Give your oven a break and whip up a batch of these 8-ingredient chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies. This family-favorite recipe is super simple, and ready to eat after 30 minutes of refrigerating.
I originally published this recipe in 2015, and I’ve since updated it with new photos and extra success tips for consistently excellent results. We also slightly increased the amount of butter, which is reflected in the recipe card below.
For today’s cookies, we’re swapping the oven for the refrigerator! Chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies are made on the stove with oats, cocoa powder, peanut butter, sugar, and milk. Instead of baking, the mixture firms up in the refrigerator, creating that signature fudgy consistency.
I married into a food-loving family. My husband grew up making zucchini bread, soft pretzels, and these no-bake cookies with his siblings. He said he made these no-bakes so many times growing up that he could mix them together in his sleep. Partly because they’re so easy and partly because everyone craves chocolate and peanut butter at bedtime, right?!
Simply put, these are awesome cookies. They’re as classic as a good batch of chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, or rice krispie treats. And after one bite, you’ll understand exactly what the fuss is about. Go ahead and start preheating your ov—oh wait, never mind! 😉
What Makes These No-Bake Cookies So Good:
- No mixer and no oven required
- Chocolate + peanut butter = the GOAT of dessert combos
- Only 8 basic ingredients—you likely have them on hand right now!
- Shockingly quick and easy, joining 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes
- Naturally egg free, and gluten free (if using certified GF oats)
- Customizable with simple nut-free or dairy-free swaps (see below)
Ingredients You Need & Why
These no-bake cookies come together quickly with a few pantry staples.
- Butter: Like all the best desserts, butter and sugar make the base of this recipe.
- Sugar: I swear by 1 and 1/2 cups of regular granulated sugar here. Over the years, I’ve tested several different amounts, even reducing it, and I’ve tried brown sugar, too. For best success, stick with the recipe below.
- Milk: You can use any kind you have on hand, including nondairy.
- Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder not only flavors the cookies, it acts as a thickener and binder. Remember this post on dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder? Fun fact: Since we’re not using a chemical leavener, you can use either in this recipe. I really like this brand of dutch-process cocoa powder.
- Peanut Butter: For best taste and texture in baking recipes, I usually push you to use standard commercially processed peanut butter. While I typically use creamy Jif here, you can substitute your favorite natural peanut butter. Same option goes for these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies, too. Give it a good stir before measuring and using. Nut-free? Scroll below.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: A little salt and a splash of vanilla extract adds flavor. You can use homemade vanilla extract if you have it!
- Oats: I prefer to use quick oats in this easy cookie recipe, but you can also make these no-bake cookies with whole rolled oats. Though whole oats work wonderfully, we find the cookies hold shape a bit better with quick oats. Surprisingly, this recipe works with either type. (Just another reason to love this recipe!)
If using certified gluten-free oats, these cookies are gluten free. For my gluten-free readers, you’ll also appreciate this recipe for no-bake chocolate fudge oat bars. You can also browse all my favorite gluten-free dessert recipes here.
Since the ingredient list is so short, the cookies are perfect for busy days and last-minute desserts. They’re my go-to when we need something quick and easy. (And kids love to help!)
Overview: How to Make Easy No-Bake Cookies
Besides using super basic ingredients, the method couldn’t be simpler.
Whisk the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a medium (about 3-quart) pot until the butter melts.
Once boiling in the center, stop stirring and start a timer. Let it boil for 1 minute. Though you can make the recipe without one, an instant-read thermometer is helpful to determine doneness. The mixture on the stove should reach 225°F (107°C).
After that, immediately remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract, then the oats and salt.
Grab your timer again and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. This gives the oats some time to absorb the liquid, which makes scooping and shaping much easier. If you used a super-thin natural-style peanut butter, let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Drop a Tablespoon-sized mound about 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets. Feel free to slightly flatten down the cookies with the back of a spoon. Let the cookies set in the refrigerator for about 30–60 minutes. Ding! Cookies are ready!
