isn't no-bake cookies an oxymoron?

   one day during the cookie year, i came home from school, reported to my place in the kitchen & found someone there-standing in front of the mixer....MY mixer....my avocado green Sunbeam mixer with the big glass bowl. to make matters worse, something brown & sticky was involved as well as my little sister & her  neighbor friend, mignonne. on this day (and far too many days to come), they had taken over my hallowed place & were making "no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies"...the nerve.
   much as i hated to admit it, they weren't bad...what WAS bad was sharing the cooking spotlight with her. that night daddy gobbled them up like he'd never had a cookie- at least for 24 hours. it was horrible. the next day was no better as she & mignonne were there again standing in my spot making no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies once more. i think i went to pet the dog, janie, or practice for my piano lesson.
   this unfortunate pattern continued for at least 13 days straight- one day i think she even made them TWICE. it was like groundhog day with waxed paper instead of bill murray.
   by day 6, every cookie sheet in the house was stacked wall to wall in the refrigerator & where the pickles once stood was an army of no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies in varying degrees of dehydration. i fully expected Quaker Oats to erect a silo in our back yard to keep up with the demand for oatmeal. there seemed to be no end in sight. my dad became increasingly unable to hide his fear of the known & began spending evenings away from home- not really, but he did seem to be spending more time hanging out with janie & i swear i smelled peanut butter on her breath.
   my sister eventully moved on to other hobbies including far, FAR surpassing any talent i had for the piano & becomming a really good cook. not sure if she still makes no-bake chocloate peanut butter cookies for her kids- she may have blocked it....i'll have to ask when i talk to her today.
   it took almost 35 years until i had the chance to try another n-b-c-p-b-c (it's getting tedious to type), but it happened. a couple of years ago, one of my son's football teammates mom brought them to a tailgate party. they were fabulous. the boys went wild. she became famous for them & now totes them along to all our potlucks & parties & get togethers. there's never a crumb left. redemption.
   have you tried one since 1976?  or ever?  if not, here's the recipe for nostalgia....and joy:)

*chocolate no-bake peanut butter cookies*
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
pinch salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick oats

in a large saucepan, combine sugar, milk, cocoa, salt & butter. mix well. bring to a boil then remove from heat & add the peanut butter & vanilla. beat until smooth. add oatmeal & mix well. let stand for a few minutes, then drop by spoonfuls onto a wax paper lined baking sheet- or two or three...stack in the fridge if you have the space....*you might want to 1/2 (1/4?) the recipe in case you start something with aspiring chefs in your household

-the snackmom (who adores her sisters & may take a wee bit of liberty in recalling the details of her stories)