Cookies & Rain...oh my!

Tonight my two favorite things collided. As I was making cookies it started getting windy. Next the rain started followed by thunder and lightening. I had to set a mood. I turned off the lights and lit some candles, you know just in case the power went out, and ate some cookies while I listened to the rain (with the Weather Channel on mute) My boyfriend called and scared me saying there was supposed to be hail and tornado warnings in my area. He said he would come get me if it got too bad. Not sure if the most well thought out plan, but how sweet to offer to risk his life through the pending storms to get me out of here. Tornadoes freak me out, but I don't know who wouldn't say that they don't feel the same way. I'm an avid Weather Channel viewer and I see a lot of natural disasters broadcast from around the world. However all the increased tornadic(spellcheck says this is not a word, but I swear I've heard it on the Weather Channel before so I'm sticking with it) activity in the mid-west is probably the scariest. You couldn't pay me to live out in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, anywhere really that gets these deadly tornadoes. floods and hurricanes you can plan and you even get an ETA. But not with tornadoes! I could be blissfully making cookies and all of the sudden my house is gone and maybe me too!

Back to something more happy...my cookies. If you were thinking that cookies are not a part of my healthy eating plan, you are right. However, I do allow myself to cheat on the weekends, but lately I can NOT stop craving No Bake Cookies! I'm guilty to admit this is the 2nd time in a week I have whipped up a batch. It doesn't help that they are super easy to make and as the name dictates requires zero baking time. I did some research on these tempting little cookies and they are about 80-100 calories per cookie. I did use natural peanut butter so I'm going to go with the 80 calories per cookie theory. Also guilty to admit, when I do eat them, they have become a meal replacement. About 8 of these have found their way into my belly for dinner. But they are OH SO GOOD and I don't feel bad about it one bit! It's my reward tonight for getting up at 7:30am to go to the gym, and I'm not a morning person so this was practically a miracle that I saw what it looks like outside at this wee hour of the morning.
Here is the recipe if you want to whip some of these up tonight. I learned how to make these at a church activity when I was around 13 and I have not stopped making them since. One great thing about this recipe is most of the ingredients stay good for a long time and you don't have to make a special trip to the grocery store. I always have these ingredients as a staple in my pantry so if I get that sweet tooth craving these are the in case of emergency cookies.

No Bake Cookies:
Combine in saucepan on stove -
2cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
4T cocoa
1/2 cup milk
Stir on medium heat until all has melted and it looks smooth. Bring to boil and let it boil for 1 min and remove from heat.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients -
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cup Quaker Oats
Let the mixture cool a little. Spoon out cookies onto cookie sheets covered in wax paper. Refrigerate until cold. Next eat them until you are full!

Now enjoy the rain....