No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe for Quick Treats

If the yellowed index card doesn’t give it away, the “White Karo Corn Syrup” listed among the ingredients should.

This is another treasure from Mother Lovett’s expansive recipe collection. I was especially excited to discover these cookies because they use one of my favorite ingredients: graham cracker crumbs.

True story: sometimes I melt butter in the microwave, stir in graham cracker crumbs, fold in marshmallows, then add chocolate chips and microwave again for a makeshift “s’mores bowl.” I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it — but not enough to stop. I even convince myself it’s a healthy snack on occasion.

I’d never seen a non-cheesecake, no-bake cookie made with graham cracker crumbs before, and with so many no-bake cookie recipes out there, I was thrilled as I rolled the dough into balls.

As we all know, there’s only one way to make peanut butter even better…

The graham cracker crumbs lend a pleasant salty note to these cookies. If you know me, you know chocolate + peanut butter + salt is my kryptonite. If you don’t, just imagine how much I love bacon.

Given the salty, peanut-buttery base, a drizzle of chocolate on top is the perfect finishing touch. These cookies aren’t overly sweet, so the chocolate adds richness without overwhelming them.

I like these best straight from the fridge, when they’re cool and the chocolate has set into a thick, fudgy layer. I adapted the original recipe slightly based on what I had and through a bit of trial and error — and I’m not ashamed to say I sampled the imperfect batches along the way.

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 creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup brown rice syrup (substitute corn or maple syrup if preferred)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of ginger

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. The dough will be crumbly at first; continue mixing and press the mixture together with your hands. Form 1-inch balls — if the dough won’t hold, add a little more peanut butter or syrup until it comes together. Flatten each ball and press with a fork to create indentations.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over the cookies. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Santa better leave diamonds under the tree.