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Recipes

No-Bake Christmas Avalanche Cookies

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at UC Berkeley chapter.

When the holidays roll around, all I ever really want to do is bake. For many college students missing home, the comfort of baking is likely out of reach as we sit in dorm rooms dreaming of our parents’ kitchen.

For me, the roadblock is that although I have an oven-away-from-home, it happens to be currently broken. So in these trying, oven-less times, I turn to no-bake baking.

Avalanche cookies are an extremely simple dessert: Using 5 ingredients and almost zero effort, you create a peanut butter, white chocolate, marshmallowy, crunchy cookie.

I’ve decided to give this recipe a holiday twist, subbing the peanut butter for classic flavors of the season like pistachio and cranberry. They’re incredibly addictive and take no more than 10 minutes to whip up, so get (not) baking!  

Cranberry Pistachio Avalanche Cookies

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 10 minutesCook time: minutesTotal time: 10 minutesServings:16 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Claire Tromblee

    In a bowl, add cereal, dried cranberries, pistachios, marshmallows, and most of the coconut (reserve 1/4 cup for later).

  2. Claire Tromblee

    Mix dry ingredients together until evenly distributed.

  3. Claire Tromblee

    In a small bowl over low heat, simmer about an inch of water and place a glass bowl on top, making sure no water is touching or in the bowl. Place white chocolate in bowl.

    #SpoonTip: If you only have a microwave, you can melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds.

  4. Claire Tromblee

    Stir chocolate constantly until fully melted and remove from heat.

  5. Claire Tromblee

    Pour melted chocolate into dry mixture.

  6. Claire Tromblee

    Quickly but gently fold the ingredients into one another until just combined.

    #SpoonTip: Make sure you work quickly as the chocolate will set once it gets cold.

  7. Claire Tromblee

    Drop rounded tablespoons, one inch apart onto a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.

  8. Claire Tromblee

    While cookies are still wet, sprinkle on extra coconut for a snowy effect. Allow cookies 10 minutes to set, or transfer to the fridge to harden faster.

These sweet little numbers prove you don’t need an oven to master a festive and impressive dessert. But, baker beware: These cookies will disappear in minutes (they’re that good). 

Claire Tromblee

UC Berkeley '17

When she isn't reading, playing music or blindly following a cat into the middle of the street, Claire can be found in the kitchen, where she is arguably most stress free and creative. She enjoys twinkly Christmas lights, animals, going to bed at obscenely early hours, animals, and finding people with her same stupid sense of humor.