Shakeology No-Bake Cookies

Shakeology No-Bake Cookies, or Shakeology Balls, meet my old favorite!  Every holiday season growing up, my mom would make many different holiday treats, such as fantasy fudge, Martha Washingtons (my dad’s favorite, a kind of coconut nougat ball dipped in hardening chocolate), and my absolute favorite that simply went by John’s Chocolate Candy.

When we moved to Dallas, after having lived for 27 years believing this recipe was made just for me, I discovered some rather similar treats in the local grocery store, and soon heard the term “no-bake cookies” used by everyone to refer to them. I was crushed! No longer did I have my very own special treat! No longer was the goodness mine to enjoy alone!

Then a fellow Beachbody coach jumped into the party and created a Shakeology No-Bake Cookies recipe. I tried it, it wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t my traditional John’s Chocolate Candy. So I went back and looked at my mom’s recipe. Aha!! Her recipe involved baking!! Reprieved!! Once again my treat is special! Once again I have something unique to share!

Thus, I am going to attempt to create the ultimate amalgamation, the John’s Chocolate Shakeology No-Bake (or Bake) Cookies/Candy! (I’m totally copyrighting that name). So you may undertake this journey with me, let us begin with the accepted Shakeology No-Bake Cookie recipe:

Shakeology No-Bake Cookies, or Shakeology Balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup reduced-fat or natural peanut butter
• 1 cup quick-cook oatmeal
• ¹/³ cup honey or agave nectar
• 1 cup Chocolate Shakeology powder (if you’re unfamiliar with Shakeology, check my Shakeology page)

Preparation:

First, remove any rings you’re wearing and wash your hands really well. Then combine ingredients in medium bowl. Mix well. Roll into balls (about a heaping teaspoon each). Optional: Roll in crushed nuts, oatmeal mixed with a little cinnamon, whole-grain graham cracker crumbs, or unsweetened coconut flakes.

 

So that’s the official Shakeology recipe, however I think I tried that one a long time ago, and it was a little dry for my liking, and just lacked a little something. It definitely didn’t taste like my treats. Here’s my mom’s traditional recipe:

John’s Chocolate Candy

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 4 tblsp. cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2-3 cups oats

Preparation:

• Bring sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter to rolling boil
• Boil for 4 minutes on medium heat
• Add peanut butter
• Add oats
• Drop on wax paper – let harden

 

Here also is a standard no-bake recipe from Foodnetwork.com: no-bake cookies

So there’s point A and point B, but how to bridge the gap? Obviously we can’t use all that sugar, we can easily replace that with the honey/agave nectar. That means it goes from a solid to a liquid, so that adds moisture. The nut butter doesn’t have to be peanut, it could be Sunbutter, almond butter, whatever, and I believe the full cup of it will replace most if not all of the stick of butter. The oats are added after/without any cooking anyway, so I have no clue why the official recipe called for quick-cook oats, so let’s simply say oats and leave it to you to decide quick-cook, steel cut, whatever. I do like my mom’s idea of using more oats to also help thicken things up, so I’ll leave some wiggle room there. I like the 1/2 cup of evaporated milk in there, to add more moisture if needed, so let’s keep that for now and then say 4 tablespoons – 1 cup Shakeology powder to consistency, whatever it ends up needing. Without the sugar/butter mixture caramelizing under the rolling boil, and instead using honey/agave nectar which is already in that state, I’m not sure the rolling boil is needed, so let’s say perhaps trying one batch with a boil and one without? Thus the tentative recipe:

John’s Chocolate Shakeology No-Bake (or Bake) Cookies/Candy

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural nut butter
• 1-3 cups oats, to consistency
• 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 4 tbspn – 1 cup Chocolate Shakeology powder, to consistency

For preparation, I make this your assignment. Try both ways. Try bringing the honey/agave, milk, and Shakeology to a rolling boil (yes, Shakeology is healthiest when not cooked, but it’s still far healthier than the alternative no matter how it’s served), and then adding the other ingredients and rolling into balls and chilling for later. You can also try simply making the balls without the baking and see how it goes! Please try this recipe out, comment below and let me know what works best for you, and we’ll work together to figure out the ultimate recipe!