieces and place in a 2 1/2 to 3-quart (not larger) saucepan over medium heat. When butter starts to melt, add sugar, milk, cocoa and salt. Raise heat to medium-high. Stir, breaking up any cocoa lumps, until mixture just comes to a boil, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Set a timer for 2 minutes. Keeping the mixture at a moderate boil, cook and stir exactly 2 minutes. Immediately remove pot from heat and, working quickly, stir peanut butter until melted and completely incorporated. Stir in vanilla and oats, and stir until oats are thoroughly mixed in and covered with chocolate.

Use a cookie dough scoop or a tablespoon to drop the cookie mixture onto the wax paper. (Size can vary, but we use about 2 tablespoons for each.) Let stand at room temperature until firm, about 30 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature and humidity.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

Beverly: My elementary school cafeteria served these cookies, and so did my Mom. Once I even found them for sale at a gas station along a country road just off the Interstate. When we published the recipe in our column years ago in response to a reader's plea, I even got fan mail from a state penitentiary.

“I just wanted you to know I’ve been making your chocolate-peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and everyone here is crazy about them,” said an inmate who worked in the kitchen. “Thanks for the recipe.”

Sadly since the cookies contain peanut butter, today’s elementary tykes (and inmates?) may never experience this treat en masse. Peanut allergy is a real problem, I know, but that doesn’t stop me from mourning the fact that kids will never get to love these cookies unless parents of the un-allergic everywhere unite and make them.

This cookie is a one-pot wonder -- a bit like fudge only with oatmeal. Gotta love it, right?! So did anyone else out there grow up with this cookie?

Chocolate-Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

Approximate Values Per Cookie: 127 calories (40% from fat), 6 g fat (3 g saturated), 8 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 18g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 28 mg sodium

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