This recipe was contributed by Katherine Black. According to Kathy, it’s been around for a long time. She first made cookies from this recipe over sixty years ago. She suggests that you measure the oats and peanut butter before beginning and put the vanilla nearby because things will happen quickly once the mixture begins to boil.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
½ cup cocoa
½ cup milk
½ cup butter
3 cups quick-cooking oats
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Lay out parchment paper on the counter near the stove. Measure oats, peanut butter, and vanilla and have them standing by. Put the sugar, cocoa, and milk into a saucepan on a stove burner. Turn on the burner to medium. Add the butter and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Stop stirring when the mixture begins to boil and continue boiling for one minute.* Remove the mixture immediately and quickly add the oats, peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir to blend the ingredients. Drop and shape by the large spoonful onto the parchment paper. Let the cookies set until cool. Store the cookies in an air-tight container.
Makes about two dozen cookies.
*According to Kathy, the boiling time can be a bit tricky, so she uses a candy thermometer to test whether the mixture is ready. The candy thermometer should register the soft ball stage (235 to 240 degrees). Another method to determine whether the mixture is ready is to scoop some up in a spoon, tip it, and watch how it drops. If it is dropping very slowly, the mixture is ready.