Nutella No-Bake Cookies

Nutella No-Bake Cookies - made June 24, 2016 from Inside Bru Crew Life

I’ve mentioned often enough that I don’t do well in heat. So it’s a good thing I live in a moderate climate. But we do get our heat waves and when that happens, the last thing I want to do is turn on my oven. Yet oddly enough, I don’t really do a lot of no-bake cookies or desserts. I’m a baker, I like to bake. That means putting stuff in the oven and having them come out better than when they went in. “No bake” defies all that and I had a certain amount of prejudice against it.

I say “had” because, as mentioned in an earlier post, I am teachable and willing to change my mind with the right recipe. Which this proved to be. This cookie couldn’t have been easier to put together – you boil some ingredients, stir until smooth, add oats and coconut then shape into cookies. Let set and there you go. But it wasn’t just the ease of making it over my stovetop and not having to turn on the oven. It was that these had the consistency of fudge. Yes, fudge, the bane of my dessert-making existence because I can never get it to come out right.

Turns out I should’ve just been making no-bake cookies and substituting them for fudge. Who knew? And why didn’t they tell me? Okay, these aren’t exactly like fudge, unless you make your fudge with oats. But still, they’ll do in a pinch if you want something rich, chocolaty and super easy to make. Even if you’re not a coconut lover, you actually can’t taste the coconut in this cookie; the flavor gets drowned out by the chocolate and Nutella. I suspect the coconut is just there for filling and to give the cookie some structure and texture.

The only issue I had is I used whole oats and they were a tougher, chewier texture than creamy, dreamy fudge would allow. It wasn’t too bad but next time I would probably add the oats while the mixture was in its final boil and give it a chance to soften up a tad. Otherwise, this is a good cookie in the no-bake category. A category that before this only held Rice Krispie Treats in my dessert repertoire. I just doubled my no-bake assets, ha.

8 tablespoons butter

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup nutella
2 cups quick oats
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1. Place the butter, sugar, cocoa, milk, salt and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted and smooth. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute while stirring constantly.
2. Remove pan from heat and stir in nutella until smooth and creamy. Add the oats and coconut and stir until combined and coated.
3. Drop by large spoonfuls onto parchment paper. Flatten and shape, if desired. Let set until completely cooled. Store in a sealed container.