Sep 25 2012

Guest Post: No Bake Cookies

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Greetings everyone, finishing up my guest posts today I have Kristy from Eat, Play, Love. Well, actually, that’s not entirely true. Actually Kristy often has her two adorable children, and sometimes even her husband helping out in the kitchen, which usually makes for a whole load of fun and lots of cute photo opportunities! Kristy and her husband, Mike, have a wonderful way of introducing their kids to new foods. They pick different countries and sample the cooking from each place they “virtually visit”. It’s a wonderful way of engaging the children, as well as teaching them about other cultures and traditions – something I hope I can do one day with my son.

Along with Sissi, Kristy has been one of the people I met in the very early days of my blogging and I’m honoured that she has taken the time to write this post for me today. Thank you Kristy – you’re in inspiration in your food and your parenting and a wonderful person!

Enjoy the post everyone – I’ll be back in a few days with an original post, I want to say thank you to my guest posters Eva, Helene, Sissi, Nami and of course Kristy today – I hope you’ve all enjoyed the wonderful posts here!

Find Kristy on: Eat, Play, Love | Facebook | Pinterest

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This is Kristy, Mike, Mr. N (8 years old) and Miss A (4 years old) and we blog our family food adventures over at Eat, Play, Love. We were so excited when Charles asked us to guest post – especially because of why Charles asked us to guest post. By the time you read this, Charles will be a proud new father and there are few (if any) more exciting things in life. We couldn’t be happier, and we know that Charles is going to make an amazing dad (and he’ll be backed by an equally amazing new mom!). Congrats to you both. We wish you and your family many beautiful, happy, loving and healthy years ahead (full of good eats too!).

Family is a big focus on our blog which we began back in January 2011. Our goal at Eat, Play, Love is to explore different cultures around the world with our children by cooking traditional recipes from different countries every few weeks. It’s our way of opening them up to the many different cultures, religions, and ethnicities around the globe while also expanding their palates. The kids participate in the country selection as well as the cooking which is always an adventure.

For today’s recipe I wanted to pick something that was reflective of our home, traditions and family. I gave the dish a lot of thought and then it hit me. I have to share our recipe for No Bake Cookies. While it’s not a secret recipe, I’ve seen many versions floating around throughout the years, it is one that has been passed down for several generations. It’s a recipe which my dad made with his grandma and then with me. It then fast became one of my go-to comfort food dishes which I spent many a night making with my sister, my college roommates, post college roommates, coworkers and eventually with Mike. It seemed only fitting that I now get to share it with my kids, Charles’ family and all of you.

Another perfect thing about this dish is that it happens to be chocolate. I know how much Charles loves chocolate; and Charles, well he knows how much I dislike chocolate. Yes, I am an anomaly. That said, this is the one and only form of chocolate I will eat, and one that I absolutely love to eat. So this one’s for you Charles. I hope it brings you as much comfort and as many memories as it does for us.

Now perhaps the best thing of all about no bake cookies is that they are derived from a simple recipe that can be whipped up in about 10 minutes, provided you have all the ingredients on hand (We always do as these come in handy for those craving dessert emergencies.). The recipe starts with a stick of butter (or 1/2 cup), sugar, milk and peanut butter.

These four ingredients are melted in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Next it’s time to gather the remaining ingredients including unsweetened cocoa, vanilla extract and oats.

The heat is turned off and these final ingredients are mixed into the saucepan.

Voilà! That’s it! The cooking is complete. See? It’s the perfect dessert emergency food. The only thing left is to scoop the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Miss A was ready to help with this part.

She’s smart enough to know this comes with mandatory taste testing.

And finally, it’s time to place the cookie sheet in the freezer (or the refrigerator works just as well).

Now if this truly is a comfort food or dessert emergency, I have a little secret. Reserve some of the hot cookie batter in your favorite coffee mug or bowl, curl up in your favorite chair and dig into the hot, chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness. It’s sinful. It’s an overindulgence. It’s absolute heaven. I have these emergencies probably a dozen times a year.

However, this little secret is only reserved for my quiet moments alone, or with Mike, after the kids have gone to bed. As for the kids…They’re not quite big enough to whip these up themselves yet, but they got to dig into the chewy, sticky delicious and chilled cookies.

