Freezer Fudge Oatmeal Cookies

It's Monday morning, and that means chocolate. Don't these look delicious? Regardless of what they might look like at first glance, don't be fooled. These are not the chocolate-peanut butter no bake deals you can buy at the grocery store. These are served cold, chewy, and make those other ones seem like a dry crumbly imitation.

I actually grew up calling these "Helen's Fudge Oatmeal Cookies". Who is Helen? I have no idea. That's just what the little card in my mom's recipe box said. But since no one outside my brothers and sisters would know what I was talking about, I figured I'd better call these freezer cookies instead.

One other bonus of these cookies is that they don't call for much cocoa powder at all, so if you're almost out of baking cocoa yet need a chocolate fix... voila! It can be done!

Freezer Fudge Oatmeal Cookies

1 stick butter or margarine
2 c. sugar (yes, you read that right - this isn't health food people!)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. quick oats

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Mix in cocoa powder and sugar.

Add evaporated milk and stir.

Continue to cook over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble. Let simmer, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Don't skip this step! This helps the cookies to be the right consistency and makes sure all the sugar is completely dissolved.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Add oatmeal and mix well.Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a large tablespoon, drop cookies onto wax paper. Place cookie sheet in freezer (don't tilt it!) until cookies are set - about an hour. Leave cookies in freezer until you are ready to eat them.

Important: Remove cookie sheet from freezer and set out on counter for a few minutes before removing the cookies from the wax paper. Otherwise, the cookies will be hard to remove and you'll end up eating little bits on wax paper that are stuck to the bottom of your cookie!