Preacher cookie, cow patty, poodgie, or no bake cookie. What do you call it?
My niece and nephew had never eaten preacher cookies. They were visiting last week, and I asked if they wanted to make a batch. I got blank stares.
I described the ingredients—chocolate, peanut butter, oatmeal—and added, “You know, you cook them on the stove.”
My niece looked confused. My nephew curled his nose and said, “I don’t like chocolate very much.”
I wasted no time in calling their grandmother to tell her that she’s falling down on the job. Growing up, preacher cookies were a cornerstone of our snack food diet. They were fast and low mess. They didn’t require the oven (which mattered during summertime in our un-air conditioned apartment). They were so simple I could make them by myself by age nine. They filled my mouth with the most ecstatic goopy wonder, the perfect balance of creamy and crunchy, chocolate and nutty, as cool as a popsicle and as sweet as a slice of fudge.
She was a loving grandmother. How had she not fixed at least one batch for the children?
“They don’t seem to want to cook when they’re here.”
I didn’t quite hang up on her, but I must have made an audible gasp. She added, “Really, I don’t think they’re interested.”
The baking goods cabinet was open and the cocoa was on the counter before I said, “Love ya’. Gotta go.”
The kids helped me measure and stir. They watched enrapt as I dropped dollops onto a plate. They offered their tongues when I asked if they’d like to lick the goo-encrusted spoon.
My niece was hooked from her first taste. She “mmmmmed” and motioned for my nephew. He claimed that the chocolate gave him a bellyache, but once they cooled, I caught him eating them, a half a cookie at a time. By the middle of the next day, he had finished off four.
I’d never given any thought to preacher cookies’ origin until I discovered that they were becoming a lost art in my family. Then I poked around the Internet. Everybody seems to agree on the genesis of the name. The blog Hillbilly Housewife describes it this way:
“It got it’s name because it could be prepared quickly when a housewife looked out her window and saw the preacher riding up the mountain on his horse. By the time the preacher arrived, the cookies were cooling.”
People don’t agree, however, on the right name for the cookies. Everyone I know in the Appalachians call them preacher cookies, but apparently, somewhere out there they’re referred to as cow-patties. I suppose it’s apt. They are dark brown little globs that squish under the least pressure.
I recently offered a batch to a friend from Texas. She squealed, “You made poodgies?!”
While she couldn’t explain the name, she clearly relished saying it. She drew it out, “Pooooooodgies,” and spelled it without prompting.
I also discovered that some pitifully unimaginative people call them no-bake cookies. I don’t know if they are Puritans or have stunted vocabularies or what. All I can do is shake my head and hope that there’s a psychotropic med to help them out.
On the web, I read about people adding all kinds of exotic ingredients like dulce de leche and Nutella, but I’m a preacher cookie purist. Below is the recipe I use, and I’m dying to hear about yours. How do you make these cookies? And what do you call them?
Post a comment below telling us all about your relationship with these marvelous little treats.
Preacher Cookies
½ cup butter
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oatmeal
¼ cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix the cocoa powder, butter, sugar, milk, and salt in a double boiler. (Don’t tell Mother, but I just use a regular pot.) Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal—not the new, instant kind, Mother emphasizes, just quick oats. Slop it all together. Drop them on a plate. (Wax paper is even better if you have it.) Pop in the fridge for a few hours and enjoy.
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Okay, I LOVE your blog but your recipe omitted the step of when to add sugar…hope mine set-up!
(Never fear, if they don’t they’ll just be goopy syrupy goodness!) 
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for catching that. These are the days I wish I had an editor! The sugar goes in at the start. I’ve corrected it in the post. Let us know how they turn out.
They’re perfect!! Thanks so much for the reminder about these cookies and the background!!
Are you fixing these next time your home?
Sure!
I am from the poorest of poor in Maine. Here is a little change we made in this great cookie. Replace the butter with peanut butter and the oat meal with coconut, sugar with brown sugar. This is GREAT. We never had chocolate on hand with ten kids in the family we made the best of what we had!