Before we sign off, it is a tradition on our blog to provide a spoon rating to each dish. Well, I think it’s fairly obvious this recipe gets the full ranking of 4 spoons from me. Miss A agrees with her mom, 4 spoons for her too. Dad and Mr. N love the cookies too, but not quite as much as us girls. They came in with 3 and 3-1/2 spoons, respectively.

But no matter how you slice it up, no bake cookies are a great little recipe to have in your back pocket. It’s a family tradition which I suspect will be carried on for generations to come!

Charles we hope you and your family enjoy this special recipe. Thank you so much for the honor of guest posting on FiveEuroFood. You are hands-down one of our favorite bloggers, and one of my favorite people I have come to know through this blogging experience. Thank you Charles and best wishes for all the days ahead.

[learn_more caption=”Printable Recipe” state=”open”]

Comments

Charles says
September 25, 2012 at 10:30

Thanks for a great guest post Kristy, and your kind words! If William grows up looking even half as happy as your wonderful children do, I'll know I'm doing a great job :)

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Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
September 25, 2012 at 11:20

I try not to make these because I can't leave them alone. Now I must make them because it's all I can think of. I add coconut to mine but basically the same recipe. Wonderful to meet Kristy and the whole family!

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:49
  
  Hi Maureen! I had to make them again last night myself. :)
  
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Hotly Spiced says
September 25, 2012 at 14:14

Hi Kristy, so great to see you over on Charles' site. Love the recipe! These would be so delicious and terribly hard to put down I'm sure. They look amazing and as usual, it's so lovely to see your children in on the action - you're setting a great example for William xx

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:52
  
  These are terribly hard to put down. In fact, I'm heading to my freezer for one (or two) this evening! :)
  
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Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb says
September 25, 2012 at 17:39

Hi charles and Kristy! Kristy, your such a great mum! If I ever have kids, i d like them to learn about food in that way, open towards all cultures and ingredients, learning about all kinds of wonders in the food world. =) Your no bake cookies, look great, I like the idea of adding oats to it. Right now I am just having rice flakes at home so i might try it fist white those.

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:53
  
  You'll have to let me know if you try it with rice flakes and how they work. And I have no doubt you'd make an amazing mom too Helene! :) In the short time I've been following your blog (Thank you Charles for the introduction by the way!) I've already learned a ton about new foods! :)
  
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Sharyn Dimmick says
September 25, 2012 at 17:46

Interesting recipe. I have never seen a cookie like this -- do the oats "cook" in the warm mixture?

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:54
  
  That's a good question. I don't believe they do. They keep kind of a crunchy and chewy texture. :)
  
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Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
September 25, 2012 at 18:37

These no-bake bites look delicious!

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:54
  
  Thank you Laura!
  
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Eva kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com says
September 25, 2012 at 19:58

Yum! This is a lovely guest post, Kristy! I'm meeting up with Charles on Friday in Paris and we're rather excited about it. I adore this type of easy cookie! I think I'll make this with my 9 year old niece Annie on our thanksgiving in two weeks!

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:56
  
  Oh what fun Eva! Please give Charles and his wife a hello hug from me. And give that ADORABLE little William a tickle too. :) And I hope your niece enjoys these as much as my family has over the years. They are quite tasty (and so easy!).
  
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Norma Chang says
September 25, 2012 at 23:10

Great to see you at Charles, Kristy. Love no bake cookies and having chocolate as one of the ingredients, these cookies are for me. Do you use quick cook oats or old fashioned oats?

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:57
  
  Hi Norma! I've used both quick oats and old fashioned oats. It doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Either that or I'm to enraptured with the chocolate-peanut buttery goodness to notice. ;)
  
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[email protected] says
September 26, 2012 at 02:33

Hi Charles and Kristy, those cookies look fabulous. I can't believe they were not baked. Just plain awesome!!!

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Barb @ Profiteroles & Ponytails says
September 26, 2012 at 03:37

What a lovely post Kristy! These are great cookies to make with kids. One time I was desperate to entertain a double-playdate (aka four very energetic kids) and I had them all help me make a batch of these--but with coconut too. We had lots of fun and it kept them entertained for a few minutes anyway. I just wish I had been smart enough to reserve enough for a little mug of goodness for myself...although I'd happily settle for a quite moment alone (heaven).

