These Thick and Chewy Monster Cookies are loaded with peanut butter, oats, M&M’s and chocolate chips. They’re a cross between a chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and a peanut butter cookie, and they’re sure to be a huge hit with family and friends.
I LOVE making cookies, and since I don’t usually have fresh-baked cookies available on the spot, I like to freeze them for when friends come over or when we just want a little treat. In my freezer currently are Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies, Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies, and Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Who wants to come over?!
Monster Cookies
Don’t ask me to choose a favorite type of cookie because I just wouldn’t be able to! There are too many fun variations. These Monster Cookies are always popular and I love the great texture from the oats and the subtle peanut butter flavor.
Why are they called Monster Cookies?
There’s not an exact answer for why these cookies are called “Monster” Cookies. Some people think it’s because they look like monsters, with their bumpy texture and fun colors. I like to think it’s because they’re stuffed with so much “stuff”, making them the “monster” of all cookies.
Whatever the reason, all Monster Cookies have these ingredients in common: peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips and m&m chocolate candy.
How to make Monster Cookies:
- Cream the butter and sugars. Use REAL butter and cream it with the sugar for at least 2-3 minutes until really light and fluffy. This is adding air to the mixture and is the base for the texture we want in our cookies.
- Mix wet ingredients. Add the peanut butter and mix well. Add egg and vanilla and mix.
- Measure flour properly and mix dry ingredients. When measuring the flour be sure to fluff it a bit first, allowing air to fill in (like sifting) before you spoon it lightly into the measuring cup. Stir together the flour, oats, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir into wet mixture with m&m’s and chocolate chips.
- Slightly under-bake. Bake at 350, being careful not to over bake the monster cookies. The tops will look just set and they will continue to harden and set up as they cool on the baking sheet.
How do I keep my cookies from spreading?
During baking, cookies naturally spread, but the key is to make sure they don’t spread too much. To keep your monster cookies from spreading, be sure to use exact measurements (no guesstimating) and use room temperature ingredients, particularly the butter and eggs. You can also stop cookies from getting flat by chilling the dough for 15-30 minutes before baking.
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
These cookies will keep well in an air-tight container for 1-2 days, or you can freeze the cookie dough or baked cookies. To freeze them after they’re baked, allow them to cool completely and store them in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Freeze cookie dough balls in a freezer safe container and when ready to bake, place the frozen cookie dough on a baking sheet and add 2-4 minutes to the baking time.
CONSIDER TRYING THESE POPULAR COOKIE RECIPES:
- Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Super Soft Sugar Cookies
- Triple Chip Blondies
- M&M Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Mint Cookies
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Recipe
![Monster cookies with m&m's on a wire cooling rack.](https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Monster-Cookies-8-500x500.jpg)
Thick and Chewy Monster Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup M&M candies
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cream the butter and sugar together really well—at least 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add peanut butter and mix well. Add egg and vanilla and mix.
- In a separate mixing bowl stir together the flour (be careful to measure correctly, spooning the flour into a measuring cup, then leveling off), oats, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add to the wet mixture and mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips and M&M’s.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or a little longer if you make them bigger than a 1 inch cookie scoop. Don't over bake--they will look just set.
- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the pan.
Notes
Nutrition
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HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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Made these the other day family and coworkers loved them. Making them again today for work meeting tomorrow.
I am an experienced Baker but this recipe crumbled on me. Yikes, I doubled the recipe. Didnt wasn’t too waste ingredients do I mixed in a little extra PB. I lined a jelly roll sheet with parchment paper and pressed it in there nice and firmly and baked it for about 30 minutes.
I feel like everything was nice and creamy and going smoothly until I added the vanilla and then it changed the consistency of everything. I’m not sure why? Maybe the PB and vanilla weren’t compatible? I used organic from Costco. This has never happened to me before…It all turned out okay in the end. Just ended up with bars instead of cookies.Crumbly but Very yummy!!
