California Cookies
I'll just get this out of the way at the beginning – I have no idea why these are called California cookies. All I know is that "California Cookies" is what's scrawled across the top of the recipe my mom has written down, and I am not going to question it because these things are damn delicious.
I grew up eating California cookies around the holidays, so I associate them with Christmas. That was the only time of year my mother would make them, and I have a feeling this was a very purposeful decision. She wanted to make sure they stayed special, but also I think she didn't want to have to constantly be making them. We all love them, my dad included, and we probably would have asked for California cookies constantly if they weren't reserved specifically for the holidays.
Despite my love for Californias, as my family has started to call them over the years, I didn't make them over this past holiday season. If you recall, my peanut-butter-and-chocolate-obsessed husband had already requested too many cookies with that flavor combination, and I couldn't bring myself to add another one to the list. Flash forward to now: it's April, and I needed a California cookie fix, so here we are!
My nostalgia and bias may be coming into play here, but I firmly believe these cookies are better than the other no-bake and preacher cookies I've tried. (Side note: if you haven't heard no-bake cookies called "preacher cookies" before, you probably haven't been below the Mason-Dixon.) Compared to other no-bakes I've eaten in the past, this recipe isn't quite as oat-heavy, and the coating on the oats seems a little smoother, crunchy peanuts aside. It's almost more like a heavy glaze. It's very possible that this is all in my head, but if you like no-bake cookies I recommend you give these a try! They're easy, quick, and the ingredients are items that most people already have on-hand.
CALIFORNIA COOKIES
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Set Time: 45-60 minutes
Ingredients
½ c butter
2 c sugar
½ c milk
½ c cocoa powder
1 t vanilla
½ c chunky peanut butter
pinch of salt
2½ c instant oats
Directions
Prepare 2-3 cookie sheets with wax paper or baking mats. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter on medium heat. Add in the sugar, milk, and cocoa, and stir. Bring to a boil for two minutes – turn up the heat if you need to go higher than medium – but stir occasionally so that the sugar doesn't burn.
After two minutes of boiling, mix in the vanilla, peanut butter, and a pinch of salt, and then take the saucepan off the heat. Moving quickly (but safely!) add the quick-oats, stir until they're all coated and well-combined in the cocoa mix, and then drop tablespoon-sized cookies onto the covered cookie sheets. Do this as quickly as you're able so the batter doesn't start to get dry. No baking required – just let them set, and enjoy!
Happy Eating,
Natalie