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.
I would like to try this recipe! Do you have any suggestions for making this at high altitude? Thanks so much!
I’m afraid I’m not a high-altitude baker, so I have no idea! Sorry…
These cookies were a HUGE hit at my house this weekend. Delicious!! And so fun for my toddler twins to “help” me make. I blogged about it, and included your recipe with original link back to here. I hope my friends and family make the cookies, too. Mmmmmm!
These cookies are absolutely amazing!!! I love monster cookies and this is the best recipe I have found so far! Thanks for sharing.
I just made these and they are amazing! I substituted white sugar with Splenda, chocolate chips with raisins and used dark chocolate M&M’s. So yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
This is an awesome recipe! I don’t make my cookies super big and I have made 60 good sized cookies from this recipe!!! My kids love them!
I love these cookies! I was looking for a good recipe for monster cookies and I found this recipe and absolutely love it!! Will be making them again and again!!! But the sad thing is I’m going too eat them all! Haha
For those that had flimsy flat cookies it may be your oven temp is a bit off. I had this problem with the recipe for the first batch and uped my temp to 390 in which I should have known to do in the first place because no matter what the cookie recipe I have to do this. As soon as I let it pre-heat to my new temp the cookies turned out perfect!!! Another tip is to make sure and pull them from the oven before they turn into a crispy brown color….it does make a difference I have noticed:) Hope this helps.
Thanks for the tips!
My Dad brought this recipe home YRS ago and it very quickly became a family favorite. His recipe made like 4 dozen cookies and was labeled as “1/4 of a batch”, thus the name MONSTER cookies. He was fascinated with the fact there was no flour. These cookies always make me think of my Dad.
OMG!!! THESE COOKIES ARE THE BOMB!!!! MY HUSBAND CAN’T KEEP HIS HANDS OFF OF THESE THINGS OR ME!!!LOL!!! WILL BE MAKING THESE OVER AND OVER!!! 😉
Hey! I tried these ! Turned out to smell and taste GREAT Just a little difficult for me to make because I am 11. Can you upload something like cookies ( or cup cakes ) really easy to make!?! simple but yummy like smething i can make out of melting my favourite chocolate like bounty? 😀 pleeaaaseeee reply! sincerely Romessa
Take a peek at my cookie recipes or my chocolate section too… and see what looks good to you!