BEST MONSTER COOKIES EVER! They’re crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. We used the pack of M&M’s with peanut, peanut butter, and regular in it and it was a great choice.
Delicious!!
Dry
These are excellent! They are even better than the bakery “Monster” cookies. They have a wonderful crunch while still being chewy. I used an M & M knock off from Trader Joe’s that isn’t covered with toxic dye. Unreal Candy Coated Chocolate Gems are the healthiest if you can find them.
The taste is good but the cookies are super dry and fall apart.
I love baking so thank you but in this one the brown sugar was not used
Ok recipe.. they tasted good but definitely don’t flatten out while baking and are not monster cookie texture. So you have balls of cookie instead of a cookie. Odd but they were fine. I think there needs to be more oats and more of the wet ingredients to make a more traditional monster cookie.
These turned out great!
Everything I used was measured out and room temp, I mixed all the wet ingredients into the flour and then added the oats & chocolates at the same time so I didn’t overmix. I also chilled for 20 minutes before scooping into 1 inch balls and then flattening into disks.
Definitely pull them at 10-12 depending on your oven and let them keep cooking on the sheet. Very moist & tasty! They didn’t last long at my house.
Thank you!!
We like these cookies and found the taste and texture good. I had the same issue as others while baking with the cookie balls not spreading. I squished the first batch with a few minutes left and flattened the remaining dough balls before baking. Next time, I will not chill the dough and see how it goes. A keeper recipe with just a few tweaks needed to achieve my preferred thickness.
As others stated, I followed the recipe and instructions exactly. They turned out dry and crumbly. Whatever the variable is, it’s a risk not worth taking. Find a different recipe.
I love this recipe qui k and easy and very good
Made this recipe using peanut butter chips and chocolate chunk chips… OH YEAH!
These are so good! I made them twice and the second time added less sugar as they were too sweet the first time but they are such a good balance of all things yummy! We used the Canadian smarties (like m&ms but without food dye) and I can see us making these for years to come.
Huge hit! Simple to make and tasted amazing! Have you tried adding walnuts? If yes, did you substitute something?
Has anyone tried to make this recipe gluten free?
I followed the recipe exactly, except I used crunchy peanut butter, and they’re absolutely delicious! I used a medium cookie scoop, baked for 12 minutes and got 30 cookies from the recipe. The base is so good, I’m thinking about using it and trying some variations (like butterscotch chips instead of the m&ms/chocolate chips). I’ve tried it with smooth and crunchy peanut butter and the crunchy really elevates the recipe, highly recommend!
They taste okay, but are dry and crumbly. They don’t bake well and don’t flatten out. They turned out better when I squished them down a little bit. Won’t be making these again
Oh wow I wonder if it’s your altitude as mine have come out really moist each time I’ve made them and they flatten beautiful, I do use a cookie scoop. I actually was debating using less butter next time because I felt they were almost too moist!
This recipe appeared many years ago in the Woman’s Day magazine. Although the ingredients are all the same, the amounts do vary. They were called Colossal Thick and Chewy Cookies because they were BIG (like monster) The recipe used 1/2C of dough to be flattened out into a 5″ diameter. Optional were 1″ diameter balls, flattened with a glass to a 2″ diameter cookie that baked for 8-10 min.
These monster cookies turned out perfectly and are super yummy. Will definitely make them again!
Here’s the problem… As the cookies were about 2/3 into the bake, they were not spreading and so not cooking properly as many comments say. I saved them by squishing them down into disks, and then pre-squishing them before the next batch. I did this and they came out just right. So don’t bake the cookies in ball form, they have to be disks; smash them gently with the back of a spoon. The recipe should specify this.
Used exact amounts and they were great!
Great cookies
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out well, however I did tweak it.
It looked too dry when I was mixing it and I thought it was because of the GF flour or using crunchy peanut butter until I read the reviews.
