No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies are the oven-free, quick and delicious treat to satisfy your sweet cravings all year long. 

Sure, there’s never a bad time for a homemade chocolate chip cookie. But who wants to turn on the oven in the middle of summer? The heat is one thing, but then the humidity! It’s all enough to put even the most active home bakers on a baking moratorium. 

That’s when no-bake chocolate chip cookies come to the rescue. They’re just as sweet, satisfying, and tender as classic Toll House Cookies, without steaming up your kitchen.

All you need is a food processor and a short list of ingredients, and you’re well on your way to a fresh batch of doughy homemade cookies, no oven mitts necessary. 

Ingredients for No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

While classic chocolate chip cookies call for common baking ingredients like flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar, the ingredient list for this recipe is a bit different. In fact, the ingredients are healthier, lighter and the list is shorter!

All you need to make these tasty sweet treats is:

• Old-fashioned oats. You can use quick-cooking oatmeal too, or even oat flour if you have it. If using oat flour, there’s no need to blend the oats to small pieces in step one of the recipe. Old-fashioned oats are also sometimes labeled rolled oats or regular oats in the grocery store. 

• Smooth almond butter. This is the binding ingredient for your cookie dough. Smooth is better than chunky, as it holds things together a little better.
  • You can also use a different nut butter of your choosing, such as peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter to keep the recipe nut-free. I prefer nut butter that’s unflavored, unsalted, and doesn’t have any sweeteners. That way, you can more easily control the sweetness and flavor of your cookies. 

• Vanilla extract is the classic flavor enhancer in baked and raw cookies alike. 

• A dash of salt brings out the natural sweetness of maple, chocolate, and vanilla. 
  
• Maple syrup sweeteners these cookies and keeps the dough moist. It adds a delicious warm, sugary flavor that pairs perfectly with almond butter and chocolate. Unlike granulated or brown sugar, maple syrup also won’t cause your cookies to become grainy or crumbly.
  • If you’re out of maple syrup, another liquid sweetener, like honey, agave or brown rice syrup will also work, though the flavor may be a bit different. If you’re using honey, it can help to warm it up in the microwave first for easier mixing. 

• Chocolate chips complete the recipe. I like to use mini chocolate chips, which helps the cookies hold together better. Large chunks can result in more crumbly cookies. If you only have regular-sized chocolate chips, then break them down a bit more in the food processor. 

Mixing Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Once you have your ingredients ready, you can mix up this quick cookie dough. Because there is no flour or fussy leaveners in this recipe, you don’t have to be worried about common baking errors like over-mixing, over-rising, or over (or under) baking. 

It’s fastest to make the cookies in a food processor. If you only have a blender, then I would use it to break down the oats, and then mix the remaining ingredients by hand. 

If you don’t have a blender or a food processor, opt for oat flour instead of whole oats in the recipe. 

Once you’ve broken down the oats into a coarse meal, simply add in the remaining ingredients and mix until you have a uniform dough. 

Pulse in the chocolate chips at the last minute to avoid breaking them down too much, and you’re done!

Shaping No-Bake Cookies

To make the actual cookies, simply treat the no-bake dough just as you would regular cookie dough.

With the one reminder that these cookies won’t rise or spread any larger, like they might in the oven. You can shape your cookies into whatever shape or size you like. 

Then, place the shaped cookies on a baking sheet or a large plate and chill them in the fridge for about 20-30 minutes, until firm. This step isn’t 100% necessary, but it does help keep the cookies together. 

How to Store No-Bake Cookies

Once they’re solid, you can enjoy these No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies with a tall glass of cold milk, straight from the fridge!

Store them in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Keep them in an airtight container or zip-top bag for maximum freshness. 

How to Make No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1: Gather your ingredients.

Step 2: Place the oats in a food processor and pulse until broken down into a flour. 

Step 3: Add the almond butter, vanilla, salt, maple syrup and blend until smooth. 

Step 4: Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Step 5: Form the dough into 1½-inch discs and arrange on a plate or baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 minutes, until firm. 

Up Next: White Chocolate No-Bake Cookies