Why Are My No Bake Cookies Sticky?

No bake cookies are meant to be easy to make, saving you the time and hassle involved with baking. However, sometimes no bake cookies can be anything but easy to make.

There are two very common problems. Either your cookies are too hard, dry and crumbly, or they have too much moisture, and become a sticky and gooey mess.

If you’re wondering how you can remedy these issues, then you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we’ll be finding out where you might have gone wrong with your no bake cookies recipe for them to end up sticky, and we’ll also take a look at ways you can harden up your cookies.

How Do No Bake Cookies Work?

When making no bake cookies, you are basically carrying out the soft ball stage of making candy. In other words, you are boiling a sugar mixture. Fudge and other candy is made this way.

To make no bake cookies, you need to ensure that you boil the sugar mixture for long enough so that it becomes thick and viscous enough for your cookies to be held together.

The key to making the perfect no bake cookies is to boil the mixture for the correct amount of time.

Too long a boiling time and the cookies will be too hard, if you don’t boil them for long enough you’ll have the opposite problem.

The best way to avoid this is to check the temperature of your sugar mixture using a candy thermometer.

Keep regularly checking the temperature of the mixture and when it hits around 240 degrees Fahrenheit, you should remove it from the heat.

Hopefully, it’ll be the right consistency for perfect no bake cookies.

If you don’t have a candy thermometer, a neat trick is to keep a bowl of ice water next to the stove.

When you suspect that you’re reaching the right temperature, collect a small spoonful of the sugar mixture and drop it into your bowl.

If the mixture starts to become a soft and squishy ball as it cools, you are at the correct temperature and can turn the heat off.

Why Won’t My No Bake Cookies Harden?

The most common cause of sticky or runny no bake cookies is not boiling the mixture for long enough.

If you don’t you won’t get that classic chewy texture you expect from no bake cookies, but instead you’ll be left with a sticky mess.

You’ll be pleased to learn, though, that there are other causes of sticky no bake cookies.

The problem could be as simple as the weather- on wet or humid days, the moisture in the air could be enough to throw off your usual procedure for making perfect no bakes.

If that does happen, how can you make your no bake cookies harden? One tip would be to admit defeat and come back another day- indeed, many bakers do.

Why Are My No Bake Cookies Sticky?

How To Fix No Bake Cookies That Are Too Gooey

Luckily, there is a simple fix for when your no bake cookies don’t harden properly. If you’re wondering how to make your no bake cookies harden, all you have to do is boil the mixture for a bit longer.

Remember, we want to boil your mixture for a minute to two minutes. Next time, make sure you only begin timing once the mixture has reached a full boil, and then boil for one to two minutes.

With a bit of luck, your cookies will hold themselves together! If you still think your cookies are a little soft, one thing you can do to help your no bake cookies harden is refrigerate them.

Remember to be careful not to over do it, though, as over boiling the mixture will lead to no bake cookies that have the opposite problem- being too dry and crumbly.

Tips To Make The Perfect No Bake Cookies

The best way to make delicious no bake cookies is to follow set no bake cookie recipes.

You might not think that the little details make any difference in a recipe with so few ingredients, but it can make all the difference.

When making no bake oatmeal cookies or cookies that contain oats, one important factor is using the specific kind of oats that the recipe calls for.

Your best bet is to use instant oats or quick cooking oats, and indeed most recipes say that you should use these.

Try to avoid old fashioned rolled oats, if you can. Sticking to quick cooking oats will ensure that your cookies have the right consistency and texture.

Remember, some of the ingredients in your no bake cookies do not set properly at room temperature. Think about chocolate and butter, for example.

The longer you leave them standing at room temperature, the more they lose their shape and become sticky.

As your no bake cookies contain these ingredients, this goes for your cookies, too. Certainly putting your cookies in the refrigerator can help your cookies set.

Just remember to store them in an airtight container! Another option is to use cooling racks to help your cookies set more quickly. Just let the cookies sit for a while, and you

A good way to avoid overcooking or burning your cookie mixture is to boil it over a medium heat or medium high heat. This way, you’ll avoid accidentally overcooking the mixture and drying it out.

Most no bake cookie recipes call for lots of full fat peanut butter, or a lot of butter or margarine. If you’re someone who likes to avoid too much of these fatty foods, that’s fine.

You’ll have to make sure you replace the fat in the recipe, though, as the fat is effectively the glue holding your cookies together.

Final Thoughts

So, that brings us to the end of the article. We hope that after reading this guide you’ll have no more problems with your no bake cookies being too sticky and gooey.

Just remember not to overcook them, either! You’ll be enjoying some tasty no bake cookies in no time.

Kathryn Sewell

Kathryn Sewell

Hi! I'm Kate and I have been baking and cooking for as long as I can remember. I like to share the most interesting tips and recipes I try here on What Kate Baked for you to enjoy. If you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share send it over on social.

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