This is what I changed…
I added an extra egg
I added 1/4cup of creamy peanut butter.
If I were to make it again, I think I might tweak it a little more since it was a bit dry the 2nd day (maybe 4 TBspns more butter to help them spread, 1/4 cup more M&Ms and a 1/4 tspn more vanilla)
Hope that helps.
Then when you add all of those differences, It really isn’t even the same recipe
Awful. Don’t bake like a cookie, too dry. I regret making them and wasting all the time expensive ingredients:( 🙁
Something isn’t right with this recipe. They don’t taste right and didn’t spread out like a monster cookie should.
I love monster cookies so much and these are delicious. Nice and chewy they don’t get hard if they sit out or in the fridge. They’re literally perfect.
Not impressed… Something is off… These did not spread like a cookie and stayed in ball form.. Also tasted like flour.
Wow what a mess couldn’t get the m&m mixed into mixture didn’t seem wet enough these are simple cookies won’t use this reciepe again waste of money
Love this recipe and have made it several times using gluten free flour.
I want to add however: It is becoming more common to see baking recipes with weights (grams usually) for most of the ingredients – especially flour. It would be SO helpful to have that in this recipe!
1 cup is 120 grams
I think that the recipe is super simple and easy really good my only complaint is that the instructions aren’t as clear. Over all I think its a really good recipe and would use it again
I make a triple batch for my production floor staff. Gone in 2 hours, and they are wanting me to go home and bake more 😅
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Soooo good!
I made these gluten free and dairy free and these were awesome!!! I swapped the flour, butter and m&m’s for Bob Red Mills GF all purpose flour (red bag), Miyokos unsalted butter and Unreal chocolate quinoa gems. It was definitely very stiff to stir at the end and I squashed the mounds a little after putting them on the baking sheet. They spread a little when baked and were soft and not dry at all. In the words of my son “I could eat these all day!”
I did not follow the directions to a T, we added some peanut butter chips on a whim, and they turned out fantastic!
I really do like this cookie. I don’t feel like it had enough peanut butter flavor though. I think I’d add chopped peanuts next time. To help others: my cookies didn’t spread until the last minute or so. It’s possible you aren’t baking enough? Also, if you use quick oats instead of old fashion, you’re likely to get a more dry and crumbly cookie in my experience.
I’m a little confused by the mixed reviews. Perhaps the recipe wasn’t followed as written? I made these with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, weighed my ingredients, and kept a close eye on the cookies to ensure that I didn’t overbake. They turned out great! The texture was what I would have expected using wheat flour (crispy on the edges and tender in the center) which is great since gluten free baking is notoriously dry and crumbly.
I followed the recipe exactly, except for adding the called for amount of candies which I used a mixture of chocolate covered raisins, white chocolate chips, and M&M’s.
The cookies turned our lovely.
Followed the recipe to a T. They were crumbly and dry. 🙁 Also they didn’t spread at all.
I can’t figure out why my cookies aren’t spreading. They are staying in the cookie dough ball. I’ve even redid the recipe to make sure I didn’t forget the baking powder or soda. But still not spreading. Any tips or tricks? 🤔
Otherwise very good!
Maybe you added too much flour? With flour you have to measure it a certain way so it doesn’t pack.
It also probably won’t spread as much as other cookies because there’s so much stuff in it.
There isn’t enough fat in the recipe. Idk if the amount of butter should be doubled or what. I had to trash my cookie dough.
as a child baker this recipe was super amazing! and delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome recipe. Cookies came out perfect! Friends loved them! They took 13 minutes at 350 F to bake. I used 1/4 cup portions so that’s probably why they took a bit longer to bake.
Very good Peanut butter monster cookie! Baked 13 minutes at 350 degrees. Added Peanut butter monster trail mix 1 pound as only variation.
😋
Recipe was fine, the description and directions were not clear so it was difficult to follow.
