If the yellowed index card doesn’t give it away, the “White Karo Corn Syrup” ingredient must.
It’s another gem from the depths of Mother Lovett’s never ending recipe collection.
And you can imagine my excitement when I found this, for they are made with an ingredient I absolutely adore: graham cracker crumbs.
True story: sometimes I melt butter in the microwave, add graham cracker crumbs, add marshmallows, then add chocolate chips and microwave again for a “s’mores bowl.” I’m sort of embarrassed to admit that. But not really. And then I somehow convince myself that it is a healthy snack. I can work wonders.
I have never seen a non-cheesecake cookie, let alone a no-bake cookie, that is made with graham cracker crumbs. And there are a plethora of no-bake cookies making their rounds. My heart was singing as I rolled the dough into balls.
As we all know, there is only one way to make peanut butter better…
The best part of the graham cracker crumbs is that they cause these cookies to be a bit salty. If you know me, you know that chocolate + peanut butter + salt is my kryptonite.
And if you don’t know me, well… just look in the dictionary under the word “bacon” and there will probably be a picture of my face.
So since we have some salty, peanut buttery goodness going on here, you can only imagine how fabulous a drizzle of chocolate is on top.
The cookies are not super sweet, so the chocolate is perfect. Not too rich… they are just right.
I find that the cookies are best when cold, just coming out of hibernation in the fridge with a thick, cool layer of fudge drizzle on top. I adapted that original recipe a bit due to what I had on hand and through some trial and error. I’m not ashamed to say that I ate the rejects too.
I’ll take ten please.
No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
makes about 20 cookies
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup brown rice syrup (you can sub corn or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of ginger
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Dough will be very crumbly, but continue to mix. Form 1 inch balls with hands – if dough is too crumbly to stick together, add a bit more peanut butter or syrup until it comes together a bit more. Just continue to work with it. Flatten balls and press with a fork to create indentations.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Santa better leave diamonds under the tree.
I’m Jessica and this is where I share my stuff. You will find a balance of healthy recipes, comfort food and indulgent desserts.
I WILL be making these tonight…I’ve been craving peanut butter lately…these are the perfect answer! Thanks for sharing!!
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I just added this to my list of things to make asap!
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Making these!
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Wow, I’m really wishing you didn’t share the s’mores bowl idea because now I can’t stop thinking about it! :)
These look wonderful! Another grandma classic :)
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Love them! Sometimes I feel like we live in a double life—as in we should probably live closer to each other. I have a big stack of recipes on notecards from my great-grandmother, too! Aren’t grandma recipes the very best?!
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Jessica — December 8th, 2010 @ 9:47 pm
They are THE best! And if we lived anywhere near each other, I can only be sure of one thing… there would be a lack of bacon.
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chocolate on top -yum.
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That’s the first no-bake cookie I’ve seen that doesn’t involve oatmeal and melted pb. Looks delicious!
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I’ll take a dozen please. And you can skip the chocolate drizzle. I’ll have mine totally dunked in chocolate if it’s not a problem. Thanks.
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You had me at “s’mores bowl”…oh my goodness…
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holy moly!! Now I have something to whip up for my party on Friday night!
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These look amazing. Whenever I make anything that I combines graham crackers and butter, I always end up eating some of the mixings :)
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Jessica — December 8th, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
It’s impossible not to!
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I’ve been addicted to hello dollies, but I think you broke my addiction with these.
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Jessica — December 8th, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
I just learned what hello dollies were this weekend. I had never heard of them!
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s’mores bowl? why did i never think of that? i’m always the one sneaking bites out of a graham cracker crust i’m trying to make!
can’t wait to try these cookies!!!!!!
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These look so yummy! I always get hit with the urge to bake cookies at midnight (probably to avoid studying), so something as easy as these would be perfect! :D
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Jessica — December 8th, 2010 @ 9:43 pm
I get the urge late at night too!
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hmmmm – these could not look and sound more delicious.
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1. I just stumbled upon your blog from Julie’s (pbfingers.com) and immediately fell in blog love.
2. Your skills are just fantastic. By that, I mean writing, baking/cooking, photographing… what can you NOT do?
3. I’m immediately subscribing and will probably annoy you with the amount of reply comments I plan on leaving. ;)
YAY for How Sweet!
-Alyssa @ http://lifeofblyss.blogspot.com/
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Jessica — December 8th, 2010 @ 9:49 pm
I am so glad you found me! Thank you so much for the kind words and please… comment away! :)
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I’m jealous of heaven and all the goods Mother Lovett is hoarding up there. Actually, jealous doesn’t even begin to explain it ;)
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Jessica — December 8th, 2010 @ 9:42 pm
I know… she is totally throwing a party up there. I’m sure she brought the whiskey too.
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Did you say no-bake and peanut butter… now there’s no stopping me!
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What!? These are brilliant!
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I think the salty would only make these even better. They look like the BOMB!!!
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oh my!
YUM YUM YUM!
You better get diamonds under the tree. ;)
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Holy Cow! These look fantastic. I love, love, love chocolate and peanut butter!
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I don’t know if it was because I was already hungry, or because I haven’t had a sufficient dosing of chocolate in days, or what, but these cookies look EVEN BETTER than I would normally expect them to and I am frantically wishing I had homemade cookies in my house right now.
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Hi! I have never commented before, but reading your recipe and comments about peanut butter chocolate and graham crackers and salt made me think of one of the desserts I make that is EVERYONEs fav. They are called kit kat bars, but taste nothing like them. I am not allowed to go to a party or dinner without bringing these.
