No-Bake Cookies - A Quick, Simple and Healthy Dessert for Your Family!

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Cookies are relished by people of all ages as snacks, dessert, or even breakfast. Cookies are tasty and filling desserts, which can be enjoyed alone or with some milk. But baking cookies can be a tiresome process, and it is not possible to bake perfect cookies every time at home. 

Baking is an art and cannot be a cup of tea for everyone. The art of baking requires patience and mastering the measurements. The measurements of each ingredient used to bake an item can make or break a dish. Most of us directly buy our favorite cookies from bakeries or convenience stores to avoid baking at home. But, what if you can make your favorite cookies at home, without baking them. 

The no-bake cookies, as their name suggests, require no baking. They are quick and easy to make without any hassle of baking. The no-bake cookies are prepared by mixing the ingredients which do not need cooking or with precooked ingredients. The ready to eat ingredients or precooked ingredients reduce the extra step of baking cookies. 

How to make no-bake cookies? 

There are several recipes for making no-bake cookies all over the internet. But to master the art of making cookies without baking them, you need to understand the process and ingredients used for no-bake cookies. 

Baking is a process that includes cooking food using dry heat. We usually use hot air ovens for baking, but sometimes hot stones, and sand can also be used for baking. The no-bake cookies require no form of dry heat to cook. The ingredients used usually for baking a good cookie or bread is a raising agent. Some of them are yeast, baking soda, baking powder, fruit salt, or vinegar, etc., which makes the food spongy and light. Whereas most of the no-bake cookies recipes do not require such additional ingredients. 

The no-bake cookies are directly cooked and set for an hour or so without the baking. The essential ingredients for classic no-bake cookies are oats, milk, butter, any sugar or sweetener, peanut butter, and any flavoring agent. 

• The oats are directly cooked in butter, milk, and sugar on low heat in a saucepan until the butter is completely dissolved.
• Then the mixture can be cooked for one minute to get a uniform consistency.
• Turn off the heat once you like the consistency of the mixture and let it cool for some time. 
• Take a tray and line it with a butter paper. Scoop out the mixture and place it on the plate, spread with fingers to get a perfect shape, and let it sit for an hour at room temperature or in a refrigerator. 
• Tadaa, your cookies are done and ready to be served with some milk or evening tea. 

Quick tips to make no-bake cookies at home

• Butter should be entirely dissolved before turning the high heat. 
• Cook all the ingredients slowly to avoid burning of the mixture. 
• Cook for a proper 1 minute, boiling the mix for more than a minute can make your cookies very soft, and they won’t hold shape. 
• Add a pinch of sea salt to enhance the sweetness of your cookies. 
• Any type of sweetener can be used to make cookies. 
• Allow to set the cookies at least for an otherwise they will crumble. 
• Use a sufficient amount of butter to bind the ingredients together. 

No-bake cookies can be made with almond milk also for perfect vegan cookies. A variety of additional ingredients can also be added to enhance the flavors. Peanuts, almonds, sesame seeds can also be added for extra health benefits. To make the cookies more chocolaty, Nutella can also be added in the mix.  To decorate cookies, strawberry jam, white chocolate, nuts, and seeds can be used. The choice of additional ingredients and flavors totally depends on your palate. You can use various combinations of fruits, nuts, and jams to prepare delicious cookies. 

How to fix no-bake cookies? 

If your cookies don’t turn out to be the best, don’t worry, try to fix them with little hacks provided here. 

Dry or crumbly cookies

Very dry or crumbly cookies are the result of excess oats or dry materials used in cooking. Try to add extra binding ingredients such as marshmallows, jam, peanut butter, etc. You can also use them in an ice cream cake recipe or with your cereal bowl as a topping. 

Extra gooey cookies 

When the dry ingredients are cooked with too much milk, and for more than a minute, they turn gooey due to excess moisture released during the cooking process. Try to use dry ingredients to fix the moist cookies such as nuts and toasted rolled oats. They can also be mixed with cake batter. 

Not holding shape

Try to add binding materials such as honey, peanut butter, or melted marshmallows to bind the cookie together. Refrigeration can also help in the quick setting of the mixture. 

Hard cookies

Hard cookies lack moisture, which means they are not cooked enough. Try to add butter to make it soft or use the cookies for making ice cream sandwiches. 

Why no-bake over bake?

No-bake cookie recipe requires very fewer ingredients, cooking time, and apparatuses. Whereas baking requires additional elements that are not so healthy, and substitutes for such components are not easy to find. Baking also requires a lot of cooking time and pre-preparation, such as measuring, mixing, etc. No-bake cookies are quick, easy to make, and are also healthy, which can be enjoyed without worrying too much about calories. 

How to store no-bake cookies? 

The no-bake cookies can be stored in an air-tight container or bag for up to a week at room temperature. In more warm temperatures, these can be stored in a refrigerator packed in an air-tight container.