A Tale of Two Cookies

Two recipes for butterscotch no bake cookies. It's an experiment... two very delicious butterscotchy cookies, not to be confused with the candy-like haystacks, that obtain their butterscotch flavor from two different sources. The first is

Butterscotch No Bake Cookies
Using Butterscotch Morsels

Ingredients:
3 Cups Butterscotch Morsels (that's 2 full 11 oz. packages Nestle butterscotch morsels, with 1/3 cup leftovers to feed your assistant.)
1 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Milk (we've used both soy and goat's milk with success)
3/4 Cup Butter
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Chunky Peanut Butter
3 1/2 Cups Of Quaker Rolled Oats
Cooks note: I have used both old fashioned and quick cooking oats.

Information:
Serving Size 15-30
125 Calories Per Serving
5 Grams Of Fat
Preparation Instructions:

In a large bowl, barely combine the peanut butter and rolled oats. Just mix a few times, you'll set them aside for later. In a medium sauce pan combine the sugar, milk and butter and bring to a boil. Boil for exactly 1 minute. Turn off the heat, then stir in the 3 cups of butterscotch morsels and add the vanilla extract. When they're melted and well incorporated, pour over the rolled oats and peanut butter. Mix well, and drop by tablespoon onto a well-greased cookie sheet or on a counter that is lined with was paper. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until hardened, or to expedite the process you can slide them into the refrigerator to chill. Excellent with a glass of cold goat's milk.
Cook's note: That's $5.00 for butterscotch chips alone, and I'm not feeling the love of my family budget in this recipe. They taste good, the peanut butter is a nice addition, but really, $5.00 for just one ingredient? These go fast, so the children aren't getting very many cookies for their budget dollar in my opinion. They're cute on an all no-bake cookie tray, alongside the vanilla and chocolate varieties.

Pantry Lover's Butterscotch No-Bakes
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix (I have used both instant and the cook and serve variety - they both work here.
3 1/2 cups quick oats

Directions
1On stovetop in a 3 qt pan on medium heat: Combine first 3 ingredients and bring to boil, stirring frequently. If using cook and serve pudding mix, add here, mixing well. Boil hard exactly 2 minutes.
2Remove from heat and add oats and instant pudding mix here, if using.
3Mix thoroughly.
4.Drop spoonfuls onto waxed paper.
5. Let cool 15 minutes

These are called pantry lovers, because we can store all the ingredients in the pantry and at the last minute when we want a quick cookie treat, voila'. They're quite good, and pretty inexpensive. The butterscotch pudding was less than $1.00 which makes it a viable choice for sitting in the pantry as a last minute cookie go-to item. They're also simple enough that many children can manage the recipe on their own, with a little supervision at the stove top.

This one is a keeper.