• Kelly Davis
• Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate oatmeal cookies (or no-bake cookies as they are sometimes called - although I've never thought this description did them justice) - recipes for them are a dime a dozen among Southern families.

I'm not saying Southerners are the only people who make this particular cookie, but I bet if you grew up in another area of the country, you didn't have five to 10 varieties of these cookies at every school bake sale. Oddly enough, I've probably have only tried five different varieties of them, because it didn't take me long to develop my discriminating palate where I quickly learned that my mom made THE BEST chocolate oatmeal cookies.

How good are they?

Well, my mom once sent my brother back to college with a container of these cookies. His roommate had already proven himself to be a food stealer after swiping the last of my grandfather's homemade barbecue from the shared fridge. My little brother took no chances with these cookies and told his roommate that if he touched the cookies, my brother would kill him in his sleep.

I bet you're thinking that he was a bit harsh. You haven't tried these cookies.

• Kelly Davis
• No Bake Cookies

CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES (makes 1 dozen cookies)
If you've got a sweet tooth, these cookies will make your toes curl. And if you think chocolate and peanut butter are God's greatest gifts to mankind, be prepared for an out-of-body experience.

2 cups of sugar
4 heaping Tbsp. of cocoa*
1/2 cup of evaporated milk
1 stick of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 heaping Tbsp of peanut butter*
3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats

In a medium -sized pot, combine cocoa and sugar and stir together. Add evaporated milk and mix well. Put pot on the stove on medium heat. Add butter and stir gradually until the butter melts. Bring mixture to a boil and let it boil for 1 minute stirring occasionally.

Take the pot off of the heat. Add the vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until peanut butter melts. Gradually add oats, 1 cup at a time.

Drop on wax paper with a tablespoon. Let sit until firm (usually about 30 minutes, but longer if humidity is high**.

*A heaping Tablespoon is obviously not an exact measurement, but my family has been making this recipe for three generations now (maybe more) and this is the recipe we have used. By heaping, I mean put as much cocoa powder and peanut butter on your tablespoon as it will hold.

**Don't even attempt to make these in the summer time.

Kelly Davis is a blogger, freelance writer, food enthusiast, and native North Carolinian. When she's not training for a race or cooking something delicious in the kitchen, she's writing, reading, snuggling her dachshund, or plotting her next project. You can keep up with Kelly's antics and recipes on her blog, Foodie Fresh.