Santa’s Favorite Monster Cookies
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These Monster Cookies have a Christmas cookie twist and we call’m Santa’s favorite because they are totally Santa’s favorite! These cookies are filled with oats, peanut butter, mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, red n’ green peanut butter filled m&m’s, and red n’ green mini m&m’s.
If you haven’t already guessed it. These are your basic Monster Cookies, but what makes them a little extra special for Christmas is that I add a touch of cinnamon, green and red peanut butter m&ms, white chocolate chips, AND mini green and red m&ms. My goodness, they are good! If you’ve never had a Monster cookie you’re totally in for a special treat. These Monster Cookies are on Christmas crack!
The original recipe came from my mama and she’s been making Monster cookies since I was probably 5 years old. I won’t be doing the math for y’all today, but it’s been around for a while. I forgot to ask her where she had gotten the recipe before writing this, but my guess is she found it in a magazine. You remember finding recipes in magazines? Y’know before the internet was a popular thing? haha.
I gave my mama’s recipe a bit of a Christmas-y twist only because I am who I am and I love Christmas and I always have an abundance of different types of red and green m&m’s this time of year.
Do you have an Elf on the shelf at your house? We do, but before you’re like “Oh my Gosh how do people have time for moving the dang elf around and doing all this stuff?” I don’t. I explained on Instagram the other day that our elf mostly hangs out in the Christmas tree or in Pepper’s doll house, but a few times during the Christmas season ZuZu (that’s her name) brings some special things for us to do together as a family like a Christmas-y craft project, a nice book, hot cocoa fixin’s, and once a year she even rummages through my cabinets and gets all the ingredients to bake Santa’s Favorite Monster Cookies. I don’t have the ambition to do a ton with the elf and I think it’s vital to not set a super high standard in our house when it comes to the elf because I’m a very forgetful person.
This is also a super kid friendly recipe. If your little one likes to help in the kitchen, I definitely recommend it! They can measure everything out with very little help from you. It’s perfect. As Pepper was measuring the different mix-in’s she yelled for me and said “Look mama a snow man!” Do you see it? It’s the perfect example of why seeing life through a child’s eyes is so fun. I would’a never seen a snowman had I been doing this alone.
I know this isn’t the normal kind of post you’re used to seeing around these parts, but it’s Christmas so I thought I’d post something special. Also, when I posted these cookies on Instagram I think I got about 200 messages asking for the recipe within 24 hours so I thought I’d better get it up! Answering 200-ish people is no easy task and this way it’s here for years to come and I can always reference it.
PS Please do not ask me the WW points or the calories. I don’t want to know.
If you make these, I sure hope you enjoy!
I hope y’all have a beautiful Christmas! Blessings to you and yours from me and mine!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (room temp! not melted and not warmed up in the microwave)
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups peanut butter (chunky or smooth – do not use all natural)
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- 4½ cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup (total) mixture of mini green and red m&ms and peanut butter green and red m&m's. *You can have all of one or the other. It's up to you. The mixture makes them extra yummy.*
- 1 cup (total) semi sweet mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips *You can have all of one or the other. It's up to you. The mixture makes them extra yummy.*
- extra m&m's and chocolate chips to stick into the cookie for it to "look prettier" after they are done baking. *optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl cream together white and brown sugar with the butter until combined well and light and fluffy.
- Beat eggs in one at a time and then beat in peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Add in the oats and mix together until combined well.
- Stir in m&m's and chocolate chips.
- Scoop 3 tablespoon sized cookie mounds onto cookie sheet and space them about two inches apart otherwise they will run into each other.
- Bake the cookies for 12 minutes then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. *The key to most cookie baking is having them almost under baked a bit when removing from the oven and slowly finish "baking" just enough while on the cookie sheet. The perfect texture!!
What could I use to replace peanut butter in the case of a nut allergy?
Can I sub peanut butter with sunbutter for allergies? The only concern is it says not to use all natural so I am wondering if it’s an oil thing?
Hi Ashley I’m sorry I haven’t tried with sunbutter, but will try to test that soon to add for possible substituion!
Can this dough be frozen? Thanks!
Yep! Divide the the dough into small balls and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the sheet in the freezer until the dough is mostly frozen then add to a bag or other freezer safe container. Best results use within about 3 months! =)
Holy YUMMMM!!!
These were a huge hit and I could not stop eating them. I will definitely be making these every single year. They are Santa’s favorite 😉
These are sooooo good! I just made them with red, white, and blue m&m’s for Memorial Day!
The BEST!! These will definitely be a new tradition in our house!
These were a huge hit! They are delicious! Also gluten free which is a plus I will definitely be making them again!
These are THE BEST cookies!!!! Everyone always raves about them and then they’re always shocked when I tell them there’s no flour! SCORE!!! These are on my list every year to make with my kiddos!!! Santa wants the good stuff!
So good! A Christmas staple now! #top2021
Keeping it real! My Favorite Monster Cookies! #top2021
These cookies are amazing! Definitely going to be making them for Christmas every year! #top2021
These were so easy to make and taste SO GOOD!!! One of my new favorite cookies, and they were also a fan of cookies from friends and family this holiday season too. Not one of your listed #Top2021 but definitely one of my #Top2021
So delicious and festive!
