Loaded Christmas Monster Cookies
‘Tis the season for all things sweet! And these Christmas Monster Cookies are LOADED with goodies that are sure to make Santa happy. A soft, chewy brown sugar cookie mixed with creamy peanut butter, oats, pretzels, M&M’s, and our secret ingredient…chopped chocolate! But, it’s not just chopped chocolate. It’s the perfect mix of rich dark chocolate and creamy white chocolate! Oh, yes. That’s right. These cookies are the perfect combination of flavors and textures to get you through this Christmas. Every bite is utterly delicious with crispy edges, chewy middles, gooey chocolate chips, salty pretzels, and crunchy chocolate candies. ..what’s not to love?!
With Christmas being only 3 short Mondays away, we’re back with yet another cookie recipe! And while our Frosted Chai Tea Eggnog Cookies, Candy Cane Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Mulled Wine Linzer Cookies reign supreme this holiday season, trust me when I say…those cookies don’t have ANYTHING on these decadent Christmas Monster Cookies.
What Are Monster Cookies?
Thick and chewy, monster cookies are what we like to call…kitchen sink cookies! It’s kind of a combination of a soft peanut butter cookie, chewy oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and M&M Cookies. Though, with this version, we opted to change out the chocolate chips for chopped chocolate and add in some pretzels to add crunch and a little bit of saltiness.
All together, our super easy recipe yields chewy, crispy-edged, perfectly thick cookies that are sure to have everyone asking for more!
Why You Will Love These Christmas Monster Cookies
- One bowl. These cookies are made in ONE BOWL and require no electric mixers or specialty equipment to mix up.
- Super quick to make. Not only are these cookies easy to make, but they are ready to eat in about 30 minutes or LESS!
- A cookie the whole family will love. There’s something for everyone in these cookies. Salty pretzels, sweet white chocolate, dark chocolate, oats, peanut butter…So. GOOD.
- Can be made ahead of time. In a time crunch this holiday season? No worries! This cookie dough can be made in-advance, then frozen until you need them.
- No refrigeration time. The best part of these cookies? You don’t need to refrigerate the dough! Just mix it up and bake immediately.
Ingredients To Make These Delicious Christmas Monster Cookies
- Salted Butter – While adding richness, tenderness, and structure, salted butter eliminates the need for additional salt.
- Peanut Butter – In addition to adding flavor, peanut butter adds needed fat.
- Brown Sugar – Creating moist, chewy cookies, brown sugar both sweetens and helps them spread.
- Large Eggs – Acting as the binder that holds the dough together, eggs also contributes to the tenderness.
- Vanilla Extract – Adding a subtle undertone, vanilla enhances the flavors in these cookies.
- All Purpose Flour – Using plain all purpose flour is the way to go here. The protein content gives the dough the structure it needs.
- Rolled Oats – Adding chewiness to the finished cookie, rolled oats also add just a bit of flavor.
- Baking Soda – While contributing to the rise and structure, baking soda also helps these cookies brown.
- M&M’s – What would a monster cookie be without M&M’s? They add crunch, flavor, and sweetness.
- Dark Chocolate Baking Bar – One half of our secret ingredient combination, the dark chocolate bar adds flavor and little puddles of melted chocolate.
- White Chocolate Baking Bar – The second half of our secret ingredient combination, the white chocolate bar adds creaminess and flavor.
- Pretzels – We wanted a bit of crunch in these cookies, so what better ingredient than pretzels! Bonus: they also add some saltiness to offset the sweet.
How To Make Christmas Monster Cookies (In 2 Simple Steps!!)
Step 1: Prepare cookie dough
In a large bowl, whisk butter, peanut butter, and sugar together.
Whisk in eggs and vanilla.
Add flour, oats, and baking soda. Mix only to blend.
Fold in m&m’s, chocolate bars, and pretzels.
Step 2: Scoop & bake
Use a 3 Tablespoon scoop to portion dough onto prepared pans. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are set and edges are lightly browned.
FAQ’s and Troubleshooting
Absolutely! If you would like to add a little more crunch to these cookies, using crunchy peanut butter would be a delicious addition.
Of course! Once the cookie dough is mixed and portioned, place each cookie dough ball on a lined sheet pan. From there, freeze until hardened. Once the cookie dough balls are frozen solid, you can place in a freezer safe zip-top bag and freeze for 1-2 months.
This could be caused by two things! Either the cookies were over-baked or the flour was over-measured. Both of these can cause your cookies can cause your cookies to be dry.
If the cookies didn’t spread while baking, it could be too much flour being added to the cookie dough. Measure your flour carefully! Your oven temperature could also be off. Make sure to use an oven thermometer.
These cookies are, what I like to call, super spreaders. They are made with brown sugar and baking soda, which all leads to a chewier, softer cookie…but that also means they tend to spread A LOT! Buta, no worries! In the recipe card below, I’ve listed how to make these cookies go from drab to fab with just a few simple steps.
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Loaded Christmas Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, melted
- ⅝ cup peanut butter
- 1½ cups brown sugar, firmly packed
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour*
- 1¼ cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup M&M’s
- 2 ounces dark chocolate baking bar, chopped
- 2 ounces white chocolate baking bar, chopped
- ½ cup pretzels, broken
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350℉.
- Line sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk butter, peanut butter, and sugar together.
- Whisk in eggs and vanilla.
- Add flour, oats, and baking soda.
- Mix only to blend.
- Fold in m&m's, chocolate bars, and pretzels.
- Use a 3 Tablespoon scoop to portion dough onto prepared pans.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until cookies are set and edges are lightly browned.
Notes + Tips!
- Make ice cream sandwiches!
- Chop them and fold them into a brownie batter.
- Crumble them and put them in a milkshake.
- Decorate a cake with them!
- Crunchy peanut butter can be used instead of creamy, if desired.
- Almost any nut butter you like can be used instead of peanut butter. Keep in mind that it may change the texture.
- This recipe can be made gluten-free if you use your favorite 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour and gluten-free pretzels.
- These cookies can also be made vegan if plant-based butter, your favorite vegan egg, and your favorite vegan chocolate candies, as well as plant based chocolate bars are used.
- Be careful to not over-mix the cookie dough! Just stir the flour in until there are no more pockets of flour.
- It’s best to use light colored sheet pans for these cookies.
- Don’t forget to line your baking sheet.
- It’s best to use a cookie scoop to ensure all cookies are the same size and they don’t get over-mixed.
- The cookie dough can be frozen and baked at a later date.
- Do not over bake these cookies! When in-doubt, take them out. These cookies are best when they are just barely baked. It provides the perfect soft and chewy texture. They should just barely begin to brown around the edges.
- These cookies spread A LOT! It’s best to place 6 cookies per pan and then use a large biscuit cutter to reshape your cookies.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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These cookies were delicious!