I had very good luck with this recipe! I need to make some adaptations because of family dietary needs so cannot use butter. I substituted 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of applesauce for the butter. I also added some raisins (just because my family likes them!) but everything else the same. I put in the frig overnight before baking this morning and they are fabulous! I know everyone wants to bake with butter but sometimes just have to adjust for family that have a sweet tooth.
These are crumbly as heck and shouldn’t be the first recipe to appear when one searches monster cookies.
The cookies are great. The recipe was easy and the results were a nice firm texture.
Delicious cookies! Crispy edges and chewy centers–just the way I like it! I followed the ingredients measurements exactly and then I made my cookies bigger by scooping the dough into a 1/4 cup measuring cup and rolling them into balls. I placed the dough balls about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets (it fit 6 to a sheet). I pressed a few extra chocolate chips and M&Ms just slightly into the dough to embed them on top of the cookie for an extra loaded Monster Cookie top. I baked mine for 14 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit then cooled the cookies on the pan for 2 minutes then moved them to cooling racks to cool completely. It yielded 12 cookies. So good! I think next time I will add butterscotch chips as well!
Great idea to add butterscotch.
Happiness is a mouthful of Monster Cookie. Everybody loved `em. Added some leftover butterscotch chips, otherwise didn’t change a thing. We’ll be making these again and again. Thanks TBFS!
THIS RECIPE WAS VERY GOOD! I ACTUALLY ADDED REESES PIECES, CAROB CHIPS, AND WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIPS. YUM!
The cookie dough is delicious and so are the cookies. However, my cookies did not spread at all and came out as round balls. I creamed the sugars with the butter and the egg, then added the vanilla and peanut butter. I also used Quick Oats. I used a 1-in cookie scoop to place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and baked them for 12 minutes at 350°. Puzzled as to why they came out of the oven the same shape as they went in. 🤔
Mine did too, and they were HARD! It was very tasty, though, so next time I might add more butter.
I actually liked that they didn’t spread. I forgot to flatten one batch and they were a little rounder but I liked them that way.
My guess is that there might be too much flour or the butter was too cold. Try adding less flour or warmer butter!
Great light cookie. I didnt’ add any chocolate except 3 chocolate 3 chocolate mini eggs on top and was a hit. The cookies were so easy to break apart you had to be careful was my only problem, but that was okay. Maybe the chocolate added would have bonded it better which as I said I didn’t do. Good cookie
too sweet
I made one batch without chocolate and added walnuts. They were less sweet and friends liked that about them.
Made these for the first time with my granddaughters. They loved them. This recipe is a keeper!
Hi Lauren. Last weekend I made these cookies for the first time. And lucky for me I had my 2 grandsons age 2 and 4 to help !! The cookies turned out so well and they were delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with everyone. It was very easy to follow. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Your an expert for sure ♥️
This recipe is makes a super crumbly cookie that falls apart. I’ll definitely be trying a different recipe next time.
Followed recipe to a T, taste is good, but they are falling apart very hard to remove from pan let alone eat. Disappointed.
I waited for them to cool before removing and that was the key to not falling apart.
These cookies are SO FREAKING DELICIOUS. I’ve made them twice now, and every single time they turn out perfectly. I use cold butter instead of room temp so that they don’t spread, and follow everything else to the letter. Make these now, don’t wait, they will blow your mind.
The cookies came out great. I make these for my grandchildren and they really enjoy them.
I love the texture compared to normal cookies. Great dipping cookie.
It is common sense but it does not mention to soften the butter. The cookies did not spread well and the oats in this were hard to chew through, this maybe have been my oats. I also think it could have a little more salt. Overall, I think these are OK, not my favorite, but worth a try.
This dough was great to work with. I made sure to follow the directions to cream the butter until fluffy and I think that’s key. The cookies looked very underwhelming coming out of the oven, but the taste is good. The recipe made three dozen for me. Unlike some chocolate chip cookie recipes, these monster cookies taste better cool.
