Peanut butter, oats, chocolate, M&M’s, I don’t know that cookies get much better than a Monster Cookie! This is a giant Monster Cookie, and it is just the right amount of chewy with crisp at the edges.
What makes this a “monster” cookie? I believe it got it’s name because it is a Frankenstein like mash up of a number of cookies. It is part peanut butter cookie, part oatmeal cookie, and part chocolate chip cookie with some M&M’s thrown in for fun. Whoever first created it was a genius- who wouldn’t want those awesome cookies all rolled into one?
Warning!
What I’m about to write next is controversial, and I feel obligated to include a disclaimer that it is not safe to consume raw eggs. That said, I grew up eating cookie dough full of raw eggs, and I’m living to tell the tale. I can’t resist sampling cookie dough, and I’m sure I have indicated before that oatmeal cookie dough is my long standing favorite. But, I also love peanut butter with a passion. Monster Cookie dough adds peanut butter to delicious oatmeal cookie dough and is fantastic. I will eat it by the spoonful and nobody is going to stope me! If you are feeling brave, I think this cookie dough is worth the risk. I just want to warn you, however, that if you start eating this dough you might have trouble stopping yourself.
Here’s what you will need:
The ingredients are pretty straightforward and found in most well stocked pantries. You might need to go out and get some M&M’s. I do not keep M&M’s in my pantry. I do use them, but they are not safe in my house and will be consumed by people living here before they are baked into treats. You will need: butter (I use salted), peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, kosher salt, old fashioned oats, chocolate chips, and M&M’s.
Giant Cookies
I chose to make these into giant sized Monster Cookies. They are literally as big as my daughter’s head! I used a large cookie scoop (almost 1/4 cup) and was able to place just 4 scoops on a baking sheet.
Pro Tips:
As noted, I opted to make over sized cookies. This recipe makes about 2 dozen extra large cookies (20 cookies if you do like I did and eat a fair amount of cookie dough!). You can stretch that to make about 30+ regular sized cookies. You will need to adjust the baking time down just a bit for smaller cookies.
If you don’t think you need 24 oversized cookies, you can cut this batch in half. Most ingredients divide easily. To save you some math, 3/4 cup butter becomes 6 Tablespoons for a half batch.
I use old fashioned rolled oats. This gives the cookies the best texture. You don’t want to use instant or quick cooking oats unless you find yourself needing a cookie and not having other options.
This recipe has a lot of oats, and a small amount of flour. The cookies will have a slightly different/softer texture is you choose to go gluten free. To do this, replace the flour with an additional 2 cups of oats that you process in a blender or food processor to give it a flour like consistency.
As I have indicated in past recipes, I love natural peanut butter, but NOT for baking. Use a traditional Jif or Skippy here. Chunky or creamy is totally your call!
After scooping dough onto the baking sheet, I flatten the balls just a bit to even them out. I then add a few M&M’s to the top and press them in lightly. After the cookie bakes, these top M&M’s will still look pretty and colorful.
Once the cookies have been removed from the oven they are still quite soft. They will firm up as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. I had the most success waiting closer to 7 or 8 minutes.
Monster Cookies
A giant cookie full of peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips and M&M’s is chewy in the center and crispy on the edges.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes plus chilling
- Cook Time: 15 minutes per pan
- Total Time: 35+ minutes
- Yield: 24 large cookies 1x
- Category: cookies
- Cuisine: dessert
Ingredients
2 cups peanut butter
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups oats*
1 cup flour*
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups M&M’s
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Blend until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Add the oats, flour, baking soda and kosher salt. Once the dough has come together, fold in the chocolate chips and M&M’s.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour.
Place large scoops of dough on a baking sheet with plenty of room for spreading* and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven when the cookies are just set in the center and golden brown at the edges. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from pan*
Notes
*Use old fashioned rolled oats, not quick cooking or instant oatmeal.
*For a gluten free option replace the flour with two cups additional oats. Process the 2 cups oats in a blender to create a flour consistency.
I flatten the dough balls just a bit by hand to even them out before baking.
The cookies are quite soft when removed from the oven. They will firm up as they cool.
Keywords: monster cookie, peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, M&M’s
If you are in the mood to bake, and you love giant cookies, you might also try my Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies which are over sized, or my large S’mores Cookies.
Wow! Are those cookies huge, or is that girl’s head tiny? Either way, I loved this recipe.
★★★★★