One of the most common questions people ask is: 'How do you make crunchy no bake cookies?' Most people have no problems making wonderful, soft, gooey, cookies, but, when it comes to great tasting crunchy no bake cookies, there are a lot of failed recipes.
The remedy is simple. If you want a crunchy texture to come out, you have to put something crunchy in. But first, a clear distinction needs to be made between the desired crunchy texture of a perfect cookie, and, the hard, teeth-chipping texture when your cookies have been over cooked. So, first and foremost, do not overheat any of your ingredients and you won't be left with hard, inedible cookies.
There are lots of ingredients that can be added to cookies to provide a crunchy texture. If you like nuts, a couple of ounces of chopped walnuts, almonds, or, Brazil nuts will add crunch. A little trick of mine is to use my coffee grinder to chop up my nuts - why buy another grinder when you already have one?
If you don't eat nuts, or don't have any available, a handful of cereal can add crunch, and flavor, to your cookies. Rice Krispies, and Frosted Corn Flakes are two of the most popular additions.
Adding crunchy peanut butter will work, as will putting some graham crackers in the blender (or coffee grinder)for a couple of seconds. You can also crumble some vanilla wafers to add to your cookies. The key thing you need to remember is that most of the items mentioned here contain a lot of sugar, so, just reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe otherwise the cookies may be overly sweet.
This recipe is an old favorite of mine. The cookies have lots of crunch and are a welcome change to the standard oatmeal and peanut butter no bake cookies
No Bake Rice Krispie & Date Nut Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg- beaten
1 cup chopped Dates
2 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 cup chopped nuts (any variety)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 pinch Salt (can be omitted)
1/2 pack shredded Coconut,
Put the butter, sugar, egg and dates in a saucepan and heat on medium high for five minutes, stirring constantly. Let stand until lukewarm. Mix the Rice Krispies, nuts, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and add the cooled liquid. Fold the mixture together and then form into small balls. Finish by rolling in coconut and making a pyramid display on a nice china sweet plate.
