Erica's favorite cookies are ...

... no bake cookies!!

If I ever make it onto Top Chef, I would get cut immediately for these because they require zero culinary skill. But they are sooooo good!! There are literally hundreds of no bake cookie recipes out there and they're probably all the same. So why do you need to read MY blog for no bake cookies? Well, its because my recipe is different. To set myself apart, I decided to add craisins to my no bakes. (The story is... I had a bag of craisins that I needed to use up and I was bringing dessert to dinner at my mom's later that weekend. She and Mike are super healthy so I threw craisins in for them. They turned out really good. It was a perfect mixture of sweet and tangy.)

No Bake Cookie Recipe-
 ingredients needed: 2 cups of sugar
                                 1 stick of butter (that should equal 1/2 a cup)
                                 1/2 cup of cocoa powder (I've tried it by melting baking chocolate because I was out of powder and it does NOT turn out the same)
                                 1/2 cup milk (I made them with water once because I was out of milk and they turned out fine. They didn't stick together, though. Just market them as chocolate oatmeal crumbles! LOL)
                                  1/2 cup peanut butter
                                  3 1/4 cup oatmeal (Too little oatmeal equals disaster! The cookies don't harden up and they turn into goopy messes--much like the consistency of half melted fudge. Even putting them in the freezer doesn't harden them up.)
                                  3/4 cup craisins
                                  Wax or parchment paper

1. Melt the butter in a large pot. Once melted, add milk, sugar & cocoa. Mix together (make sure there are no lumps) and leave on heat for about another minute.
2. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Stir until everything is completely mixed together.

Doesn't look that appetizing right now... Yes, there's a lump in my picture but I stirred it in.

3. Add craisins and mix them in.
4. Add oatmeal and mix that in thoroughly.

Still not looking too appetizing...

5. Spoon onto waxpaper and let cool for about an hour. (I put newspaper under my wax paper... they're not directly on the newspaper!)

Now they look yummy!

6. Refrigerate overnight. And, enjoy!! Makes about 15-20 cookies depending on how big you make them.

P.S. This is how I blog. Sadie is in my lap ... my laptop is on the couch. Spoiled Sadie!!