I love me some oatmeal at least every other day. I don't usually prepare it the traditional sweet-porridge way, but as a savory sludge, with salt and every now and then, also a small green chilli. Although oatmeal is only a recent addition to the Indian diet, it's been prolific enough to find itself in everyday dishes such as upma (savory semolina porridge), idli (steamed rice cakes) and dosa (savory rice crepes).
Quick-cooking oats is definitely my favorite, and recently I picked up a HUGE box of it from Costco. Or at least, I thought it was a box of quick-cooking oats. In fact, it turned out to be a HUGE box of Old Fashioned Oats! I tried making my usual concoction, but found it a tad hard to down too much of it. So, I decided the rest would have to find itself in other dishes.
Cookies, I thought. I would start with cookies. So, I made my way to the Quaker Oats site, hoping to get some inspiration there. I found something better than inspiration - a No-Bake cookie recipe! It calls for all of 4 ingredients not counting the oats, and needs only about 5 minutes of prep! It was a no-brainer. I had to try this recipe.
And, so I give you the Super-Quick No-Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Cookie recipe. The oats worked well in this cookie, and gave it the right amount of chewiness one would expect to have in an oatmeal cookie. I have tweaked the recipe just a tad, and have mentioned in what way in my notes.
Super-Quick No-Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- Light Brown Granulated Sugar 1 1/2 cups
- Vegan Butter or Margarine 6 tbsp or 3/4 stick
- Vegan milk 1/2 cup
- Cocoa Powder 1/3 cup
- Uncooked Quick or Old Fashioned Oats 3 cups
Procedure
- Combine the sugar, vegan marge/butter, vegan milk, and cocoa powder in a saucepan, and bring to boil over medium heat. Stir frequently, and continue to boil for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from heat, and stir in the oats. If you are using old fashioned oats, allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes before getting to the next step. If not, proceed.
- On waxed paper, drop tablespoons of the mixture, and allow to stand till completely cooled and set.
- Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.
Notes:
- The original recipe called for 2 cups of sugar. I used that amount and found it to be sickly sweet.
- The original recipe called for 1 stick or 8 tbsp of butter or marge. The cookies were a little greasy till they set, and the taste of the fat was very prominent. Strangely, with such a high quantity of fat, the website touted this as a 'Low Fat' recipe. I guess they meant each serving is low in fat. But who's going to stop at just one cookie!
- I had to leave the cookies to cool overnight before they were completely set.