Try this Kitchen Sink No Bake Cookies recipe, or contribute your own.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (0g)
- Sodium 0 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large saucepan or pot, stir together the sugar, cocoa powder, butter, and milk.
- Bring to a boil over medium-low heat.
- Once the mixture is at a boil, let it cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, oats, pretzels, chopped peanuts, and caramels.
- Stir in marshmallows until incorporated. If you want the more obvious marshmallow swirl, like in the picture, you want them to just barely be mixed in.
- Drop by tablespoonful on waxed paper, and let it sit until cool and set.
Granulated sugar does the structural heavy lifting in no-bake confections. When boiled with butter, milk, and cocoa powder, sugar undergoes a critical phase change. Heating this mixture forces the sucrose to dissolve completely into a supersaturated solution. Boil the mixture for precisely one minute over medium-low heat. Exceeding this timing drives off too much moisture, yielding crumbly, dry cookies that refuse to hold their shape on the tray. Undercooking leaves excess water behind, preventing the sugar crystals from reforming properly upon cooling.
Managing Texture and Inclusions
Unlike baked cookies dependent on flour proteins, no-bake structures rely on cooling fat and sugar crystallization to solidify. Stirring in rolled oats, peanut butter, pretzels, and chopped peanuts introduces varying moisture levels and structural density. Fold the mini marshmallows in last. Doing so prevents them from melting entirely into the hot base, preserving distinct pockets of sweetness and chew. Drop the batter onto waxed paper while still warm. Work efficiently because the cooling fat stiffens rapidly once removed from the heat source.
- If the cookies remain runny after thirty minutes, the sugar did not reach the correct concentration during the boil. Refrigeration accelerates setting in humid environments.
- Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Separate layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Substitute regular salted butter for unsalted varieties without altering the sugar ratio, but reduce added salt elsewhere if applicable.
