No-Bake Peanut Butter Carob Cookies

My friend Ramona brought these cookies to school for her daughter’s birthday, and we all fell in love! They’re a cinch to put together last-minute when I need to bring dessert to a party, or when I don’t want to heat up my oven in the summer. They’re deliciously rich without being “too much,” and remind me of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Perfect!

Note: If you don’t have instant oats, you can pulse rolled oats a few times in your food processor to make them smaller. Never substitute steel-cut oats, though. Their gravel-like texture will ruin these cookies!

[GF] This recipe is gluten-free if you use GF-certified oats.

If you don’t need this to be gluten-free, you can use regular quick oats or rolled oats.
If you don’t need this to be tree nut-free, you can use unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of rice milk.
If you don’t need this to be chocolate-free, you can substitute cocoa powder for the carob powder.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups vegan sugar
  • 1/4 cup pure carob powder
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla rice milk (or almond)
  • 1 stick Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups GF quick oats (or rolled oats pulsed a few times in a food processor to make them smaller)

Equipment

  • One medium-large pot or sauce pan

Directions

  1. In a sauce pan, mix sugar, carob powder, and rice milk. Bring to a boil, and boil for exactly one minute.
  2. Fold in all remaining ingredients. Stir until well-mixed.
  3. Scoop out balls of dough and form into individual cookies. Serve immediately or store at room temperature.

Source

Adapted from my friend Ramona’s family recipe for No-Bake Cookies. Thanks, Ramona!