No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

I am a big fan of any recipe that doesn't require turning on the oven, especially when the temperature here in Georgia is in the high 90s this week. Whew!

I've made this cookie recipe twice so far this summer.

You'll need:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 stick butter (the real stuff)
1/2 cup milk

3 cups quick cooking oatmeal* (uncooked)
1/2 cup peanut butter

Wax paper or non-stick cookie sheets.

Pre-measure the oatmeal and peanut butter and set aside.

Combine the 1st 4 ingredients in a saucepan. Stir almost constantly, until boiling. Keep stirring 1 more full minute while boiling then remove from heat. Mix in the oatmeal & the peanut butter until all is well-blended. I mix it together in the same saucepan, to make clean up easier.

Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper sheets. Shape them a bit with the spoon if needed.

If while you are setting them out the mixture gets a bit dry, add up to 1 teaspoon of milk & mix well. Let them sit and harden for 30 minutes.

*If you don't have any of the "Quick Cooking" type oatmeal, you CAN use the regular oatmeal, but keep in mind that the cookies will be chewier in consistency. The consistency can be improved if you put the oatmeal in a food processor and blend it for a bit to make the pieces smaller.

Rice Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

Here's a new one that everyone in the family enjoyed (from age 3 to 43).
Believe it or not, this recipe came from my daughter's Seventeen Magazine!

Rice Crispy Peanut Butter Balls

3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme like Fluff brand.

Mix ingredients together. Form 1-1/2 inch balls and place on a wax-papered cookie sheet. Refrigerate for one hour.

We modified the recipe a bit. I only had smooth peanut butter, so I added about 1/2 cup of dry roasted peanuts to add more crunch. Instead of peanut butter chips, we used chocolate chips.
They went fast!

This would be an especially good one for the summer or for kids to fix themselves, because it was easy, fun, and no cooking is needed.

No Bake Raspberry Torte

Today's recipe is courtesy of Veronica Jorden of www.thesensiblegourmet.net
It sounds delicious, thanks so much for sending it in, Veronica!

No-Bake Raspberry Torte

1 ½ - 2 pints of raspberries or strawberries (or use the equivalent of frozen, thawed)

1 large tub of whipped topping

1 sleeve of graham crackers (any variety)

Wash berries thoroughly and place in mixing bowl.
With mixer on low, beat berries until they no longer hold their shape.
Add whipped topping a cup at a time and mix until fully blended.
Next place a small amount of the raspberry whipped topping mixture on a plate and lay the first graham cracker on top.
Continue layering topping and graham crackers until the torte has reached the desired height.
Use remaining topping mixture to frost the entire stack or graham crackers.
Decorate as desired.
efrigerate for at least two hours.
The graham crackers will absorb some of the moisture from the topping and you can cut this torte like a cake!