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!
Is there no flour in the recipe?
Nope. These end up being gluten free 🙂
I bought a red dish tub just for big batch cookies and I am ashamed to say I haven’t made them yet! I am inspired to do that soon now that I have seen this post again
Don’t be ashamed!! you will get the chance to eventually!!
Great recipe! I made the base but was lacking in add-ins. Had a bag of mixed snack size candy bars. Buttered a knife and chopped them up for the add-ins. Know exactly what I’m doing with extra candy from Halloween 🙂
I hope you enjoy the cookies!!!
I found your recipe and made them a couple of weeks ago with my daughter. My whole family loved them so much that I made them for my oldest daughters birthday party! My husband and I agree that they are the best cookies we have ever had. The only difference I did was I only baked them for 7 minutes. We love our cookies soft and chewy and it was perfect! Thanks!
I am so glad to hear they were a hit with your family April!!! Happy Belated Birthday to your daughter!!!
I just got done making these and I’m not sure what I did wrong but they spread out way too much during cooking. The first pan ended up as one “mono-cookie” so I made the next pan a bit smaller and spaced them further apart. They still had that flat, melted look, not the thick cookies that are in the picture and have gooey parts in the middle. I am at a higher altitude, would that have anything to do with it? I am so disappointed because yours look so good! Help please!
Hey Whitney! I’m so sorry that happened to you and I know how disappointing it is (I’m a veteran of that same incident with many a cookie over the years). It sounds like what happens when you grease cookie sheets for a cookie recipe that does not require greased sheets. This recipe does require greased sheets and that is what works for me, but I am wondering if maybe you are using some really good non stick sheets and then greasing them on top of that could have been the culprit. Holler back and we’ll see if we can put our brains together on this!
Is it odd that the first thing I thought of was “Where the heck did she get the big jug of vanilla?? And can I find one?”
Oh, Mary! I never heard of such a thing as too much chocolate….lol! These are great cookies, Christie. I’m in WV now but family is all around Jacksonville and Piedmont. I miss home!