German Chocolate No Bake Cookies

You know those No Bake Cookies everybody makes? The oatmeal/peanut butter/chocolate works of art?

I'm a fan.

Actually, I'm a REAL big fan. I sometimes kick out the peanut butter and welcome my lover Nutella into them, but at the end of the day, they're an easy-to-make cookie that is always good.

The same idea works well if you give it a German Chocolate twist.

They look the same as the usual version, but these cookies are hiding something. They are hiding coconut, chopped pecans, and caramel chips, which makes them just this side of fantastic. They still only take about 5 minutes to whip together, so you can impress yourself with your fabulous skills pretty quickly.

I suggest you do.

German Chocolate No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered cocoa
3 cups quick oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup caramel bits

1. Place a large nonstick sauce pan on the stove. Throw the butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla into it and turn the heat on medium-high. Stir it all up. Heat until it starts to boil then check the clock. It needs to boil for three minutes. (If you boil it longer, the cookies get super shiny and aren't quite the right consistency. They still taste good, though.)

2. Remove from heat and add the cocoa, oatmeal, coconut, and pecans. Stir until thoroughly mixed.

3. By now everything should have cooled off a bit, so stir in those caramel bits. Don't worry if they melt a little. We waited to a them because we didn't want them to completely melt.

4. Drop the cookie dough by heaping spoonful onto wax paper or parchment paper. If you want to make them look a little neater than they come out straight from a spoon, dampen your hands with water and tuck the sides gently to make the cookies more of a perfect circle.

5. Allow them to cool. Or at least try to. I know it's hard. I won't tell if you eat one or two before they're totally ready.