These are perfection! I added some dried cranberries and less M&Ms and it was a gorgeous combo and chewy but firm texture! They didn’t look like they would be these fabulous cookies -but I didn’t want dinner for days -just cookies-Beware! 🙂
Super Yummy & easy to follow!
I’ve used this recipe so many times, but just realized I never gave a review. These are my favorite cookies by far! I keep the recipe exactly how you have written it. Thick, Chewy, Delicious and so addictive!
Excellent recipe!
This is my go to monster cookie recipe! ❤️🍪🍪
Mine turned out terrible! Followed to a T, just doubled the batch. They didn’t even turn into cookies, just balls of dryness.
This deserves way less stars for wasting my time/money
I octupled my recipe so I’ll let you know how it works out! My arms have definitely received a work out today getting the dry mixed with the wet.
You must’ve done something wrong. I’ve used this recipe (to a t) multiple times and comes out so delicious! My advice would be to try again.
Same ugh so crumbly! So disappointed. Had a craving and made these on a whim.
Made these tonight. Perfect recipe. The whole family gobbled them up. Didn’t have m&m’s, so just used milk and semi sweet chips. Yum. This recipe is a keeper.
This recipe is perfect for soft and chewy monster cookies. Thank you, Lauren! Those of you who complained about it being crumbly did not properly cream your butter and sugar together. Also, if you don’t have parchment paper, don’t grease your cookie sheet. It causes your cookies to spread more thus resulting in a thinner cookie and will make the bottom brown more quickly. It definitely won’t bbe nearly as soft and chewy. Thanks again, Lauren!
This recipe is perfect for soft and chewy monster cookies. Thank you, Lauren! Tho
Excellent recipe! I followed the recipe as it is written except I didn’t have an egg so subbed a flax egg. Even with that sub they are really good. I just used a cookie scoop to portion them out onto the cookie sheet. Didn’t press them down at all. Will definitely make again!
I saw the comments on this recipe and decided to make a few modifications that ended up working out.
-Heaping half cup DARK brown sugar (instead of light brown)
-3/4 c peanut butter (instead of half cup)
-2 tsp vanilla (instead of 1)
-1 c oats (instead of 1 1/4 c)
– 1 c choco chips (instead of half cup)
– extra M&Ms pressed into the top
I refrigerated the balls for about 15 min, then pressed them down a bit before baking at the same temp and time.
These modifications allowed for SUPER peanut buttery, soft, moist cookies. Would bake again.
I didn’t change a single about this recipe and they came out perfectly! I made sure to cream the butter and sugars together for several minutes, as others had suggested, and my cookies were not crumbly at all. This one is a keeper!
Shoot! Should have read reviews definitely needs another egg and maybe a touch less oatmeal. The flavor is amazing but very crumbly and dry.
Taste was good but the cookie was extremely crumbly. Would definitely modify the recipe so the cookies don’t fall apart. Wish I would have read the reviews
I have made this recipe so many times and decided it was time to comment. These are the best monster cookies. thank you. we make them all the time.
These were good. Just underbake them slightly. Not crumbly! 😃👍🏻
just another person who didnt look at the reviews… gahh very crumbly. i had to squish the dough together and gently press the m&m’s into the cookies. definitely wont be using this recipe again.
Super dry. Crumbly. Not a great recipe at all. Wish we had read comments first.
I agree with others, these are not moist and chewy like the cookies I had as a kid. Maybe too much oatmeal? Also, I’d cut down on the m & m’s to 3/4 cup. They crumbled as I tried to put them on cookie sheet, and very dry taste after baking. Disappointed, as I wanted to gift these!
Should have read the comments before making. These are dry, crumbly, not flavorful. Wouldn’t spread. Followed the recipe exactly. Really disappointing.
Like other bakers, these cookies were crumbly. However, they were also delicious. I added about 1/3 C. chopped dates for added chew and natural sweetness. That’s how the cookie crumbles! Yum!