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- kristy says
  September 26, 2012 at 03:58
  
  A cup of these reserved for a quiet moment does wonders for the soul Barb! :) My dad makes an all peanut butter version too. So many variations, but I've never had them with coconut. Fun twist!
  
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kristy says
September 26, 2012 at 04:04

Charles, thank you so much for the opportunity to post. I hope you're enjoying every minute with that little bundle of yours. :)

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Chica Andaluza says
September 26, 2012 at 16:00

Irresistible! And I love the hot cookie btter in a mug too :)

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mjskit says
September 26, 2012 at 18:45

What a great treat!! I'm A LOT older than your kids but I know that I would LOVE these cookies! and they are no bake - even better! Thanks for sharing this fun recipe! I agree - Charles is going to make and EXCELLENT dad! :) What a fun guest post!

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Kelly @ Inspired Edibles says
September 26, 2012 at 19:23

Love the idea of these ooey gooey cookies... the ingredients are highly interchangeable and no baking required. Something the kids can really have fun with too - putting together their own creations (I can see your youngsters aren't enjoying this one at all ;-)). I also like the idea of a recipe that has been passed down through various generations; it makes it extra special. Adorable photos Kristy and a great guest post

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Geni says
September 26, 2012 at 22:14

Yuuuum! These sound like the perfect little emergency dessert. I love that this is an old family recipe Kristy. Those are the best. And to you Charles, congratulations on your new baby. Hope you get some sleep soon.

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Nami | Just One Cookbook says
September 27, 2012 at 07:27

I'm absolutely love "no bake" cookies - you know me! Even though I bake like once every two months, I am still intimidated every time I bake. No bake sounds very tempting and I should make these with my kids too! I love Kristy's site and I should check her site now too. :)

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ChgoJohn says
September 27, 2012 at 07:37

Good job, Kristy, for a great guest post and to you, Charles, for having the foresight to ask Kristy to do it. This recipe looks very good but the pic of a coffee cup half-filled with cookie batter got to me. I can see my refrigerator. Instead of a parchment lined cookie sheet with cookies cooling, there's a dozen coffee mugs, each with a scoop or two of cookie batter. :)

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Liz says
September 27, 2012 at 23:56

I LOVE these...they remind me of my childhood. I don't dare make these as I'd eat the whole pot before they became cookies :) PS...you have a great memory. Ping posted a 4C's cookie bar that's very similar to the one I shared :)

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Karen (Back Road Journal) says
September 28, 2012 at 01:08

Charles, you have had wonderful guests and I think you made a nice choice to end the series with my favorite cooking family. Good job to you, Kristy and her wonderful family.

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fati's recipes says
September 28, 2012 at 11:32

Awh this is so lovely. I wanted to comment on your blog too, but I wasn't sure what I'd say... because these cookies are such a treat, full stop.

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Sissi says
September 28, 2012 at 13:50

Hi, Kristy. Your oat cookies look gorgeous and addictive! I also make oat cookies (with dark chocolate most of the time) and love them, so I will be glad to experiment with your version too. Oat is such a wonderful ingredient, isn't it? Charles, it was a huge honour to guest post on your wonderful blog and I will be more than happy to come back whenever you wish. Thank you for such kind words and links! I am looking forward to seeing your new recipes soon.

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Sawsan (Chef in disguise) says
September 28, 2012 at 21:20

If it was not almost midnight I would be making these right now! What a wonderful post Kristy and great recipe, I can't wait to try these Charles, I am looking forward to your posts :)

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[email protected] at Marina says
September 29, 2012 at 01:49

Kristy has a delightful blog indeed, always fun to read. Thank you Charles and Kristy for this recipe... :)

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Asmita says
September 29, 2012 at 20:18

What a lovely post, Kristy! Love these healthy and absolutely delicious bites.

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Lisa says
September 30, 2012 at 18:46

I'm playing catch up with my email today! Great post Kristy, it was beautiful written! :) I don't make this often b/c I am the one sampling and licking the spoon and before you know it, half of the batch is gone! Congrats again Charles and to your wife!

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betsyb says
October 4, 2012 at 17:17

Mmm. I remember a version of these cookies from childhood, and how addictive they were! Anything with peanut butter, oats and chocolate gets my attention. A great post, Kristy, and a great guest, Charles!

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Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
October 6, 2012 at 18:18

This is one of the best recipes for a new family.. quick to make and so yummy!!

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