Candy Cane No-Bake Cookies
The holiday spirit is overtaking me, and I’m just sharing all of my family’s “secret” cookie recipes this month!
Well, perhaps we’re not actively keeping them secret, but recipes like my sour cream sugar cookie recipe and these No-Bake Cookies have certainly never been published online before.
They’re most likely to be found on chocolate- and butter-spattered hand-written recipe cards, stored in dusty recipes boxes, and then re-transcribed by hand as needed.
Sure, my mom doesn’t usually put candy canes in her no-bakes – they’re more of a year ’round, all-purpose cookie (particularly for the summer when nobody wants to turn on the oven). But I dusted off the recipe because I think it’s perfect for the holidays, and for people like me who aren’t necessarily the most baking-inclined.
Unlike melomakarona Greek cookies, which are a bit of project, these take only about 15 minutes from start to finish – gather your ingredients, simmer some stuff on the stove, stir some more stuff into it, dollop the cookies onto parchment, and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
You’re done, and you have the most moist, chocolately delicious oatmeal cookie you’ve ever tasted. With a bit of holiday spirit, of course.
Candy Cane No-Bake Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk (For best results, do NOT substitute a lower-fat milk. Trust me.)
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 3-1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ounces candy canes, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Line 2 rimmed baking pans with parchment paper. In large saucepot, combine butter, sugar, milk, cocoa and salt. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat; boil 1 minute.
- Remove from heat; stir in oats, peanut butter and vanilla. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking pans. Immediately sprinkle cookies with candy canes. Let stand 30 minutes or until firm and dry.
Thanks for letting me include your recipe in my round-up of 60 Ultimate Cookie Exchange Recipes on Taste As You Go!
Thanks so much for including me, Michelle!
Thank you for letting me know about all of these things 🙂 I always assumed it was something about the fat content of whole milk which makes it work (which I think is most of it), but maybe because almond milk is a little bit “thicker” than say, skim milk, that helps, too. I always have almond milk on hand, but only buy whole milk for baking, so this is so good to know!
Good luck with the other recipes! So glad to hear you’re making them 🙂
I am a fan of chocolate no-bake cookies from way back. While I did trust you on the milk (I promise!), I didn’t have any whole milk. I did, however, have unsweetened vanilla almond milk from Trader Joe’s, and thought, given it has some fat, it might work better than skim (in which case I would have tried adding a little cornstarch because I was determined to make these cookies today). It worked like a charm. FYI – I also used quick cooking Quaker oats (I remember this is a no-no from long ago, but again, it’s what I had) and the cookies did not suffer any ill effects. I tossed in a little bit extra –maybe 1/4 cup) because it looked like it needed it. Finally, I used special dark cocoa instead of the usual, and that may be the best decision of all. My kids loved the candy cane bits on top. Now I know what to do with those raspberry candy canes nobody wants to eat. They will make a yummy treat for Valentine’s day.
Thanks for inspiring me! I’ll have to fill you in on my green goddess chicken and sauce success, and look forward to trying the quinoa/mango guac and Spicy Orange Ginger Chicken this weekend.
I’m going to make these for my son in Afghanistan 🙂 They look delicious!
Hi Sarah! So glad you like the recipe. However, I should tell you (and I should add this to the post), that these cookies only have a shelf life of about 4-5 days. After that, they get pretty dry and crumbly, so they may not be the best option to send for your son. I wouldn’t want him to get a batch of dry cookies!
So sorry about that! My Sour Cream-Nutmeg Sugar Cookies ( https://foxeslovelemons.com/2013/12/sour-cream-nutmeg-sugar-cookies.html )have a GREAT shelf life (at least 2 weeks), but they’re a lot more work than these no-bakes.
I hope you find a recipe that works for you, and that your son enjoys the cookies 🙂
Exactly! Rolled oats are good for you. People eat them for breakfast. So, this is a health food.
Old family recipes are the best! Especially when they involve chocolate and forego the oven. These look delish, Lori. Since there’s rolled oats, I won’t feel TOO bad when I eat more than my fair share of these babies.