In the Oven: The No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie

Posting date for the No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie is December 2nd!

The No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie
Baked Explorations – p. 185

1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1/2-inch  cubes, softened
1 cup chunky peanut butter
3 cups rolled oats
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and butter until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil, stop stirring, and boil for a full 90 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter, oats and vanilla. Stir until the mixture is combined.

Use a small ice scream scoop with a release mechanism, or, alternatively, a tablespoon to drop the no-bake cookies onto the baking sheet (leave some room around them; they will spread). Let the cookies cool, then refrigerate them for at least 1 hour. They can be eaten directly from the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Store the cookies between layers of parchment paper in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

Yield: About 36 cookies.

Excerpted from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Copyright © 2010 by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Excerpted by permission of Stewart, Tabori & Chang, an imprint of Abrams. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.