Chocolate Monster Drops (aka No Bakes)
List of Ingredients
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa
---you can use regular, I just like the taste of dutch-processed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
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1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Quaker Oats
-----I like to use either all quick oats, or a mixture of 1 cup whole oats, and 2 cups quickRecipe
Have ready your final ingredients and prepare several sheet pans with parchment paper or wax paper to drop the cookies on.
In a saucepan, bring the sugar, milk, cocoa and butter to a full rolling boil. This means that when you stir, the boiling doesn't go away. Immediately remove from the heat and add the peanut butter, stir until melted, add the vanilla and the oats. Stir until evenly combined. You will have better luck dropping these cookies out if you let the mixture set for about 1-2 minutes (depending on how long it took you to stir in the oats) to let it cool, they tend to not spread too much and keep their shape better.
Drop with a cookie scoop (I like #50 for these) or the two spoon method onto parchment paper or wax paper covered sheet pans. Allow them to set for several hours before removing them from the paper and storing in an airtight container. If you can't wait to eat them, dig in with a spoon and scrape all the excess from around the saucepan. Hey, don't we all do this!!??
Yield depends on how large or small you drop the cookies.
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A Note from Chefmom…..
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Okay, before you begin emailing me wanting to know why your cookies either 1.) will never seem to firm up, or 2.) dry up immediately and turn white overnight and crumble and fall apart and get nasty and really make you mad?? I will explain why here:
First, this cookie works on the same principles as the candy "fudge". You are heating sugar to a certain temperature so that it comes together with a smooth texture when it firms up. If you don't heat it enough it will never fully set up, if you heat it too much, well, that is the hard, dry mess mentioned above.
On a day that is average humidity: meaning your neck doesn't stick to your chin, or it's not raining, you should be able to bring the mixture to a boil, then once it's at a full boil, remove from the heat and finish. But if you take it too far, you will overcook the sugar and the hard mess is your result. If the humidity is too high, like an airless day where you are just miserable, or it's pouring rain outside, then the rules change. Sugar reacts to the moisture in the air and even if you follow the same procedure, your cookies will not set up. So. If you just have to make these cookies on a wet day, then you need to keep the mixture at a boil for about 2 minutes (yes--use a timer) and then proceed with the recipe.
It's touch and go, I usually just don't mess with this recipe on a rainy day or a very humid day. If you make the recipe enough times, you will probably be able to recognize the thickness of the mixture, but it's just too hard to try to describe here. So, be sure you bring it up to the boil, using evaporated milk in place of regular milk is helpful to success as well! And as soon as you get the boil that you can't stir down, remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter. Too long on the stove, and "the mess" can happen!
And whatever you do, DON'T cook the peanut butter with the cocoa mixture, you don't want to know what that looks like.
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