These soft and chewy monster cookies have BIG notes of peanut butter and chocolate and some added texture from old fashioned oats. The recipe is basically foolproof and a complete crown pleaser so there’s NO excuse not to make them. For an added bit of monster fun try popping some candy eyes on top of the cookies just after baking.
How to Make Monster Cookies
1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl then whisk together,
2. Add the oats and mix well then sat aside.
3. Cream the room temperature butter and peanut butter together.
4. Add the white and brown sugars then beat until lighter in color and fluffy.
5. Scrape the bowl down then mix in the vanilla and eggs. Add the eggs one at a time while the mixer is running on low.
6. Add the dry mixture and beat until just combined. You’ll be mixing a bit more in the next step so don’t worry about a few patches of dry ingredients here or there.
7. Scrape that bowl down one last time, I often find a little bit at the very bottom that’s not fully mixed. Add the chocolate chips and M&Ms then mix to distribute. Cover and chill the dough for at least 20 minutes. You can make the dough a day or two ahead and if you’d like as well.
8. Heat oven to 350F. Scoop out roughly two-tablespoon sized pieces of dough and roll in your clean hands. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Press in a few candy-covered chocolates and chips onto the surface and then bake for 10-15 minutes or until the edge is set and JUST turning golden and the middle has puffed up. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet.
Pro Tips for making this recipe
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Try adding toasted and chopped peanuts to the dough for extra crunch. I would trade 1/2 cup of the M&Ms for 2/3 cup of the peanuts.
- Chilling the dough is an important step, it prevents the cookies from spreading out and lets the flavors come together a bit more too.
- M&Ms or generic candy-coated chocolates are a colorful addition to the cookie but you could just use more chocolate chips or pop some candy eyes on top for a spooky/cute effect.
- If your cookies are a bit wonky looking out of the oven you can round them off a bit by using a larger round cookie cutter. When they are RIGHT out of the oven swirl the cookie cutter around the cookies and it will round off the shape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you freeze this dough?
Yes! Freezing the dough for monster cookies is one of my favorite things about this recipe. You can bake a partial batch then place the remaining dough in a freezer bag and keep it for months. When you’re ready to use it just defrost in the fridge and use as you normally would.
Who invented them?
Monster cookies were invented in 1971 by Dick Wesley – a University of Michigan photographer and Cub Scout Leader. He altered his standard cookie recipe after running out of flour so he used oats and other things instead. A classic was born!
How do you stop them from spreading?
Chilling the dough for these monster cookies is a great way to stop them from spreading out. This recipe calls for a minimum 20 minute chill time for the dough but a few hours is best. Other recipes can get a no-spread boost by adding a few tablespoons of corn starch, take a look at my no spread sugar cookie recipe for an example!
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this monster cookies recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 180g
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup old fashioned oats 90g
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter 250g
- 1 cup unsalted butter 226g, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar 135g
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar 200g
- 1/2 tsp salt 3g
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 10mL
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup M&Ms or candy coated chocolate
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips 75g
Instructions
- Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl then add the oats, whisk together and set aside.
- Cream the butter and peanut butter together then scrape the bowl down and beat in both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Reduce speed to low; add the vanilla and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute.
- Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.
- Stir in the M&Ms and chocolate chips. Cover and chill dough for at least 20 minutes to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll 2 tablespoon-size balls of dough in your clean hands and place about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. For a prettier cookie you can press a few chocolate chips and M&Ms on top of each cookie before baking.
- Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 10 to 15 minutes. The longer bake time will give you a crisper cookie.
- Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
