No bake oatmeal cookies. Yummy!!

I’m super excited to be starting a new project – a YouTube channel featuring recipes included in books or inspired by books. First up is a great recipe for no back oatmeal cookies from Nancy Brashear.

Writing and deadlines can be stressful. Trust me, I love to write, but I can’t do it 24/7. I do love to bake too. My sister and I would bake cakes on Sunday afternoons to take to youth group.

Over the years, I’ve gotten into cake and cookie decorating as well. I’m not great at the decorating, but I find it oddly relaxing. My family doesn’t complain too much about the results. My daughters love to be in the kitchen with me, which is always a lot of fun when you can share this passion with someone you love.

I had the privilege of meeting Nancy a few years ago and getting to know her. She’s a wonderful lady. I don’t know how she had a psychological thriller in her, but she did! And it’s great! Hard to believe it would include such a sweet recipe as no bake oatmeal cookies. I’m glad it does because they are delicious.

Here’s a little bit about her book, Gunnysack Hell (I promise, it’s Christian fiction):

It’s the summer of 1962, middle of the Cold War, and the O’Brien family has moved off-grid to the Mojave Desert in Southern California. After all, the desert has to be a safer place to raise a family than the crime-ridden city, and there they can build a new future. But evil also stalks dusty desert roads, and eight-year-old Nonni finds herself harboring a terrible secret: Only she can identify the predator who has been terrorizing the community. And he knows where she lives.

Nancy Brashear lives in San Clemente with her husband, Patrick, and their rescue dog, Goldie, where her grown children and seven grandgirls support her writing. She began her teaching career as a credentialed k-12 teacher and reading specialist and ended as a university professor. She has published short stories, poems, academic articles, textbook chapters, and educational website content. Gunnysack Hell, her debut thriller, was inspired by a true-crime event. And, yes, she did live off-the-grid with her family in a homestead cabin in the Mojave Desert when she was a child.

And here’s what you’ve been waiting for. The recipe for No Bake Oatmeal Cookies.

Grandma Grace’s No-Bake “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” Oatmeal Cookies

(featured in Nancy Brashear’s thriller, Gunnysack Hell)

Recipe Ingredients

2 c. granulated sugar

¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

¾ c. milk

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1 tbsp. wheat germ

¼ c. shredded coconut*

¼ c. chopped walnuts*

¼ c. seedless raisins*

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

Dash of pepper

1 tsp. vanilla

5 c. quick 1-minute oats

*Bakers may modify ingredients to taste although Grandma Grace used all of the ingredients—and more!

Recipe Directions• Line baking sheets with wax or parchment paper.• Heat butter and milk over medium heat.• Mix sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together and pour into butter/milk mixture in pan; bring mixture to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.• Continue to boil fully for 1 more minute.• Add peanut butter and stir until melted; remove pan from heat.• Add coconut, chopped walnuts, raisins, and wheat germ into mixture.• Slowly stir in oats, one cup at a time, blending until oats are completely moistened.• Let sit five minutes before dropping mixture by the tablespoon onto baking sheet.• Allow to set for about 2 hours at room temperature; speed up process in the refrigerator.• Store tightly covered, and there’s no need to refrigerate.• Makes approximately 7 dozen cookies

These cookies will stay fresh for several days although family and friends may not let them last that long!

This recipe inspired the no-bake oatmeal cookies prepared by “Gracie” at the homestead cabin in Gunnysack Hell. And they were inspired by Nancy’s Grandma Grace, who made them all the time.

Social media links (follow Nancy to learn about new releases):• Author website (sign up for my newsletter there, too!): www.nancybrashear.com• Author FB (notices): www.facebook.com/nancybrashearauthor• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancybrashearauthor/• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drnancybrashear• GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/drnancy• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nancybrashear/gunnysack-hell/• BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nancy-brashear