Decided to make these this Christmas after being mesmerized by them since last year on Instagram. Easy to make and makes a nice amount of cookies. I used half mini m&ms half PB m&ms and semi sweet chocolate chip. Everyone loved them! Will make again.
We made these for Christmas this year and will be making them every year. By far one of the best cookies we’ve ever had.
You have a true gift of making baking/cooking fun&exciting. My dishes thank you for they get extra use 🙂 Thank you for sharing the skinny AND the ish of your recipes!
These are so good! They’re going to be a new Christmas staple around here. I ground up the rest of all the Christmas candy that was laying around the house and added them to the batter. Thanks for the awesome recipe as usual!
These cookies are delicious and so festive! I played around with the choc chips/m&m ratios based on what we had but no complaints! The perfect consistency of chewy as well as sweet/salty. 10/10!!!!
Literally the easiest cookie to make! I overcooked the first tray, but they were still delicious. The rest were absolutely perfect! I have been looking for a flourless monster cookie type recipe! I will be making these over and over!
Just got done making these and they are DELICIOUS! But it made more than I realized. Is it better to cook all the dough and then freeze the actual cookies? Or can the dough be frozen to make more cookies later?
Love love love! Easy to make with my toddler and cinnamon adds perfect holiday touch! Thank you for sharing this recipe. YUM!
I literally never leave reviews, but I had to come back and leave one on this recipe! I follow theskinnyishdish on instagram and saw these – I made them and took to my office and everyone raved over them – the best cookies they had ever had! Anyways – I definitely saved the recipe and will make time and time again! 🙂
Well I really appreciate you leaving a review! It’s so helpful to me and I’m extra happy that you and your co-workers enjoyed! Have the best Christmas season, Kelsey!
Hi Star! These look amazing! Cant wait to try them! Wondering if you have ever tried them without peanut butter? I have someone who is allergic…but would love to make them…not sure how it would be if I omitted the pb. Any suggestions on how to make it peanut free? Would simply omitting pb ok..or should I add extra butter?
Thanks!
Dana
I would love to know the answer to this too- would love to try but my son is allergic to all nuts.
I’m sorry Megan. I haven’t tested this recipe with any other nut butter aside from all natural peanut butter and din’t have good results. Since it’s part of actually binding the cookies together and there’s no flour etc. I can’t say it would work well without the peanut butter.
Star!!! This is a 5 recipe! It may be a new favorite! I used mini m&ms, regular m&ms and pb m&ms, mini semisweet chocolate chips and chocolate chunks – the variety of bits in every bite makes each bite unique. The chewy texture is amazing. And oatmeal is zero points for me…sooooo
I’m so happy you enjoyed these so much Shawna!! I hope the oatmeal canceled out the chocolate and peanut butter Haha!
OMG!! I’ve made quite a few skinny-ish dish recipes and I always love them so much so I knew these cookies we’re going to be good, but I didn’t know they’d be THIS good! I made them for a game night and everyone LOVED them and ate them all up! I saved a few back for myself and I was glad I did. I’m not a good cook, or a good baker but the recipe was very easy for me to follow and I can’t wait to make these again!!
i’m so so happy you enjoyed them, Chelsea!!
Delicious! Unique cookie because there’s no flour so it’s very much about all that peanut butter/oat/chocolate flavor. Really tasty!
Like the recipe notes, I did think they didn’t quite look done when I pulled them out of the oven and they firmed up as they cooled!
So so happy you enjoyed!!
Delicious!!
Is there a substitute you would recommend for peanut butter ?
Thanks!!
My mom and I could NOT stay out of these! We did a combo of holiday MnM’s, semisweet mini’s, and butterscotch chips. SO GOOD!
ig: c8liiiin
I will be making these. Omgeeee I have a feeling I’ll be eating them out of the bowl.
Best Christmas Cookies Ever! I have family ask for them all the time! I just keep changing the sprinkle colors to fit every holiday and keep making them!!!
Yay!!
WW points please?????
These were amazing! Loved that everything mixed in one bowl, and the recipe made a ton of cookies. I received so many compliments on these, everyone who tried them loved all of the different flavors.
I followed your lead, and our elves left the recipe and supplies for these cookies, right before Christmas. My 2 daughters (17 & 7) made them together, and had a blast. They were delicious!
That makes me so happy! Thank you for letting me know =)
Will make these until the end of time. So dang good.
that’s amazing. thank you!!
OMGosh, sooooo fine!
I am not seeing the nutrition information on these cookies, am I just missing it?
Thank you!
THE BEST CHRISTMAS COOKIES!! So pretty, festive, and delicious My whole family agrees we are making these every year!
The cookies look great and oh my! From my days of following you when your site was dailydoseofpepper until now, Pepper is growing up way too fast! Happy Holidays!
How fun! Do you freeze them or do they keep at room temp for a while? At this time of the year, we have a lot of cookies so each lasts for a bit
Hi Jill! You can def freeze them to keep them around longer and take a few out at a time to thaw naturally and enjoy.
can’t wait to make these yummy cookies Star! Thank you merry Christmas
These look amazing!!! Do you think the 1 minute quick oats would work in place of the old fashioned oats? Thanks!
they will totally work, but I just prefer the old fashioned oats texture a bit more!
Any flour?
No