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 3/4 cup butter, cubed
* 1/3 cup milk
* 2 sleeves Ritz crackers (about 80 crackers)
* 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
* 1/2 cups peanut butter
In a large saucepan, combine the cracker crumbs, sugars, butter, and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes more.
Line a 9×13 pan with nonstick tin foil and place a single layer of Ritz crackers along the bottom. Top with half of the graham cracker crumb mixture. Repeat layers once and then top with the remaining Ritz crackers.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Microwave on low, stopping to stir occasionally. Do not over cook or the chocolate will burn. Pour over the crackers and refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars and enjoy!
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Jessica — December 9th, 2010 @ 12:59 am
Thank you for commenting, and these sound INCREDIBLE!
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i’ve made pb/oat no bake cookies but never with graham cracker crumbs, love it! and love the chocolate drizzle even more. mmmm soooooo goooooood.
p.s. i’ve been to whole foods pretty much every day since friday, well except today, but still. ridiculous. i feel dirty too haha
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Do you eat all of this good stuff!??! Wow – yet another fabulous, making-me-drool recipe.
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Love this idea to bits!
Please keep sharing your no-bake treats!
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Wow…I have been MIA for a couple of days and look how much I have missed at How Sweet It Is! :-) I have a lot of catching up to do! I have made a “no bake” version of peanut cookies before, but yours looks much more interesting! I will try your recipe soon! :-)
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That’s the thickest peanut butter cookie I’ve ever seen! I’d love to sink my teeth into one!
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Ooh! These look so good, and so easy to make too! When these are finished being made, how firm are they? They don’t look like they have a very cooky-ish consistency.
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Mmmm, s’mores bowl!
I’m proud to say I eat my cookie rejects all the time! Though sometimes I start to lose control when I start singling out the “runts!” Gotta have uniformity…you are too small…I must eat you!
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Wow! I am amazed at a no-bake peanut butter cookie that looks so much like a traditional one! I have made 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies but never no-bake. Do you like it as much as baked cookies?
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Jessica — December 9th, 2010 @ 12:08 pm
I did really like them, they are different from baked cookies though. It just depends on what I want at the time.
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OMG my hubby would love these! He is a huge PB fan and of course chocolate.
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your posting is great . here is South Korea ,so all is newly cook . I sometimes drop by a friend Rorrie house and then she set some cookies and a various breads. your cook looks very delicious ,but it just …haha.. thankyou!
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Talk about nostalgia.
this is a no bake u haven’t seen.
Leave it to Mother Lovett…
Tell me about brown rice syrup…
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Jessica — December 9th, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
It’s just another sweetener – I happened to have it on hand and not have corn syrup. You can find it in the health/organic section of your grocery store or a health store!
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These look phenomenal!! I love your substitution of brown rice syrup and your addition of the chocolate drizzle. I will be making these soon, for sure :).
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Yo these are healthy, I mean with healthy ingredients. SCORE!
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Okay, these look AMAZING! You better believe that my lady co-workers and I are all going home to make these tonight.
Quick (dumb) question for you: what chocolate did you use to melt for this recipe? And is it your go-to chocolate for most recipe’s?
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Jessica — December 9th, 2010 @ 10:29 pm
It really depends on what I have! I think Lindt and Ghiradelli melt the best, but I’ve also used Nestle morsels (just don’t try to melt white chocolate – they clump) and they work great.
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No bake?? Count me in. Love PB anything & everything :) xo
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Oh wow! These look so awesome! I love the idea of a no bake cookie. And anything peanut butter does it for me!
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There is nothing better than these!
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Can’t lose with this one! Milk please! :)
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You can send a dozen (or two) of those my way.
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Oh dear god girl. You always know how to get me! My peanut butter addiction is not helped by your site
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Oh boy, these look sinful. Must. Not. Make. More. Cookies. At least not today. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks for the incredible recipes!
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Made these last night & put it on my blog! Thanks for sharing! Yummm!
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Jessica — December 15th, 2010 @ 2:53 pm
So glad you liked them!
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Made these at a cookie swap party last week – they were a huge hit! Making them again for Christmas! Thank you :)
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I just made these cookies because I love no-bake recipes. I had 2 problems:
1. I had to add way more PB/maple syrup than the recipe asked for because my dough was too crumbly to form balls and the balls immediately fell apart when I tried to flatten with my fork.
2. Because of problem #1, I ended up eating 1/3 of my dough while “taste-testing” to make sure my PB/syrup ratio were good.
I now have 9 cookies sitting in my fridge. But if I couldn’t get the dough right, my back up plan was to just eat the crumbly dough with the fork.
The dough was AWESOME! I can’t wait to try the cookies. :P
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Useful blog on peanut butter cookies. I love lot baking cookies. Nice informative blog.
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Hi Jessica.
After reading NUMEROUS blog entries of yours, I was enticed to make something from your recipes. I eventually chose to make these no-bake cookies as I was getting too tired to go turn the oven on, or put alot of effort into making anything..and WOW! I’m so glad I had the energy to make these. They tasted SO good! I actually made just half the amount, just to satisfy my craving, and I barely measured correctly anyway. Also, I’m from the UK and we don’t get Graham crackers here, so I used digestives, which, I’m told, is the best equivalent… also, I used crunchy peanut butter, which gave the cookies a nice added bite…. so it seems this is going to be my new, late night, quick-fix recipe! What have you done?!?!
(I’ve also got my sister booked to make cookies for me ((again from one of your recipes)) tomorrow morning before she goes to work! HAHA!)
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