No Bake Cookie Recipes | Taste of Home (2024)

FAQs

Why did my no bake cookies not get hard? ›

Why Didn't My No-Bake Cookies Set? Likely, you didn't boil the mixture long enough. You want the butter, milk, sugar, and cocoa mixture to boil for 2-3 full minutes and reach between 190°F-200°F. If you don't boil them for long enough, they will turn out gooey and will not set.

A: Chances are if the no-bakes turned out dry and crumbly it was because you overcooked them. While we call them cookies, oatmeal no-bakes are really more of a confection or fudge with oats stirred in. When it comes to candy, the longer it is cooked, the drier and harder it becomes.

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out. We recommend white bread so that no flavor is transferred to the cookies.

Hard cookies: you are over mixing, baking too long, baking at too high a temperature, or some combination of these. Cakey cookies: not enough brown sugar, too much or too little egg, too much flour, maybe you used baking powder instead of baking soda?

Why are my no bake cookies grainy? One common reason is overcooking or undercooking the mixture when boiling the ingredients. Make sure to boil the mixture for precisely one minute. Overboiling can lead to a grainy texture, as can using granulated sugar that hasn't completely dissolved.

To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough. Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Caramelizing the sugar beforehand brings bright notes to your cookies, but you can further expand your dessert's flavor profile by playing with proteins.

A basic chocolate chip cookie will bake at 350°F for five minutes and comes out just right. However, you can make most cookies in the air fryer. When air frying, reduce the heat on the machine by about 25°F (so if a cookie recipe calls for 350°F in a conventional oven, set it to about 325°). It's super easy to adjust.

Why does it say not to cook in toaster oven? ›

And if the box instructions say the dinner is safe for an oven but not a toaster oven, that's due to the proximity of the elements to the container and the resulting fire risk.

Traditional baking sheets may be too large for your toaster oven, leading to uneven heating and inadequate results.

Storing your dough in the fridge helps to harden the fat and prevent your cookies from spreading. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure.

If you think your cookie dough is off, you may not have enough liquid in the recipe. Consider adding a touch more liquid such as melted butter, egg yolks, or a teaspoon of water. Add a teeny bit and see if that helps. Add more as needed until the dough holds together and is scoop-able.

Cookies become hard when the moisture in them evaporates. This can be caused by leaving them out in the air for too long, baking them for too long, or storing them improperly. The lack of moisture makes the cookies hard and dry, which makes them difficult to enjoy.