If you haven’t caught on by now, there’s no turning on the oven for no-bake cookies. Instead, the cookies firm up in the refrigerator. I love that! They’re perfect if you’re having a marathon baking day and need the oven for other baking, or if it’s just too hot to justify baking anything!
Variations & Subsitutions
- Nut-Free No Bakes: Swap peanut butter for sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
- Almond Butter No Bakes: Swap peanut butter for almond butter.
- Nutella No Bakes: You can find that recipe in my Sally’s Cookie Addiction cookbook.
- Sprinkles or Flaky Sea Salt: Add sprinkles or sea salt flakes to the tops of each wet cookie before refrigerating.
Success Tips for No-Bake Cookies
- Have your ingredients ready: Once the chocolate mixture comes off the stove, the remaining ingredients must be stirred in right away. It’s helpful to have all your ingredients on stand-by.
- Follow the recipe: Sounds like a silly success tip, but it’s worth mentioning. The cookies work because we’re using a particular wet-to-dry ingredient ratio.
- Avoid crumbly cookies: Don’t overcook the chocolate mixture. Doing so will over-thicken it, which inevitably leads to crumbly no-bake cookies.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon: 1 Tablespoon of dough will give us perfectly portioned cookies. Use a cookie scoop, a spoon, or your Tablespoon measuring spoon.
This usually means the mixture didn’t boil long enough. The sugar needs to fully dissolve and reach the right temperature to set properly. Though you can make the recipe without one, an instant-read thermometer is helpful to determine doneness. The mixture on the stove should reach 225°F (107°C). If the cookies are still too soft, the cook time was likely a bit short or the ingredient ratios may have been a bit off.
This usually means that either the oats or peanut butter were slightly over-measured, and/or the stovetop mixture was over-cooked. Be sure to measure carefully, use a kitchen scale if you have one, and keep a close eye and timer on the stove.
You can, but make sure it’s smooth and very well stirred before using. Natural peanut butter can be thinner and oilier, so the cookies may take a bit longer to set in the refrigerator.
Yes, no-bake cookies should set up in the refrigerator. Though they’ll firm up at room temperature, a quick 30–60 minutes in the refrigerator helps them set faster and hold their shape better.
Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These 8-ingredient classic no-bake cookies are rich, fudgy, and full of chocolate peanut butter flavor. You need simple pantry ingredients and the cookies are ready in around 1 hour.
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter*
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) milk*
- 1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup (170g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract (yes, a full Tablespoon!)
- 3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats or quick oats*
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a medium (about 3-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the butter melts. Whisking occasionally, bring to a boil. Once boiling, stop whisking and allow to boil for 1 minute. If you want to be precise and you own an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should rise to 225°F (107°C).
- Remove from heat, then immediately stir in the peanut butter and vanilla extract until completely combined. Finally, stir in the oats and salt.
- Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes. This allows the oats to soak up some moisture.
- During the 5 minutes, line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats, and make sure there is enough room in your refrigerator for the baking sheets.
- Using a 1-Tablespoon cookie scoop (or simply a Tablespoon), drop spoonfuls of dough onto the lined baking sheets. If desired, slightly flatten down with the back of a spoon. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Refrigerate the cookies for 30–60 minutes so they set. Remove from the refrigerator and enjoy!
- Cover and store leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Once completely set, the no-bake cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Saucepan | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Instant-Read Thermometer | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper
- Butter: Coconut oil works instead of butter because, like butter, it solidifies when cold.
- Peanut Butter: This recipe works best if using a non-natural-style peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. However, you can substitute your favorite natural peanut butter if desired. Give it a good stir before using and in step 3, let the oat mixture sit for about 10 minutes to thicken properly. Nut-free? Substitute sunflower seed butter or Biscoff spread.
- Milk: Use your favorite milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Oats: I usually use quick oats, but you can use old-fashioned whole rolled oats instead if that’s what you have. Surprisingly, these cookies work with either type of oat! Do not use steel-cut oats.
- Recipe Update in 2026: The original recipe called for 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp/56g) of butter, but some readers reported their cookies were overly dry, so we increased the amount.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Sally I shared your recipe and a question was asked if coconut or date sugar could replace the white sugar in this recipe? She is unable to use white sugar. This is one of my favorite childhood cookie recipe and I love yours.
Hi Deb, I’m really unsure. I’m unsure if either of those sugars will cook down properly and/or if the baker will be left with granules in the mixture. Let me know if either is tried though!
Hello Sally/ Team,
Two questions:
Could I use dairy free margarine instead of butter in this recipe as I am strongly lactose intolerant?
In the event that dairy free margarine is not suitable and I need to use coconut oil [the same amount of coconut oil is used to replace the butter—1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g], should the coconut oil be measured as a solid, or a liquid? I usually melt coconut oil to measure as a liquid, and just want to check if melting the coconut oil to measure will affect the consistency of the finished product?
Thank you so much for your excellent recipes.
Hi Angela, we don’t recommend margarine, but a few readers have reported success using plant-based butters instead. Coconut oil should also work, since it is a solid at room temperature. You can measure it as a liquid as you normally do (although either way will work here). Hope you enjoy the bars!
Not sure what happened but after four hours, the cookies are still very sticky. I followed the ingredients and amounts to a tea, followed the exact timing to bring the mixture to a boil, included a 10 minute set up time for the oats, and they are very tacky. Just wondering if the boiling time is correct?
Hi Maureen, yes, the boiling time is correct. Is it humid/hot where you live? If kept out of the refrigerator, they will stay a little tacky/sticky if it’s particularly warm. I wonder if more time in the refrigerator to help them firm up would help.
Light sprinkle of flaked salt took these to the next level!
Wonderful! It tastes like the store-bought ones I used to love as a kid. My family adores this recipe and I’ve made it twice now. It takes a bit to fully set (if you can wait 24 hours for best results; they will easily come off the parchment paper and wont stick to your hands) but it’s so delicious we sneak them early. Easy recipe that doesn’t heat the house too much in the summer.
My grandma used to make these every Christmas and they were my favorite. I found your recipe recently and am able to share my childhood with my son!
These are great cookies and I make them regularly! They taste like a candy bar.
I also loved the flourless chocolate peanut butter bars (used ground oatmeal instead of flour) but I don’t see the recipe on the website. Is there any way I can get a copy of that recipe?
Hi Rachel! Could you be thinking of the Skinny Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies recipe? We were no longer satisfied with the outcome of that older recipe, so we unpublished it. We still have it, so send us an email and we can forward it to you. sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com
Hi; could I possibly get the Skinny Chocolate Pnut Butter No Bake cookies recipe? I would really appreciate that…………..Thank you, Jan
Absolutely! My team & I have it documented. Please email sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com
The only recipe that i use now, my husband of 39 years requested these for Easter, perfect every time
Hello, this has become my “go to” recipe for No Baked Cookies, it turns out great, every time! I’m currently trying to lose a bit of weight and make some recipes healthier… could I reduce the sugar used in this recipe without messing up the consistency? OR do you possibly have some other suggestions for how I could make this recipe healthier? Thank you!
Hi Karin, while you can certainly try reducing the sugar, keep in mind that it plays an important role in the taste, texture, and structure of the cookies, and results will be different with differing amounts of ingredients. If you’re interested, here are all of our healthier recipes. Hope you find a few new ones to enjoy!
Curious..has anyone ever tried using rice krispies in this instead of Oats?
Hi Gayla, you’d likely have to play with the ratio of other ingredients, as the cereal would absorb them differently than the oats. If you decide to try, let us know how it goes!
These are delicious. I’m trying to exercise self restraint. Only change I made was to add 1/2 cup coconut, because, why not?
