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'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...:)

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.

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

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

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

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!

can you do this with out vanilla?

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!... :) ...

it is so good i make some everyday lol

I've made these when I was young. Now I make them with my niece, she calls them chewy charlie's.

i think that Amanda from Wisconin should relax i'm 13 and trying to find a great recipe for mothers day and i think i found it thanks who ever posted it

this recipe is amazing i grew up with it. another good way to make it is add rice crispies instead of oatmeal

I, too, have a grandmother that would make these all the time. She called them "Sorta likes" because they are sorta like the other no-bake chocolate cookie recipe that she would make that calls for graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow fluff. The 'sorta likes' were always my favorite!

I too am 60 and have made this since I was a little girl. Also, you can leave out the peanut butter and oatmeal to make a great cake icing. Pour it over the cake while the "icing" is still hot, as it cools, it hardens