Monster Cookies are among my all-time favorites. If you've never heard of them, they are very large oatmeal peanut butter cookies with loads of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and M&Ms. They're a bit chewy, though can be crispy depending on the recipe. The King Arthur Flour Monster Cookie recipe is a little of both, and may just be the best Monster Cookies recipe ever.
Jump to Recipe
Some Monster recipes are actually flourless, but this one stands out in that it does have a bit of flour. While I do like some of the others, King Arthur Flour's Monsters are probably my go-to, though I played with the flour. Sometimes I use gluten-free and sometimes I swap a few tablespoons out for peanut butter flour for even more peanut flavor. But the recipe is good without any changes.
One Bowl Recipe
One nice thing about Monster cookies is they can be made in one bowl and do not require an electric mixer. They are one of the most relaxing cookies to bake, and if I lived in a country that had a quota on how many cookie recipes a person could own, this one would be among my select few. They have everything! Also, if you use a scale you can make these without dirtying up any mixing cups.
Monster Cookies Without Flour
If you'd rather try some more traditional Monsters, I recommend Ann Romney's Oatmeal Peanut Butter M&M Cookies. They were contenders in Family Circle's ever popular Presidential Cookie Bake-Off, and in the end they lost to Michelle Obama's Black & White Chocolate Chip. The Bird Bakery Monsters are also really good.
Here is the King Arthur Monster Cookie recipe adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook
Monster Cookies Tips
Recipe
Monsters
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup regular or organic granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (220 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup or maple syrup (6 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups peanut butter (mainstream sweetened type)** (390 grams)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (114 grams)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (63 grams)
- 4 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (360 grams)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup butterscotch or peanut butter chips
- ½ cup white chips
- ½ cup mini candy coated chocolates M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or wait and do it a little later in the process. The dough will need to sit for 30 minutes. Have ready two or three parchment lined baking sheets.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, both types of sugar, baking soda, salt, syrup and vanilla. Stir in the peanut butter and melted butter. When mixed, add flour and stir until blended. Lastly, stir in the oats, all the different chips and the candies.
- Let the dough sit for 30 minutes so that the oats can absorb some moisture. At this point, you might also want to preheat the oven.
- Using a quarter cup measure, scoop up dough and arrange mounds about 4 inches apart on the sheets. Press the tops down slightly to flatten somewhat (you want even mounds rather than spheres).
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes or until cookies appear set and lightly browned around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Anna says
I am so glad you made them, Sue! Monsters are the best. They are the most underrated pb cookies.
Sue says
I made these for a big family gathering and they were such a hit. I subbed Cup for Cup Gluten Free Flour for the regular flour and it worked just fine. They might have been slightly flatter than your photos but the texture was so good I would do it exactly the same way again.
Anna says
Yes, there's so little flour that it works perfectly.
Sue says
Have you ever subbed one of the gluten free flour blends for the flour? This recipe is very similar to an old one of mine and I might make them for a get together in May but I want to make them gluten free for the people I’m sharing them with. I know there are monster recipes without flour but there is some nostalgia associated with this recipe.
Anna says
Thanks for the review, Katherine!
Katherine says
These cookies are awesome! Sturdy, crisp outside, tender inside and packed with lots of goodies. I didn't have white or butterscotch chips, but was happy with just chocolate chips and m&m's I also threw in some peanut butter chips too. I will be making these again soon. May even throw in some chopped peanuts. Or better yet peanut m&m's!
scott reyburn says
Yeah my mom used to make thease cookies for us and they are the best.
Anna says
Sarah, thanks for the review! I might make another batch for our block party this week. One thing I noticed was the batch I accidentally over-baked was crunchy and delicious despite being a little too brown. Since I like crunchy cookies, I may make another batch and try baking at a lower temperature (325) for a longer time. Hopefully slower and lower will make them crunchier without being too brown. They're good baked at 350 too, but I still want to test at 325.
Sarah says
Made a half batch of the recipe last night. SO GOOD!!! We didn't have butterscotch so we added heath crunchies instead. For a half batch, we used one egg an the egg white of another egg. it made about 19 cookies. I guess my cookies aren't nearly as large as the recommended size, but they were pretty big nonetheless. Delicious, will definitely make again!
Steph@PlainChicken says
I am going to give both recipes a try.
Michelle Obama's recipe has to have a typo in it - no way it would need 2 cups of butter/shortening. It is just the Tollhouse recipe with different chips in it.
Julie @ Sugarfoot Eats says
These cookies sound great...no matter the political affiliation!! 🙂
Chewthefat says
I've never made or had Monsters either! Oh, and I just had to Google Michelle Obama's cookies too, of course...
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2012/06/first-lady-michelle-obamas-recipe-for.html
Winnie says
These look great....I will save this and bake them when it cools down here...supposed to hit 98 today..ugh ugh...
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Oh, how I love monster cookies. YUM!
Sue says
I looked and my recipe does call for corn syrup. I wouldn't have thought to put maple syrup in but now I'm wondering about that or Lyle's Golden syrup, or maybe even honey?
Cookie Sleuth says
I love the bake-off! I think these may replace my previous favorite (Cindy McCain's).
Sue says
Who doesn't love monster cookies!? I haven't made them in years. I wish I had more excuses to bake! I'm going to go look at my recipe. I don't remember any kind of syrup in the recipe. Do you taste it?
Katrina says
For some strange reason, I already had M&M's in the cupboard (that weren't eaten with the already open bag, go figure!) 😉
I love your humor, Anna. Your neighbor brought home a baby (hers). I laughed!
And I know why mine turned out better (jk!)--I used Skippy Natural instead of Jif. Not sure why, but I'm a Skippy PB person. Funny I say that though, because I only buy all natural brands for me that are just peanuts. But I buy Skippy for the rest of the fam (and for baking). Your cookies do look good.
Anna says
I admit, I had to run to the store for some M&Ms.
Caralyn, I'd be curious to see your recipe.
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy says
oh my gosh I LOVE monster cookies! they're so good! my recipe doesn't have candy in them though -- so they're *almost* healthy enough to eat for breakfast! haha
Kathy says
These sound great, and I've got everything on hand except the M&Ms!