Take no-bake cookies to the next level with addition of peppermint extract and peppermint kisses – and with the addition of Horizon Organic whole milk, these peppermint-kissed no bake cookies are a holiday treat you won’t feel guilty eating!

With the holidays creeping up faster than I’d like, it’s time for me to my bake on…err, my no-bake on, if you know what I mean.  As much as I’d like, I simply don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen baking during the holiday season.  We’re doing good to get the last gift wrapped in time to make it to all of our holiday parties {thank goodness for easy wrapping with gift bags and colored tissue paper}.

But I can’t let the holidays pass without making some fun cookies with Doodle.  He’s at the age where he really likes to help in the kitchen but still is not old enough to do things entirely on his own – so no bake cookies are the perfect answer.

These are your basic no-bake cookies: sugar, butter, cocoa, milk and oats.  But since it’s the holiday season, we added in a bit of peppermint extract and plopped a peppermint swirled chocolate kiss on top.  Basically the best decision ever.

Also a great decision?  Replacing our regular milk with Horizon Organic.  Doodle loves the individual-sized milk boxes (strawberry is his favorite – he thinks it’s a “treat,” and I do the mom-is-winning dance because everyone is happy}.  I love Horizon Organic because it contains A DHA Omega-3, which is widely recognized for its role in supporting healthy brain development.  My kiddo loves it because it tastes good.

I originally started giving him the small boxes in his lunch, but since he loved drinking it so much, I switched his regular, everyday 2% milk to the Horizon brand and he’s been drinking it like crazy.  I used the whole-milk in these cookies, though – I figured we were already going off the diet-track by eating cookies, so we might as well go whole-hog. 😉

Doodle had fun stirring up the chocolaty oats and placing the kisses on top.  He couldn’t wait quite long enough to bite into one of these cookies to allow it to cool all the way, so the kiss kind of melted on the top and was gooey and perfect.  And with just a bit of peppermint extract added in with the chocolate, this peppermint-kissed no-bake cookie was holiday cookie perfection.

Since we have school holiday parties coming up, Doodle also wanted to make a healthy treat to share with his classmates.  I’m not one of those super crafty moms, but putting together these cute little cheesestick snowmen was something even I could do.  We cut out hats out of black construction paper, used a twist-tie for a scarf, and dotted on a face with markers.

Then we packaged a cheese stick along with an individual milk-box in a cellophane bag, and sealed the bag with another twist-tie.  Such a quick and easy school treat, and one you can feel good about sending into the classroom.

Doodle had so much fun helping me make these little treats, and I loved that he enjoyed making holiday treats that were on the healthy side.  It was definitely a win-win!

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Peppermint-Kissed No Bake Cookies

 

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Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 8 tablespoons butter
• ⅓ cup cocoa
• ½ cup [Horizon Organic Whole-Milkhttps://www.horizondairy.com/products/milk/whole-milk]
• 3 cups oats, uncooked (quick or old-fashioned)
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 20 peppermint kisses, unwrapped

Method

1. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa. Allow the mixture to boil over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in extract and oats. Drop by large tablespoons onto waxed paper (I used a cookie scoop for easy portioning). Place a peppermint kiss on top and let the cookies stand until cooled and firm.
2. Stir covered in an airtight container for up to one week.

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This conversation is sponsored by Horizon Organic. The opinions and text are all mine.