I wish I had read the reviews before making because indeed these cookies were both tasteless, dry and won’t spread out. Thumbs down.
Followed recipe exactly. Cookie dough was extremely dry and crumbly.
Disappointing. Followed recipe to a t. Cookies were not chewy as described but crumbly and dry. Not at all what I expected. I’ll look for a different recipe.
I love them their so GOOD!
Made exactly as instructed. Absolutely delicious. I do not have parchment paper so I sprayed foil with non stick spray. So good! Thank you.
The cookies were too dry. I did not think it had as much flavor as it should either. The recipe definitely needs to be tweaked. More flavor, more moist. Probably the amount of oats could be cut back as well.
Definitely didn’t turn out like the picture. They stay balled up, they don’t spread. Not chewy at all. It’s dry and has barley any flavor. I even under cooked them… I’m going to tweak the recipe so you can actually taste the peanut butter and it needs more oatmeal too.
I made these for my children in the ‘80s.
I’m not 💯 % sure, but I first learned about them around the time that MOMO, The Missouri Monster was in the News not far from me in Pike County, MO.
Delicious and easy. I pressed them after they were cooked.
My cookies like others did not spread out at all. I had to press them down before baking. Mine had little taste.
I’m looking forward to trying these my sister made some and shared with us . They were delicious and I thought I would try and make some for us looking forward to see how they turn out!
I make these with gluten free flour and they are so good.
Great to find recipes when you need them
Do you keep the dough in a ball or do you press it down before baking? The recipe doesn’t say. I made these and just left it in a ball but then these didn’t look done after 11 minutes. They fall apart and I kept putting them back in the oven to finish cooking them. They just don’t look like they set up at all. Super disappointed ☹️
I am making Christmas cookies and these are a must have. They turned out so good. This is definitely a recipe I will make again.
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm! So simple and so freaking delishhhhhhh
I really like monster cookies, but I have never made them before tonight. I wasn’t a huge fan. I thought they were too sweet, and not peanut buttery enough. Could have also used more salt. My cookies turned out like balls, they didn’t spread at all. The recipe didn’t really indicate how to form the cookies–was I supposed to flatten them? Maybe I did something wrong? I don’t know. I would not make this recipe again. Disappointed.
love this recipe.. so hard not to keep eating these cookies. I am a stay at home mom and logging wife i am always looking for that good recipe. this is it!
I love these cookies! This has become my go-to recipe since they’re so yummy and more fun than just plain chocolate chip. 🙂
Delicious cookies
I’ve made these for the men’s softball team I help coach and now they ask for them at every tournament. With 4 back to back championship wins, it’s needless to say that I am making these today for their tournament this weekend as well. I put them in a plastic shoebox container lined with parchment paper (one for each day of the tournament) and they stay soft all weekend! Thank you for the delicious recipe!!
This is just awesome–thank you for sharing, and I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed the recipe!
Never cared for Monster cookies that much but made these once for my son and grandsons. Now they are my favorite cookies. Great recipe.
This is a simple Recipe and so much fun to each my grandchildren make. They are so good we added taffy to th recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do.😄
Made them today. Turned out great!
Amazing! Best Monster Cookie Recipe I’ve found.
Can you make these in a bar variation?? How do you adjust cookie temp and time?
I haven’t tested them as bars, but I’m sure they’d turn out great. Try 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes or so.
Delicious! I added a few butterscotch chips. Don’t overcook. The almost undercooked were so good the next day!
Easy and a perfect 10!
Very easy and smells wonderful in the oven!
I currently have a batch in the oven. Can’t wait to eat em. The batter tastes delicious and it’s not a super dry batter
Definitely a family favourite. In Canada, we like to use Smarties (also a candy coated chocolate) instead of m&ms. I find these cookies way to hard to resist so I don’t make them too often. 😀
I’ve made these cookies a couple of times my family loves them. I need to make a double or maybe triple batch so they last more than a couple of hours. Thanks for sharing.
