The BEST No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies

No time to bake this holiday season? Make these simple No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies to spread holiday cheer! These chilled no bake cookies taste like gingerbread and are the perfect quick cookie to mix up.

Love no bake treats? Don’t miss No Bake Scotcheroo Cookies, No Bake Avalanche Cookiesand No Bake Peppermint Bark Cookies!

2024 Update: This recipe was originally shared in December 2015. The recipe has been updated with better information and measurements. The post includes new photos, as well as more tips and tricks. I hope you love this cookie recipe!

Confession time: Save for the few we shared with friends, my husband and I ate all the cookies this recipe makes when I originally developed it.

In our defense, we were really active that weekend and both craving something sweet after all the physical activity, which consisted of walking the dog and baby up and down hills in our neighborhood for miles and wrangling a Christmas tree into our car, then into our home.

That said, eating an entire pan of cookies is kind of embarrassing.

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What is cookie butter?

Cookie butter is ground up Speculoos cookies that is in a paste, that looks similar to nut butter. Instead of nuts, though, these cookie crumbs are ground up with fat, flour and sugar to create a spreadable ‘butter’ that’s utterly delicious.

Traditionally made from a Dutch spice cookie, cookie butter tastes similar to gingerbread. Lotus Biscoff cookies are a version of these cookies and biscoff spread is a brand of cookie butter. Trader Joe’s also sells their own version.

Why I love this recipe:

It should go without saying that these No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies are absolutely out-of-this-world delicious.

The creamy cookie butter spread is our not-so-secret ingredient that takes these no bake cookies over the top. Of the recipes I’ve made this year, this is one of my daughters’ favorite cookies.

Also, these easy cookies are made without an oven, peanut butter OR eggs.

I love these cookies because they have that perfect cookie butter flavor. Similar to gingerbread, they are not too ginger-y or spicy.

The rolled oats add a nice chewiness to the final cookie, as does the colored sugar for decorating.

And these chewy cookies will fly off the pan, ensuring they won’t be around for too long, because they taste so darn good!

One of the best things about these cookies, other than the flavor, is that they are easy to make and they require NO baking time. You don’t need an oven or a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl because they are made in a saucepan on the stovetop before you scoop them onto your sheet pan and let them take a little chill time before enjoying. 

So easy and so delicious!

More easy cookie recipes to make and share: Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies | Drop Sugar Cookies | Snowball Cookies | Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies

Let’s talk about The Sweetest Season and Cookies for Kids Cancer!

The Sweetest Season is my annual holiday cookie week.

In 2011, I decided to share my favorite Christmas cookies… then invited other bloggers to join me. The celebration grew, we changed the name to make it more inclusive, my friend Susannah stepped up to help and the rest is history.

And now, every year, food bloggers get together to share new holiday cookie recipes.

This year, we’re raising money in support of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for new, innovative and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancer.

Since 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has granted nearly $18 million to pediatric cancer research in the form of 100+ research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers. More than 35 treatments available to kids battling cancer today were stemmed from these grants.

We’d love for you to help us raise money for this cause! You can donate through our fundraising page.

Currently, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is in a matching window with their friends at OXO. This means OXO will match every dollar up to $100,000 raised through the end of 2024. So whatever money we raise will automatically double!

What you need to make this recipe:

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Here are the simple ingredients that you need to grab at your local grocery store

• Unsalted butter — or your favorite neutral oil. In my original recipe, I used refined coconut oil to make these cookies.
• Cookie butter — this stuff is absolute gold! I grabbed the Speculoos Cookie Butter from Trader Joe’s, but I’m sure this Lotus biscoff cookie butter would work just as well. You could also make homemade cookie butter in the food processor, if you prefer that. This is one of the key ingredients and there is no replacement.
• Maple syrup — this gives us a little bonus sweetening. You could replace it with honey, if that’s more your speed, but I prefer maple for recipes like this.
• Milk — use your favorite type. We keep whole milk at our house, but you can add nondairy milk here, too, if you prefer.
• Pure vanilla extract — this brings everything together and helps the flavors sing. Pure vanilla is the way to go if you can afford it.
• Powdered sugar — also known as confectioners’ sugar, this thickens our sauce, as well as adds some sweetness. This is not the same thing as granulated or white sugar.
• Rolled oats — also known as old fashioned oats. I like the chewy texture these bring to the no bake cookies. You could use ground oats if that’s more your speed, but the texture of the cookies will be different.
• Colored sugars — these are totally optional, but I used green, red and white to give my cookies a Christmas flair.

Substitutions and variations:

Add mix-ins. Classic chocolate chips or white chocolate chips would be lovely additions to fold into the mix, as would piece of Biscoff cookies. 

Stir in some bonus spice. A few shakes of ground cinnamon or ginger would be a lovely addition to these cookies.

How to make No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper, wax paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Once the butter has melted, pour in the cookie butter spread, maple syrup, milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Stir until combined and completely melted.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the oats to form the cookie dough.

Use a 1-inch cookie scoop (or a spoon of your choosing) to scoop the warm cookies directly onto the lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle the colored sugars (or sprinkles or fancy finishing salt) on top of the cookies immediately. If you do not do this quickly, the cookies will begin to set and they will not stick as well.

Chill in the refrigerator for an hour. You can gently cover the sheet pan in plastic wrap to prevent the cookies from soaking up other flavors from the refrigerator.

Enjoy with a glass of your favorite beverage.

How to store:

These cookies should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

They will get extremely gooey and melty if left at room temperature and will become hard to pick up, let alone eat.

You can also store them in the freezer in a freezer-safe container.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

These easy Cookie Butter Cookies are one of my favorite recipes to have in my back pocket for occasions of all sorts because they are simple to put together and always delicious. They are the ultimate Christmas cookie, given their flavor. 

The only catch with them is that you’ve got to give them time to chill, as well as keep them cold.

If I were to make these chewy cookie butter cookies for a gathering, be it a cookie swap or a treat for a cookie decorating party, here’s what I would do:

• Make the cookies early. Since these keep in the fridge for up to a week, as long as you wrap them properly, they are easily kept chilly.
• Double the recipe for a larger batch to share with a bigger group.
• Transport them cold… and set them out cold. This way, they’ll stick together for longer and won’t become too gooey.

Expert tips and tricks to the best No Bake Cookie Butter Cookies:

• Don’t skip the chill. This is absolutely necessary to set up the cookies, as well as keep them together.
• Add the decorating sugar or sprinkles to decorate for various holidays, not just for Christmas.
• Keep ’em cold. If you don’t, they will become too gooey and you will not be able to pick them up, let alone enjoy them easily.

Here’s how you can make them…