Love this recipe! My mom made a version of this when I was a kid and it’s a favorite. I used brown Dutch process cocoa and loved the flavor and texture of this cookie. I doubled the recipe and shared with friends and they LOVED them!!
I have made my family’s version of this recipe for 40 years with mixed results. Sometimes they were too soft and didn’t set up, sometimes too dry and crumbly.
Using the measure-by-weight instructions, and slightly different ratios, this batch created the best cookies yet.
Also my husband’s Favorite cookie and he gave them his seal of approval.
This is a amazing recipe. It is fast easy and delicious. I would only add two teaspoons of vanilla if I was to make it again. It never said to add coco powder in the instructions so I stirred it in right before the oats
“Combine the butter, sugar, milk, and cocoa powder together in a …” First step said cocoa, but I’m sure yours came out fine.
These were absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for all of the amazing recipes.
I did have a question though. Do you think I could substitute the oats for corn flakes and rice crispy treats, or do you think they would get super soggy if I did it? When I pulled them out of the fridge it reminded me of one of those little Debbie Star Crunch treats that I used to eat as a kid. And that made me think about Rice Krispies.
Hi Ben, we haven’t tried that substitution — you’d likely have to play with the ratio of other ingredients, as the cereal would absorb them differently than the oats. If you decide to try, let us know how it goes!
Hi Amelia! you absolutely can double this recipe. It may take a bit longer for the ingredients to come together to a simmer, but it shouldn’t be much longer. Enjoy!
Hi Carrie, we haven’t tested it ourselves, but a few readers have reported success using a peanut butter powder in place of the cocoa powder for a peanut butter cookie. Let us know if you try it!
Hi Mike, we can’t see why not!
Hi Janie, you could try, but we do recommend sticking with the listed amount for best results.
Mine came out dry like chocolate granola!
Hi Linda, how strange. I can’t imagine how these would come out dry – did you make any changes to the recipe? Thank you for giving these a try!
I’m not able to eat oats. Do you think that Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes could be substituted? Other options? Many thanks!
Hi Shirley, we haven’t tried that substitution — you’d likely have to play with the ratio of other ingredients, as the cereal would absorb them differently than the oats. If you decide to try, let us know how it goes!
I love these cookies, but I’m wanting to try an all peanut butter version. Can you tell me what adjustments will need to be made?
Hi Chasity, we haven’t personally tried it, but some readers have reported success making an all-peanut butter version. You may need to play around with the ratio of ingredients to ensure the cookies still set properly. You could also try simply replacing the cocoa powder with peanut butter powder. Let us know what you try!
Can this recipe be doubled?
Sure can!
can i use coconut milk?
Yes!
Thank you for the repeat recipe! I only have salted butter here (I live on an island) and won’t get to the mainland for groceries until next week. Would the salted butter work OK, do you think?
Hi Kate! You can definitely use salted butter with no other changes to the recipe.
Just made these and substituted 1/2 cup of finely chopped peanuts in lieu of a half cup of the oats. They are in the fridge now. Licking the spoon was awesome! I think they will be amazing. Takes me waaaaayyyyy back to high school. in Athens, Ohio.
Hi Sally, can I use less sugar in this recipe?
Hi Elisa! You can definitely try. The cookies may not set up properly without this ratio of ingredients. I also have a skinny no bake cookies recipe which uses honey and banana.
Hey!
Is that OK if I’ll use the super-chunk-PB?
I find the cookies are a little crumbly with crunchy PB, but it still works.
Will these be okay if they have to be out of the fridge for ~5 hours before serving? Or do you think will they be to melty/sticky? Thanks!
They’ll be just fine!
These sound so tasty! Can’t wait to make. Can I also omit the peanut butter for one non-peanut butter loving family member?
I would add another 1/4 cup of butter and another couple Tbsp of cocoa. Without the peanut butter, they won’t set up properly. But adding more of these ingredients would help for sure.