To ease you into the holiday cookie baking spirit, we decided to keep it easy and start the season with a no-bake cookie.
Day 1 of AP’s 12 Days of Holiday Cookies features a remake of the classic chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookie. We thought the original version was over-the-top sweet and didn’t really come through on the chocolate flavor, so we intensified the chocolate and the peanut butter and added a touch of spices for holiday flavor. And if you prefer your chocolate oatmeal cookies with raisins, you could easily add them _ or any other small (or finely chopped) dried fruit.
LESSON: You don’t need to know how to bake to whip up intensely good chocolate cookies. This recipe walks you through a no-bake cookie.
NO-BAKE OATMEAL COAL COOKIES
Start to finish: 2 hours (30 minutes active)
Makes 30 cookies
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole milk
Pinch salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 cups quick or rolled oats
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa powder to eliminate lumps. Add the milk, salt, butter, cinnamon and ginger.
Set the pan over medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Let cool for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir together until well combined.
A tablespoon at a time, drop balls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. If desired, the balls can be rolled between your hands for a smoother appearance. Let cool. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition information per cookie (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 161 calories; 82 calories from fat (51 percent of total calories); 9 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 8 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 51 mg sodium.
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