These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (2024)

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (1)These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (2)

Photo: Stocksy/Julie Rideout

‘Tis the season to dust off your oven and sharpen your baking skills to show some love to the least-used appliance in your kitchen.

Seriously: If embarking on an ambitious baking adventure sounds like anything but soothing, and the task of making a bunch of sparkly spritzes or candy cane-coated sugar cookies for an upcoming cookie exchange, potluck, or Christmas-y co*cktail party is hanging over your head, we hear you. Between the gift shopping, card writing, present wrapping, the end-of-year rush at work, and an exhausting social calendar, who has time to bake hundreds of festively-frosted gingerbread cookies?

Fortunately, not all baked good recipes are overly complicated or time-consuming. We’ve gathered several three-ingredient cookie recipes for making the ultimate intimidating-free “lazy cookies” to satisfy your sweet tooth (and cookie swap) without totally turning your world upside down. Think tasty treats like flourless chocolate cookies and pepperminty thin mints that will be the hit of any holiday gathering.

6 lazy cookies for your next holiday gathering

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (3)These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (4)

1. Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Although these banana oatmeal cookies by The Simple Veganista may look like cookies, upon the first bite, you’ll quickly realize that they taste more like your favorite homemade banana bread recipe. This three-ingredient recipe is made with hearty oats, rich chocolate chips, and is naturally sweetened with ripe mashed bananas. And if you’re feeling up for it, you can jazz up the recipe with add-ons like cinnamon, vanilla extract, shredded coconut, and dried fruit.

Get the recipe: Three-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (5)

2. Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

It seems like most things in life are better with an extra side of peanut butter (PB&J, fluffernutter, peanut sauce…the list goes on). And this easy vegan peanut butter cookie recipe by The Conscious Plant Kitchen is one more reason to love this nut butter even more. To make it, all you have to do is combine peanut butter, oat flour, and maple syrup until creamy, roll into evenly-sized balls, and bake away. Seriously, it’s that easy.

Get the recipe: 3-Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (6)

3. Flourless Chocolate Cookies

One way to instantly put a smile on your face and liven the mood when you’re feeling a bit cranky is to make these three-ingredient flourless chocolate cookies by Kirbie’s Cravings: They truly taste like decadent brownie batter in cookie form. They’re also free of some common allergens (including flour, butter, and oil) but get all of their rich flavors from longevity-boosting, unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and egg whites. The key to making these lazy cookies to perfection is to use (and only use) Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which is much richer and less bitter in taste than other varieties.

Get the recipe: 3-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cookies

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (7)

4. No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

One bowl, five minutes, and three ingredients are all you need to make these no-bake peanut butter cookies by Minimalist Baker that come together in the blink of an eye. They’re made with fiber-rich Medjool dates, gluten-free rolled oats, and peanut butter, with the option to add ingredients like sea salt, cacao powder, and maple syrup. Plus, if your oven is currently stuffed with too many pots and pans, you won’t need to rush over to clear it all out the start preheating. That’s because this recipe requires no baking whatsoever. Problem solved.

Get the recipe: 3-Ingredient No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (8)

5. Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

If your furry friend is also drooling at the thought of these delicious cookie recipes, it might be time to make your four-legged bestie a special something, too. These peanut butter pumpkin dog treats by Minimalist Baker feature peanut butter, canned pumpkin purée, and oat flour. Frankly, they’re so good you might be tempted to sneak one or two from their treat jar (don’t worry, we won’t tell!).

Get the recipe: Easy Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (9)

6. Oreo Thin Mints

Combine two of your favorite childhood treats, Oreos and Thin Mints, in one delectable dessert. For this no-bake oreo thin mints recipe by The Comfort of Cooking, all you have to do is coat Oreos in peppermint-flavored chocolate for a crunchy, sweet, and refreshing cookie recipe that’s definitely the easiest on this list to make.

Get the recipe: 3-Ingredient Oreo Thin Mints

Hungry for more? These vegan chocolate chip cookies might hit the spot:

These 3-Ingredient ‘Lazy Cookie’ Recipes Require Zero Work, but They’ll Absolutely Shine at Your Next Holiday Event (2024)

FAQs

What are the 4 basic dry ingredients that are mainly used when baking cookies? ›

While there may be countless variations, each cookie at the core has four ingredients – butter, sugar, flour & eggs. The proportions of ingredients and the methods of mixing are what define our cookies. Dough spreads – Inside the hot oven, the butter starts to melt and the dough gradually starts to spread out.

What are 3 factors that cause a cookie to be crisp? ›

Final answer: The crispness of a cookie is influenced by the ingredients, their proportions, and the baking conditions.

What makes no bake cookies not set up? ›

Boiling too long will cause the cookies to be dry and crumbly. However, if you don't boil long enough the cookies will not set and will be runny. Some folks say bring the mixture to a rolling boil and then count to 60, while others swear by counting to 90.

What ingredient makes cookies less dry? ›

Dry – “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

What makes cookies crispy instead of soft? ›

So if you're hoping for a crispy cookie, try using more granulated sugar. Granulated sugar absorbs moisture better, giving you the nice crispy texture you're craving! Weirdly enough, eggs also contribute to soft cookies.

What makes cookies crispy vs chewy? ›

How to Make Crispy Cookies. While brown sugar keeps your cookies moist and soft, white sugar and corn syrup will help your cookies spread and crisp in the oven. Using more white sugar in your cookies will result in a crispier end product. To achieve a crispy cookie, skip the rest in the fridge.

Why are my no bake cookies not shiny? ›

A: Chances are if the no-bakes turned out dry and crumbly it was because you overcooked them. While we call them cookies, oatmeal no-bakes are really more of a confection or fudge with oats stirred in. When it comes to candy, the longer it is cooked, the drier and harder it becomes.

Why do my cookies never spread in the oven? ›

The most common culprit behind non-spreading cookies is too much flour. This may seem counterintuitive—after all, isn't flour a key ingredient in baking?

Can you freeze no bake? ›

Yes, no-bake cookies freeze well. Flash freeze them for a few hours or up to overnight, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to six months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

What is a drop cookie? ›

What is a drop cookie? Drop cookies are one of the easiest types of cookies to make. As the name implies, you make them by dropping spoonfuls of cookie batter onto a baking sheet. Some of the most popular cookie recipes, like sugar and oatmeal raisin, are drop cookies.

What is the most loved cookie? ›

Chocolate chip cookies

What is the most popular type of cookie? It might just be this one.

What is the strongest type of cookie? ›

A Ristretto is the strongest coffee type! It's similar to an espresso in the way that it's made. Water is still pulled through coffee beans to create the coffee but a Ristretto uses less water.

Which ingredients are considered dry ingredients in cookies? ›

The dry ingredients are pretty basic, AP flour, bread flour, baking soda, salt, espresso powder/instant coffee, and dark brown sugar and white sugar.

What is used for dry ingredients? ›

Dry measuring cups: Used for measuring dry ingredients like flour, rice and sugar. Standard sizes are ¼ cup, ⅓ cup, ½ cup, and 1 cup.

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