Monster Cookies
Updated December 01, 2022
Quick Summary
Monster Cookies are loaded with oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and M&M‘S. Everyone loves this classic cookie recipe, even the Cookie Monster approves!
I always describe myself as a cookie monster (have you seen the hundreds of cookie recipes on our site?), so of course I love Monster Cookies.
This classic cookie recipe is made with so many delicious ingredients: oats, peanut butter, M&M’S, chocolate chips…just listing it out makes me want a fresh batch in the oven right now! They are loaded with goodness.
Why are they called Monster Cookies? It’s because they’re like the Frankenstein’s monster of the cookie world…a bunch of cookies all mashed together in ONE recipe!
The cookies are part peanut butter cookie, part oatmeal cookie, part chocolate chip cookie, part M&M cookie, and 100% DELICIOUS cookie! All of the BEST in one cookie.
You also need to check out my Monster Cookie Bars, they are equally delicious.
Table of Contents
Cookie Ingredients
The ingredient list might look a little long, but you probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry.
- Oats– use old fashioned oats and not quick oats.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda– check the date to make sure it is fresh)
- Salt
- Butter– I like to use unsalted butter for baking so I can control the amount of salt.
- Peanut butter– I normally love natural peanut butter, but for this recipe, I use regular creamy Skippy peanut butter.
- Sugar– brown sugar and granulated sugar
- Egg– always use large eggs.
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips– I like semi-sweet chocolate chips, but milk or dark chocolate work well too.
- M&M’S– the colorful candies are the star of the cookies.
- Flake sea salt– for sprinkling on top!
How to Make Monster Cookies
We’ve got a pretty standard cookie procedure here! Let’s get baking!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat baking mats.
- Get all the dry ingredients stirred together in a big mixing bowl: oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside; we’ll come back to it in a minute.
- Use a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the peanut butter, softened butter, and sugars together on medium speed until everything is creamy and smooth. Use a spatula to scrape the sides down if necessary!
- Add in the egg and vanilla and keep that mixer going until everything is good and combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients, but only mix them until they’re just combined! Don’t over mix! Finish the dough off by gently stirring in chocolate chips and M&M’s.
- Scoop the dough into balls with about two tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place them on the prepared sheets with two inches between each cookie.
- Now we bake! Give them 10-12 minutes in the oven, until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges but soft in the middle.
- Remove them from the oven and sprinkle with sea salt. This is also a great tie to press a few additional chocolate chips or M&Ms into the tops so they look nice and extra colorful.
- Let the cookies cook for about 5 minutes. These cookies have a LOT of goodness baked in, so you want to make sure they’re set before moving to a wire rack to cool completely!
- This cookie recipe can easily be doubled! Sometimes you NEED a MONSTER batch of MONSTER cookies:)
Optional Add-Ins
These cookies are already loaded, but the sky is really the limit here! If you want to add something additional, try…
- Peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips
- Pretzels
- Coconut
- Raisins or dried cranberries
- Peanuts, almonds, or walnuts
How to Store & Freeze
How to Store: You can store the monster cookies on the countertop in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days. To keep the cookies soft, place a piece of bread in the container. The bread will get rock hard, but the cookies will stay soft.
To freeze the cookie dough, scoop the dough into balls and place onto a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer for about an hour, just until they lose their stickiness and are mostly frozen. After that you can put them into a freezer-safe container or freezer bag! When you’re ready to bake, pull them out and bake as directed, just add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
To freeze baked cookies, place cooled cookies in a freezer container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost and enjoy or you can even eat them frozen! I love frozen monster cookies!
More Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Cookies
- Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Classic No Bake Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
See all of our COOKIE RECIPES HERE!
Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup M&M candies
- Flake sea salt, for sprinkling on cookies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Line two large baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars together until creamy and smooth, on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, if necessary. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low until just until the combined. Don’t over mix. Gently stir in the chocolate chips and M&M’s.
- Scoop the cookies into round balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches in between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges, but still soft in the middle.
- Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle the cookies with sea salt. You can also gently press additional chocolate chips and M&M’s on top of the cookies to make them look extra pretty. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until set. When set, transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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I will definitely make these for my little grandsons! I’ll add some broken pretzel sticks yum.
Perfect! I hope they love them!
These are the perfect cookie. Sweet and salty, crunchy on the outside soft on the inside, chocolate and peanut butter..seriously everything you can want. I’ve made them twice, making them gluten free/dairy free with 1:1 flour and dairy free butter. Served them at a party and everyone raved about them, including people with no dietary restrictions. Thank you for a phenomenal recipe. A forever favorite now.
I am so glad you loved the cookies.