I love this recipe and it works well with Peanut M&Ms, my preference.
Can you use quick oats?
Sure.
Thank you for the recipe!!!! My picky 10 year old boy LOVES these!!! We will be making more in the future!!!
Thank you for this recipe! I wanted to share a “healthyish” version of these cookies that I just made to great results, if anyone else was interested.
I used only the M&Ms to cut down on sugar, added about 1/4 cup roasted (unsalted) sunflower seeds. I also subbed 1/4 cup of flaxseed meal into the dry ingredients, and used only 3/4 cup of AP flour. Flaxseed meal with make the texture a bit more sandy, so keep that in mind.
Both sunflower seeds and flaxseed meal are high in fiber and protein, so it adds a bit of nutrition without sacrificing flavor.
Thanks again!
Thanks for the healthy-ish tip 🙂
I used 1 minute quick oats. They turned out amazingly good. Baked perfectly for 12 minutes.
I will make these one of my go to cookies. Delicious!
These were absolutely yummy delicious!!
These turned out beautifully. Will definitely make again.
These cookies are delicious! All of the flavors are perfectly balanced. I followed the recipe exactly as written. Will definitely make them again!
This recipe is a family favorite!! I did change the peanut butter to almond butter because I have a family member deathly allergic to peanuts. Turned out delicious. Other family members didn’t even notice I changed the recipe. I did add some butterscotch chips, too. Thank you for the recipe!!!!
Hi Kris,
My son also allergic to peanuts – what did you use in place of the M&Ms since those also are produced in a plant that contains peanuts….I have been searching high and low for a peanut free M&M candy!
Thanks 🙂
Smarties. They’re like m&ms but peanut free here in Canada. If you live in the US you can probably get them from Amazon. I’m also allergic to peanuts to make with almond butter and smarties
These cookies are so good! The recipe made a perfect amount to bake these up quick last night per a request from my 6 yr old. I flatten the first in the oven after they baked and only need to remember to flatten before the oven. This recipe is a keeper!
Family favorite! Perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. The light crispiness of the cookies makes it that much better! I do flatten the tops when there’s about three minutes left.
We’ve already made these twice in the last couple weeks!! I was craving monster cookies & these hit the spot #pregnant. My boys and husband also loved them! We added peanut butter m&Ms and Reese’s pieces this time too! SO GOOD!
I have been making monster cookies for years using a famous/well known recipe. I decided to try a different recipe this year because I didn’t want the cookies to spread. So, I found your recipe and baked them last night. These were not only beautiful right out the oven, they were the best tasting monster cookies I have ever made. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I am making them again tonight.
I made a double batch these and they looked like gold balls too. I realized that I forgot to add the brown sugar when I was putting ingredients away. I also ended up quadrupling the m & ms by accident. Anyway, they were still good and I flattened the tops as you advised. I think I was thrown off when mixing the sugar and butter because it did not list to add “sugars.” Clearly I need all the help I can get when following recipes especially when doubling the recipe! Thank you for this recipe.
Should I grease the cookie sheet before placing the cookie dough?
You can line it with parchment paper, or if you don’t have parchment paper you can lightly grease the pan.
Best cookies ever, everything I like in a cookie. I used extra crunchy peanut butter.
I made these and they looked like a golf ball after 12 minutes in the oven. I re-read the recipe to see if I had did something wrong and made them the next day. The same thing happened. Why are they not spreading when cooked? I love all your recipes. This is the first one that has failed for me twice!
Hi Donna, I’m so sorry! What is your altitude? I wonder if you’re higher than I am here in Arizona. Next time you could flatten the tops before baking.
I made these for our Memorial Day BBQ and they were really good! Thank you for the great recipe.
Happy to hear it! Thanks Michelle!
sharing on the weekend edit ! I love a good monster cookie, laura