No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

The tree went up Saturday. A small one this year — four feet. I bought it at the lot on Route 3A from a man who has been selling trees there for twenty years. I had asked for something small. He had understood without me explaining. He had picked the tree himself and he had given it to me at a discount I had not asked for. He said "use it." I thanked him. I drove home. The tree is in the corner of the living room where the hospital bed had been in June and July. I did not comment on this. It is where the tree goes. It is where light goes. It is fine.

Liam helped hang ornaments. I put Sean's teaching-career mug from his school — the one his students had given him in 2018, that had been on his nightstand during his illness, that I had not put away — on the bookshelf next to the tree. I had not decided whether to hang an ornament from Sean. I have not yet. I may next year. Right now the tree is simple. Small.

Nora broke one ornament on Day One. It was an ornament I had not loved. I was secretly relieved. I swept up the pieces and said "Nora, we have to be very careful." She said "I know, Mommy." She was careful for the rest of the decorating. She is a three-and-a-half-year-old learning about fragility. Metaphor noted.

I baked advent cookies Sunday — the spritz, the press-method ones, which are forgiving and which Liam likes. I made three dozen. They are on a plate. They will be gone by Wednesday.

The spritz press was buried somewhere in the back of a cabinet, and I didn’t have the energy to find it — so this year, advent cookies meant something simpler: no-bake peanut butter cookies, the kind that come together on the stovetop in under twenty minutes and ask very little of you. Liam approved immediately, which was the only approval I needed. They’re not fancy, they don’t require a tree to be standing or a house to be in order, and they will absolutely be gone by Wednesday — all of which felt exactly right.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes (includes setting time) | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Prep your surface. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper and set them aside.
Make the base. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, milk, butter, and salt. Stir occasionally until the butter melts, then bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Let it boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly — do not over-boil or the cookies will turn out crumbly and dry.
Add the remaining ingredients. Remove the pan from heat. Immediately stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until fully melted and smooth. Add the oats and stir until everything is evenly coated.
Scoop and set. Working quickly before the mixture stiffens, drop rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about an inch apart. Flatten each mound slightly with the back of your spoon.
Cool completely. Let the cookies sit at room temperature for 15–20 minutes until firm. They’re ready when they hold their shape and no longer feel tacky to the touch.

Nutrition (per serving)

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies — The Ones That Disappear Before Wednesday