No Bake Caramel Peanut Butter Cookies

Nothing says comfort like a freshly made cookie.  Today, I was in need of one of those tiny morsels of comfort, and decided to stir up a batch.  It has been a whirlwind of a week, and I still don't know where my time has gone.  As I was planting blueberries and blackberries this afternoon, I noticed the plants have already set fruit.  I know, I should have planted them three weeks ago when I picked them up at the garden center, but I couldn't decide where they would thrive.  I finally decided to plant them out at our farm.  One of my favorite summer pastimes is to go and pick blueberries.  This is definitely a Mississippi trait I learned. In Oklahoma, I would have picked them up frozen at the local grocery, but now, I look forward to the few weeks when you can visit a blueberry farm and pick your own. 

Something about the sun-ripened berries, the sweat while picking, and the delicious fresh taste, prompted me to try my hand at growing my own.  I will keep you posted on the berry adventure, and if we happen to have fruit, I would love to have you over to enjoy my front porch and some cobbler.

So, back to the cookies.  I have a cousin who lives in Japan, and she has asked me to share all of the no-bake cookies I can imagine.  See, in Japan, homes don't typically have an oven. So Karen, this is for you.  I also have may friends who refuse to bake in the summer because their ovens heat up the entire house.  I like cookies all year long, and this is a perfect recipe for a hot summer day since the oven is not used.

I have shared a recipe for chocolate peanut butter no-bake cookies.  These cookies have cocoa powder and peanut butter along with oatmeal for a fudgy cookies.  Well, when I decided these would be the perfect cookie for today, it dawned on me that I am out of cocoa.  I could have run to the store, but thought a caramel peanut butter cookie would be a delicious alternative that wouldn't require me running to the local DG.

I am sharing the recipe with you, as I was negligent in taking a picture of the finished product.  You see, we have had a few pesky little black ants show up at our house.  Today, the house was sprayed for ants, and other spring bugs, and I guess this has driven them from all of their hiding places.  While the cookies were cooling we went to our farm and took care of our daily responsibilities.  When I returned home, the cooling cookies had little black specks on them that were moving.  Good thing I tasted them while they were hot, as I was mortified, and threw them quickly in the garbage.  They were quite tasty, and a great treat for anyone who is not so fond of the chocolate variety.

No-Bake Caramel Peanut Butter Cookies

1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oats

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add milk and sugars.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter.  When well incorporated, add oats.  Stir well, and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto wax paper.  Allow to cool, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy!