Chewy Monster Cookies with Peanut Butter and M&M’s
Can’t decide between a peanut butter cookie, an oatmeal cookie and a chocolate chip cookie? These chewy monster cookies are all three in one, with chunky peanut butter and oats loaded up with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and mini M&M’s. They’re flourless, they mix up in one bowl and they bake in about 10 minutes.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Monster Cookies
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: + 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter, dark brown sugar, white sugar, softened butter, eggs, vanilla, oats quick, baking soda
- Why You'll Love It: These are The Monster Cookies Everyone Loves because they have just the right ingredient for each and every person yet they are also easy to make!
They’re called the monster cookies everyone loves in our house because there’s a little something for every person in each bite. Swap in orange and brown M&M’s and they’re right at home on a Halloween party platter next to big chewy Halloween candy cookies.
Why These Monster Cookies Are So Chewy
Oats stand in for flour here, so the cookies bake up thick and chewy, and a full cup and a half of chunky peanut butter adds richness plus a little crunch. Using both dark brown and white sugar gives them crisp edges and soft centers, and letting them rest on the pan for 5 minutes lets the middles finish setting.
Ingredients for Monster Cookies
Chunky peanut butter: It adds texture, but creamy works if that’s what you have.
Quick oats: They hold the dough together in place of flour and keep the cookies chewy.
Mix-ins: Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and mini M&M’s are the classic trio. Nuts, butterscotch chips or chopped candy bars work too.
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Use a cookie scoop or roll golf ball-size portions so the cookies bake evenly.
- Press a few extra M&M’s on top of each dough ball before baking so they look bakery-pretty.
- Grease your cookie sheets well. If yours are worn out, I love these Caraway baking sheets.
- Let the cookies rest on the pan for 5 minutes before moving them, since they’re soft when they first come out.
How to Make Monster Cookies
1Mix the Dough
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the peanut butter, sugars, butter, eggs, oats, baking soda, vanilla and salt to a large bowl.
2Add the Mix-Ins
Mix well with an electric mixer, then add the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and M&M’s and mix until blended.
3Scoop the Cookies
Roll the dough into golf ball-size rounds and set them 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
4Top with M&M’s
Press a few extra M&M’s on top of each cookie.
5Bake and Cool
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack.
Serving and Storing
Pack them in lunchboxes, take a plate to a bake sale, or set them out for a Halloween party with white chocolate candy corn cookies and ghost meringue cookies. You’ll find more ideas in our list of easy Halloween treats and desserts, and a glass of cold milk is all you need on the side.
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days.
Monster Cookies FAQs
Are monster cookies gluten-free?
There’s no flour in them, so they can be, as long as you use oats labeled gluten-free and check your candy and chips.
Can I use old-fashioned oats?
Quick oats give the softest, most even texture. Old-fashioned oats work but make the cookies a little chunkier.
Why are they called monster cookies?
They’re loaded with a little bit of everything, from peanut butter and oats to chocolate chips and candy, which makes them big, hearty “monster” cookies.
Chewy Monster Cookies with Peanut Butter and M&M’s
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 cups quick oats
- 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi sweet or milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini M&M’s plus extra for topping
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine peanut butter, sugars, butter, eggs, oats, baking soda, vanilla and salt. Mix well with an electric mixer.
- Add in all other ingredients and mix again until well blended.
- Form dough into golfball size cookies and place two inches apart on greased cookie sheets.
- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Enjoy!
Please tell me how to convert this recipe without peanut butter /nuts due to severe peanut /tree nut allery in family thank you
Sun butter is your best bet:)
I want to make these when I get over the flu. I have my oats in a mason jar, too. A half-gallon size. Have you seen those? Great for beverages! I also found some pint and half jars. They are tall and good for drinking out of! Love me some canning jars…lol. Thanks for recipe.
Little off topic, but had to share, I am not a Mac & Cheese lovers, (I know unAmerican) but I just got a copy of your ckbk “Come Home to Dinner” and looked through it for a recipe that I could make with things on hand. OK 4 cheese mac & cheese, OH MY OH MY I AM now a Mac & Cheese lover. This is the best Mac & Cheese ever and I have been cooking for husband for 47 years, (he will eat anything but actually said “that was good” make it again) So if you do not have a copy of this ckbk GET ONE I am going to be working my way through the recipes.
Oh WOW, thank you so much for sharing, it has just made my day!!!
I printed this recipe off your site just as it is posted and made them exactly as written — what a greasy mess they turned out to be. The so-called golf balls turned into squares and were not done in the amount of time given in the recipe. Ugh! And, there is nothing wrong with my oven.
I have the remainder of the batter chilling in the refrigerator now and hope that will improve this recipe. Otherwise, it will go in the waste basket.
Try creaming the butter, peanut butter and sugars before adding the eggs and then the other ingredients . Try chilling the dough 30 minutes before using. The lack of flour maybe affecting the cooking temperature on your oven. Is your elevation high? Longer or shorter cooking times and higher or lower temperatures maybe required. I did the recipe as written and they were not bad, except that they were crunchier than my preference, so I will take my own advice and make sure to mix in stages and chill the dough.
You could have called them “Everything But the Dishpan” Cookies but it looks like you have the dishpan in on this one too! 😀
Yum! There will be a batch of these for sale at the Hospice Chili Challenge tomorrow. They’re in the oven now!
Christy, you just helped me make the decision what cookies I’m going to send to my granddaughter, who is in college, this next month. I try to send her a box of homemade cookies and other “goodies” once a month just like I did for our grandson when he was in college. These sound like the “perfect” cookie of the month for the next mailing. Just a special way for this Grandmother to say “I love you” to these kids who are so special! Thanks for your help at all times!