No-Bake Cookies with Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Chewy Oats

Ingredients

• 7 ounces plain or lightly toasted sugar
• 6 ounces milk; any percentage will do
• 1/2 ounce Dutched cocoa powder, such as Cacao Barry Extra Brute
• 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or use the same weight
• 1 ounce dark chocolate, about 72%, melted
• 4 ounces creamy peanut butter; commercial styles work best
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ounces instant oatmeal
• 1 ounce old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions

1. In a 3-quart stainless steel saucier, combine the sugar, milk, cocoa, and salt with a whisk. Set the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil, which should take about 5 minutes. Attach a digital thermometer to the pan and cook until the mixture looks thick and actively bubbling and reads exactly 230 degrees F (110 degrees C), about 6 minutes more. Skip handheld thermometers for this kind of candy-style cooking, since they can be hard to hold steadily in the right spot.
2. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the melted chocolate, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Switch to a flexible, heat-safe spatula and fold in both kinds of oats. Mix only until the batter starts to firm up, then use a pair of metal spoons to portion it onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan. Once the cookies feel firm and no longer tacky, about 25 minutes, move them into an airtight container. They can be kept at room temperature about 2 weeks, or refrigerated for up to 1 month.