The start of fall brings to mind thoughts of kids going back to school, cooler weather, fall vegetables at the farmer’s market, upcoming holidays and so much more. But this year, one of the first food memories that came to mind were these sweet, fudgy oatmeal cookies from childhood. I am sure that many of our mom’s made some version of these for us. These no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies are not what you think of when someone tells you they are making oatmeal cookies. Instead they are really a cross between fudge and cookies, which in my opinion makes them amazing. Even better, they are really easy to make. You just need some butter, sugar, milk, quick-cooking oats, vanilla, and your favorite add-ins. Of course, having grown up in the south, I love pecans, so I had to try a pecan version.
When I was a kid, my mom made a version of these cookies, but she didn’t use add-ins, and I remember her using more cocoa. So, if you want an even darker chocolate flavor, feel free to increase the cocoa by a tablespoon or two (see the recipe at the end). I just prefer a little less cocoa in these.
In fact, there are a lot of variations on these cookies, so here are a few links to other websites with recipes for these childhood favorites. You can find email more via your search engine.
Click here for a recipe with peanut butter from Food.com
Click here for a recipe with peanut butter from FoodNetwork.com
Click here for a recipe with peanut butter from allrecipes.com
Click here for recipe with coconut from allrecipes.com
Click here for a simple chocolate version from Quakeroats.com
As you can see, several of these recipes call for adding peanut butter, and I remember as a kid that some of my friends mom’s made peanut butter versions. But based on my experiments, my favorite add-ins are shredded coconut, raisins or pecans. (I haven’t tried adding all three at the some time yet! Maybe it is time for another experiment.) The coconut reminds me of macaroons. When Jeff tasted them, he didn’t even realize the cookies had oatmeal in them at all. He thought they were chocolate coconut cookies. That is one way to hide oatmeal in a cookie!
I got the idea for the raisin versions from chocolate raisin clusters that Mom used to let me buy at a candy store when I was a kid. Given that I wasn’t likely to eat raisins by themselves back then, she probably was just excited I was picking a candy with some. 🙂
Give these easy, candy-like cookies a try with the add-in of your choice. The possibilities are endless. Post a comment and let me know what you think.
© 2015 FoodieOasis
