These Monster Cookies are seriously the best recipe for Monster Cookies on the internet. Watch short video showing you how to make them, then scroll to the end of this post to print out the recipe so you can bake them at home.
Monster Cookies are basically a peanut butter- oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips and M&M candies mixed in. There is no flour at all in the recipe!
Monster cookies aren’t anything new. They’ve been around a very long time, and this recipe was tucked into my collection sometime way back in my pre-teen years.
Someone… somewhere made them up- Betty Crocker, I’m guessing. They are indeed a cookie recipe worth keeping around for decades.
I bake cookies and put them in little ziploc baggies and place them in the freezer for instant munching for the boys in my house. I tell myself that since they’re in the freezer, they’re totally safe. I try to tell myself that frozen cookies aren’t any good. But guess what? They’re good. They’re actually better than un-frozen cookies.
Is there a difference between using old-fashioned oats versus baking with quick oats?
With this recipe, quick oats are preferred for a softer taste. With old fashioned oats, the cookies can turn up chewier and not as tasty.
Why mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately?
With baking, it is a good idea to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately in order to assure a proper mixing for the food. If you don’t take the time to do this, then chances of you grabbing a cookie with no sugar in one and another with way too much sugar is much higher.
I dot extra M&M’s and chocolate chips on top of each blob of cookie dough on the baking sheet. This ensures that they will be extra pretty when they are all baked up and ready to eat.
Alternative ingredients to spice things up and make new recipes:
Not only is this an easy recipe that can be more exciting than your traditional chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies, but the options for new and fun ways to make them are endless!
- white chocolate chips
- pieces of oreo cookie
- different types of m&m candies (peanut, crispy… anything!)
- butterscotch chips
- Instead of peanut butter, try adding in natural peanut butter or almond butter
- any other chocolate candies that you can find at the store!
Sometimes I bake GIANT Monster Cookies (using an ice cream scoop to dole out the dough). If you go the giant route, you’ll end up with 22 fabulously large cookies. If you’d like to make a normal-sized cookie, you’ll get 36 cookies.
Tips and Tricks for making the best monster cookies
This recipe is fast, easy and always a crowd pleaser. I have been making them for years and here are a few tricks that I have picked up along the way to turn this treat from amazing to legendary:
- Mix the cookie dough with a stand mixer and the paddle attachment at a low speed for best results (a hand mixer works, too)
- Take around 2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into cookie dough balls with your palms before placing it on the parchment paper on the baking sheet for normal-sized cookies
- For giant cookies, use a medium cookie scoop and place on the cookie sheet with enough room to spread and 1-2 extra minutes of baking time
- Let the eggs sit on the counter at room temperature before adding them to your large bowl (this will make nice and thick cookies)
- Quality vanilla extract can make a world of difference
- To make blue monster cookies, add in blue food coloring for the best cookie that kids will love (keep this in mind for a bake sale- blue cookie monster cookies always sell out)
- If there are sensory issues with oats, blend them in a food processor before
Bake some Monster Cookies today, and keep them in the freezer… where they’ll be safe!
How do you store Monster Cookies?
If you have any cookies leftover, there are a few ways for you to store them.
The first is to let these chewy monster cookies cool on a wire rack and keep them on the counter in an airtight container. They will stay good for up to a week.
The second is to put the cookies in an airtight container and place them in the freezer. This is great for school snacks or emergency cookie needs like a last minute sleepover or you need to bring a treat to the next PTA meeting. If you freeze these cookies, they should last for up to two months.
If you’re looking for more recipes using M&M’s, you might like to try my M&M Pretzel Blondies or these Super Soft Peanut Butter- M&M Cookies. No Bake Monster Cookie Bars, M&M Shortbread Cookies and Kit Kat Cake are good recipes to try too!
Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups creamy or chunky peanut butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4½ cups quick cooking oats
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup M&M's plain chocolate candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper or a silpat mats.
- In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter with the sugars and butter. Use an electric mixer to mix until well combined. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the oats and baking soda. Then stir in the chips and M&M's.
- Drop the cookies by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. If you'd like your cookies to look pretty (like the photos), dot a few extra M&M's and chocolate chips on each mound of dough before baking.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets until cookies are set. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- If you are preparing this cookie as gluten-free, just be sure to make sure you are using brands of the following items that are known to be GF: peanut butter, vanilla, oats, chocolate chips and M&M's.
- If you'd prefer to make giant cookies, use an ice cream scoop instead to scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet. They'll need to bake for 18 to 20 minutes, and you'll end up with about 22 cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is similar to monster cookies, but is not quite right. I’ve been making them since the 70s. REAL recipe uses both white and brown sugar, plus corn syrup.
Mine are definitely not as pretty as yours are. My dough was a tad wet. They’re cooling now so I have not yet tried them but I’m a little skeptical. Although, the dough is amazing ????
very delicious!!! turned out perfectly. I used chopped up reese’s cups instead of m&ms. Thank you!!
That Monster Cookie recipe gets four stars!
How long with they keep, after baking them, in the freezer? BTW I love this cookie recipe and get compliments on it every time I bring them to a social event!
I’d say a month is a good amount of time to use them up from the freezer!
I Love these cookies!!
The last batch I prepared was a go for the healthier side. I substituted the white sugar for baking Stevia, and replaced the M&M’s with a crushed 1/2 C walnuts, and an extra 1/2 C mini choc chips. This way, I allow myself to have a few more 😉
These are THE BEST cookies ever!!! Love that they can be made gluten free and after following the recipe exactly these were bakery worthy cookies…so good! My six year old and two year old declared these their favorite cookies…my family will be making these for years to come…thank you so much for the recipe!
Would I be able to substiute the peanut butter with sunflower butter?
I don’t know much about sunflower butter, but I think that would probably work.
This is the best monster cookie recipe ever!!!!!
My step mom has made these every year for the last 25 years. I always felt hers were dry, hard and unappealing. I have made this recipe several times for my children. We absolutely LOVE it! I am not into sweets like others. But this cookie recipe, is the first recipe that I have made ‘just because’, and just for myself. I actually took a batch to work a couple of weeks ago and was told they are amazing. My cookies turn out beautifully every time. Thanks for the recipe. This will definitely be the one to be around for the next 25 years!
Happy this one works out so well for you!