Silly cat, chocolate is for humans!

I had a hankering to make something chocolate, but with summer coming on I didn't want to heat up the oven and thereby my residence. I found the perfect solution. My mother has a recipe for no-bake cookies that is very good, but given my preference for some "healthier" options in recent times, I decided to adjust the recipe slightly. Here's the ingredients to my mother's recipe:

No-Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla

I decided to substitute dark chocolate baking cocoa for the baking cocoa and almond butter for the peanut butter. I also use Smart Balance spread instead of butter because of its mixture of omegas -- that way I get the benefit of eating fish without eating fish all the time. The substitution turned out alright, and making the cookies is very easy.

First, combine the sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter in a saucepan. Once you apply heat, the mixture will liquefy rapidly, so stir constantly. Eventually the mixture will start to boil around the edges of the pan, just like you see here.


Continue stirring until the mixture reaches full boil, as shown here. Boil for 1 minute (or thereabouts before the mixture threatens to escape the confines of your pan).




Next, remove from heat and add in the oats and stir.







Then, add in the almond butter (oh, I love this stuff!)







Finally, add the vanilla and stir. The cookies are made by dropping the mixture in spoonfuls onto wax paper, as shown here. (I know what some of you think these cookies look like, and all I have to say to you is get your mind out of the gutter! You know you are, and so do I!)

The cookies (30 total) take about an hour to cool. But it seems that someone just couldn't wait that long! And of course, she wants the biggest one. Silly cat, chocolate is for humans, not cats! But as good as these turned out, I don't blame her for wanting some. The consistency is a little different than what I remember Mother producing, but I attribute the difference to the change in ingredients; the oils in the products I used are substantially different. That being said, the cookies did hold up well. And it's not like that requirement is all that extensive, since an individual cookie doesn't last five seconds in my hand! Yum!