These cookies are a staple from my Southwest VA childhood, but we called them “Cow Paddies.” I recall the ones made in the school cafeteria and “plopped” into cupcake wrappers. We’d just peel back the paper and suck out all the goodness, and a few of the boys would chew the paper wrapper for added effect. Such a great use of peanut butter and such a happy memory. Thanks!
yes we love them but my granchildren call them doodoo cookies i was upset today i could not find my recipe and austin oldest granchild said to google it so off to bake we go
Thank you for sharing this old recipe. My Mommal would make these for me when I was a young girl. She was the best cook. I am 33 now and Mommal is with Jesus and I am attmepting to make these after a few years of not having them. Making them for my brotherinlaws for Christmas. Hope they are somewhat as good as hers.
MORE PEANUT BUTTER. I don’t measure it, but sure I use more than a cup. Taking a double batch to church tonight for a party. I don’t care what they are called just know they are good. They are mostly called Preacher cookies here in VA.
I definitely go shorter on peanut butter than most folks. Let us know if the cookies are a hit tonight!
All I can say is the smell is so good it is what home smells like.
And I’m baking the now for Christmas.
thank you for the blog .Merry Christmas for all
Thank you for the recipe. I too remember than as a child and have always loved them. I usually mess up the recipe because I don’t boil it long enough or too long. I am glad you put a time on it. So far so good. We always called them fudgies or preacher cookies here in Central VA.
I really enjoyed your story about the origin of the Preacher cookies! That’s what my mother always called them, but we were told it was because anyone, including preachers, could afford the ingredients. I wanted to make these with my children today and couldn’t believe the recipe was not in my family’s cookbook that my Grandmother and our family had printed. I’m thinking about substituting the peanut butter with marshmallow cream just for fun. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thank you for the recipe!
Marshmallow cream – brilliant! Let us know how it turns out.
We always called them preacher cookies in SC because they were cheap to make and easy to prepare before the preacher arrived. I am going to introduce my Alaskan friends to these wonderful cookies. I always seem cook them too long or not long enough. We’ll see how it goes on today’s batch.
I think the reason that recipies were not in old cookbooks was that everyone made them a little bit different and had their quirks memorized. My Great-grandmother supposedly made the best, but since we don’t have a recipie, us young ones are trying to reconstruct them by the tastes of the elders. One difference I know for sure, we use about a half cup peanut butter. Preacher cookies MUST have a good amount of peanut butter
I grew up around Morgantown, WV and my aunt made these for me. She and my mother grew up on Elk River in Webster Co. We always referred to this recipe as no-bakes and my children learned to make them when they were big enough to cook. We added raisins to them at times instead of coconut. My kids still love them, but unfortunately my grandaughter is allergic to many things including peanuts so the grandkids don’t get to enjoy them. Make them on the sly for my son and he can eat them when he is not around his kids lol. I will remember that they are called preacher’s cookies. Always great when you need a quick recipe for something to take to an organized event and you wait until the last minute to prepare something.
How long will they keep and what is best way to keep fresh?
Robin, mine never last long enough to test their shelf life! I usually just leave them on the cooling plate in the fridge. You could also pop them in some Tupperware I imagine.
In my family, we call these cookies jiffies because they can be made in a jiffy! They have a long, rich history in my family. In fact, my Appalachian mother stood over the stove making them for her sister the night before I was born. Momma always says it’s no wonder I’ve got such a taste for them! They definitely don’t last long in our house.
MMMMMM — preacher cookies….. Southwest Virginia born and bred… love eating them at the Sunday church dinners. Raising my nephew now from Ohio and he called them no bakes….. slowly working on his vocabulary…. No-Bakes include a lot of things, haystacks, leafpiles, rice krispy treats, etc…. (leafpiles are haystacks made with corn flakes instead of chow mein noodles) almost look like preacher cookies in a way… .lol. makes me want to go home and make preacher cookies now….