A Quick and Easy No-Bake Cookie

I had it in mind to post a somewhat complicated cookie recipe this week, but then I decided that I needed a break after the blintzes last week. So this week's something sweet is a no-bake cookie recipe -- Oatmeal Fudge Cookies. They are pretty much what they sound like -- a kind of fudge with oatmeal in it. Plus other good things.

The basic formula is simple -- make a fudge-type sauce, then add oatmeal and other ingredients. To finish the cookies, drop them on waxed paper.

Fudge is pretty basic -- sugar, canned milk, butter, and flavoring (in this case, cocoa).This isn't exactly classic fudge, though the beginning is similar. First, however, it's a good idea to combine the sugar and cocoa.

I usually just use the wooden spoon I'm going to stir the fudge with to mix these two ingredients thoroughly:

Combine butter, canned milk, and sugar in a pan and heat to a boil. In the interests of speeding things up, I set the fudge ingredients on the stove over low heat and then start getting everything else together.

The rest of the ingredients for this cookie are oatmeal, coconut, and peanut butter. And a little vanilla.

I also set up the work area for making the cookies before going back to the fudge mixture. In this case, it's just a couple of sheets of waxed paper placed directly on the counter.

I do all this first because, once the fudge is cooked, time is of the essence. After everything is set up, it's time to go check on the fudge mixture.

I turn up the heat at this point to medium-high. Breaking up the butter can help it melt a little faster, so I do that if necessary. And then I stir continuously until the fudge comes to a full boil.

 The picture above shows what to look for. There are bubbles starting to form around the edges of the pan, but it's not quite ready to boil. Thing is, you don't want to wait too long to start the timer (or check your watch) once you reach a full boil because it only boils for one minute before taking off the heat.

This is the sort of thing you look for -- large bubbles in the center of the pot that don't go away when you stir. Let the fudge cook for one minute while stirring continuously.

 At the end of the minute of cooking, everything will be bubbling furiously. Take it off the heat.

And add the oatmeal, coconut, peanut butter, and vanilla:

Stir everything in very thoroughly -- you especially want to make sure that there are no lumps of peanut butter.

All that is left is to drop the oatmeal fudge mixture onto the waxed paper. I do it the same way I make drop cookies -- take up a spoonful of stuff in a teaspoon, and use a second teaspoon to transfer the mixture from the first spoon to the waxed paper. Work fast, because the fudge mixture will start to harden if it sits too long.

Cookies are achieved! You can wait for the fudge to cool and harden a bit, or eat it right off the waxed paper. The "crumbs" are good, too.

Oatmeal Fudge Cookies

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter (or margarine)
1/2 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky -- doesn't matter)

Mix sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa in a deep saucepan.
Bring to a rapid boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool.

Variations:
Substitute wheat germ and/or bran flakes for some of the oatmeal.
Add sunflower seeds.

One time I either cooked the fudge too long or started the timer too late and the fudge got hard too quickly. I couldn't really drop spoonfuls onto the waxed paper, so I formed spoonfuls into balls by rolling them in my palms. Worked okay; tasted good.