I'm pushing 50 .. and these cookies have been in my family recipe books as long as I can remember .. I remember my Great Grandmother making them! ... We've always called them "Love Drops"! ... Made with Love ... :):) .. Enjoy!! .. Our grandkids, now, love to make them with me!... :) ...

can you do this with out vanilla?

Fran in NH - I learned a variant of this recipe 50 years ago in my high school Home Ec class. We used 4 c. sugar, 1 c. milk, 1 c. margarine or butter and 1 tsp. vanilla, and the recipe said to boil for 5 minutes. Then add 6 cups oatmeal and 3/4 cup cocoa. -- No peanut butter, but I'm sure that's a good addition. Everyone loved these!

REAL maple syrup can be used instead of sugar and works really well...tastes super good :)

When it says 1/2 cup cocoa... is that powdered cocoa?

Hi Merideth,

When in doubt in reading a recipe, unless the author is specific, assume they are referring to commonly found ingredients.

This recipe calls for common cocoa, and Hershey's Cocoa would be a good choice.

-- CM

Nice recipe. Tried it and all of them disappeared before i could even put them in the cookie jar!!

A healthy alternative for sugar is Zylitol (or Xylitol), a natural sweetner. I am pre-diabetic and have used Zylitol in all my cooking & baking successfully. Lower GI, no after taste, no dry mouth and tastes almost like sugar. 1 teaspoon Zylitol = 1 teaspoon sugar although I do find I use a little less Zylitol.

I'm 74. Worked for 40 years at a school district. This was served in the school cafeterias. The cooks made many batches! I love them and make them for my Great Grandchildren...:)

Well with regards to the Irish ones, unfortunately the liquor is going to cook off when boiling, unless you add the stuff just at the end during cooling. :p

I am 54 years old and this recipe (without the peanut butter) was in my 4th grade English textbook. It was the first recipe that I remember making completely by myself. It is still my favorite after all these years.

My mom made these when I was growing up and when she passed I never could remember the recipe so thank you whoever posted it!!! Now I can share them with my husband!

I used dark chocolate cocoa because I did not have any regular cocoa and it turned out yummy!

can you use old fashioned oatmeal instead of quick cooking?

Hi. I need some help. I can't find any quick-cooking oatmeal in the supermarket here, in Dunedin NZ. Can I substitute it with Scotch Oats or rolled oats? How should I alter the recipe? Thank you in advance.

Quick- cooking oatmeal is also known as Minute Oats in the name brand of Quaker...

Sorry, after I posted this I noticed you were in New Zealand. If you have microwave oatmeal there... I bet you could use those packets to measure out the oats and if it is sweetened... adjust the sugar and the number of packages to equal the volume. Regular oats do not work because they are too hard and they turn out dry. I know this because I made them as a little girl with regular oats, the ones we ate for brakfast, it was like eating dry oats with chocolate. My mother told me I needed to use the other oats in the cabinet, called minute oats to cook in recipes. Maybe if you soak regular oats in the milk, for a few minutes, and then add the other ingredients and adjust the milk a few more Tablespoons when you cook them in the pan to make the cookies turn out the right consistency. Good Luck!

To Ili in New Zealand ... Hi, I have just made these using Pams McOaties (available at Pak n Save Dunedin, I did not alter the recipe and they seem to have worked out just fine, they have the seal of approval from my kids (who are still fighting over the leftovers in the pot!!). They still need to cool some more but so far, are delish :) Give it a go, hope this helps.

Hi Nancy (in Tennessee) and Andrea (in NZ). Thanks for the help. I've managed to successfully made the cookies. I use Home Brand quick oats from Woolworth, South Dunedin. I substitute the peanut butter with coconut. It tasted very good. Thank you.

Ili, the rolled oats would be a better choice than the Scotch oats. You want to choose the faster cooking oat.

how many to they make..i go to a local retirement home and put on easy peasy cooking classes and want to make sure i have enough...need about 60
should i double the recipe?