This is a very special episode of Magpie Moments.

Don’t worry—unlike the sitcoms of the 1980s, “very special episode” doesn’t mean you’ll learn an important lesson about how to treat people who are different from you, nor will anyone be stricken by a disease we should all know about.

When I say “very special,” it usually means chocolate is involved.

At first I thought she’d left, but when I rose from my own chair I could see her silhouette through the screen door, settling down on the concrete front steps. I crossed to the fridge, retrieved a baggie of fresh cookies from home, and went out to join her.

“Cookie?” I offered.

Noel took one and broke off a piece, leaving chocolate marks on her index finger and thumb. “Mmm. Good. Peanut butter?”

“Yep.” I broke off a piece of my own. “They’re no-bake.”

“What do you mean no-bake? You have to bake cookies. If you don’t they’re just dough.”

“Not these. You heat the gooey stuff on the stove, and then when you mix it with the oatmeal it cooks.”

“Freaky.”

“Magic.”

We sat in silence through another cookie each, staring at the trees and buildings silhouetted against the orange, dusky sky.

[Back to Lazarus, Chapter 7]

The no-bake cookies Sydney makes to bribe Ralph and shares with Noel are ones from my own childhood. The recipe originally came from a spiral-bound cookbook sold as a local fundraiser when I was a kid.

I haven’t made them as an adult, and adult me cringes at the amount of sugar!

This is slightly modified, but if I were going to make them on a regular basis, I’d definitely make more modifications. In the meantime, here they are in all their teeth-rotting, artery-clogging decadent glory.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup milk (condensed or regular)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp. Cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 3 cups oatmeal (possibly more)

Bring peanut butter, milk, vanilla, sugar, cocoa and butter to a boil. Cook for 1 minute after full boil and then add oatmeal. Drop by spoon onto wax paper. My recollection is that how long you let it boil influences the setting consistency and texture a lot, so you may have to experiment to get it just right for you.

I had planned to make a batch last night, but there were so many yummy cookies left over from the book signing, I just couldn’t bring myself to make any more. I will try to supplement with my own cookie picture (I am such the blog martyr). 😉