Best Ever No Bake Cookie Bars

This past winter my bible study did What Love Is by Kelly Minter and in it were recipes as well, so we all took turns cooking and baking those recipes along with the study. It was so fun and delicious! One week, these were the dessert and they truly were the best no bake cookies I had ever had! We had a potluck picnic meeting we had to attend, so I thought these would be perfect. I decided to make these into bars to save some time and it worked great. I know you may be thinking, I’ve seen one no bake cookie I’ve seen them all…but trust me when I say that these are incredible! These Best Ever No Bake Cookie Bars are the perfect sweet treat and practically melt in your mouth. I had trouble controlling myself from eating the whole platter!! What I love about these too, is that it uses pantry staples so it’s a great last minute dessert that doesn’t take much time!

Best Ever No Bake Cookie Bars
Source: What Love Is by Kelly Minter

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp. vanilla
3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions:
Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray (for thicker bars, use a 9 x 9 pan). Set aside.

In a medium sized sauce pan, add sugar, cocoa powder, butter, & milk. Stir together and bring to a boil. Once boiling, boil for 1 minute more.

Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter & vanilla. Stir to incorporate. Add in oats and stir to evenly distribute.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly. Let cool completely until set. Can cool in refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.

Once set, lift bars out of the pan using the foil and gently peel the foil off. Place on a clean surface and cut into bars with a serrated knife. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes:
*Can also drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto wax paper to make cookies instead of bars.
*Can sub 1/2 the peanut butter with biscoff spread if desired.