Wednesday Baking | Monster Cookies
Every Wednesday (ok, most Wednesdays!) I share a baking recipe. And lots of pictures of said baking recipe. I don't call this Wednesday Baking because I bake solely on Wednesdays...no, my oven gets a workout much more frequently than once a week! Wednesday just happens to be the day I share baking recipes with you. All the past baking posts are archived in the Wednesday Baking category, which can also be found in a tab underneath my blog header.
Usually on Wednesdays, I post bread recipes, but I thought it would be fun to change things up a bit and do a cookie recipe. I don't bake a cookies a lot, so my kids were super pleased that I needed to make a batch for this post!
The moniker for these cookies makes it seem as though they're something to be served at a Halloween party, but no...the monster portion of the name is there because you're supposed to produce massively sized cookies when you bake these.
I tend to make more average sized cookies when I make this recipe, though, so "Monster Cookie" is probably not quite the right name for these. Just calling them cookies is sort of boring, though, so Monster Cookies they are.
These are some seriously heavy-duty cookies...more like granola bars than ladyfingers, that's for sure. The main reason for this is that they contain no flour at all. The only starchy ingredient is oatmeal, and a lot of it. That makes these 100% whole grain, I suppose, and I'm pretty sure that means they must be health food. 😉
Ok, maybe not.
But they are delicious and chewy and moist, and I think you should bake a batch.
Gluten-free readers...if you make these with gluten-free oats, these should be safe for you to eat, right? I'm fairly clueless about gluten issues, so correct me if I'm wrong!
Making these is super-duper easy. First, you'll want to turn your oven on to 350 ° F so that it's ready when your cookie dough is. To make the dough, you'll need to combine the butter, peanut butter, eggs, and sugar, and baking soda.
Zoe was helping me make these cookies, and she wanted a photo of herself doing this:
Ok, back to the cookies.
Next, you'll need to mix in the oatmeal. And after that's mixed in, it's time to add the M&Ms, chocolate chips, and raisins/walnuts (I never use raisins or walnuts).
It's also time to realize that trying to fit a whole batch of this dough into a Kitchen-Aid Artisan bowl is a bad idea.
My big glass bowl from Aldi was a much better idea. Still, it was none too big, so if you're lacking in the large bowl department, I highly recommend halving the recipe.
Using a soup spoon, scoop out balls of dough and place them on a cookie sheet (I use the Cook's recommended Vollrath Cookie Sheet
which is so much better than dark nonstick cookie sheets!). To make my cookies rounder, I like to wet my hands to smooth out the dough a little bit.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they look almost done (the cracks in the cookies should still look a little bit wet). This helps to ensure that the cookies will be chewy.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a minutes or two (this makes them less prone to breaking) and then remove them to a counter to cool completely.
I mentioned that this recipe makes a lot of cookies, right? Even after I froze a portion of the dough (I'll let you know how it bakes up after I thaw it!) and quite a few cookies were snagged, my large cookie tin was very full.
These cookies stay moist and chewy for several days, so we don't have trouble finishing them before they start to dry out. I know that these cookies freeze well, though, so if you don't house as many voracious cookie-eaters as I do, you can still make a batch and freeze extras to eat later.
Monster Cookies-makes about 100 cookies
Printable Monster Cookie Recipe
2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
18 oz. peanut butter (I use smooth)
6 eggs
4 teaspoons baking soda
9 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
12 oz. chocolate chips
8 ounces M&M's
optional:
1 cup raisins
½ cup walnuts
Cream butter and sugars together; mix in peanut butter, eggs, and baking soda until smooth. Stir in oatmeal, then stir in chocolate chips, M&M's, and raisins and walnuts if desired.
Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 ° F oven for 10-12 minutes.
P.S.-a new baking-themed $100 giveaway is up over on my review page. Go enter before Monday...the $100 could be yours! 🙂
Today's 365 post: I see blue skies...
I wonder...for years I held onto a recipe called Olive Oyl's Cobblestone Cookies, but I never made it. I misplaced it, and couldn't track it down on the net, other than to learn that Olive Oyl'swas a restaurant, but I remember that it was oatmeal based and you mix in everything but the kitchen sink. These may be the closest thing I've come across.
Do you know that song "A cookie as big as my 'ead" ? Now it is stuck in mine!
Yes, I've actually heard them called Kitchen Sink cookies before!
Wow, those look good, but I will definitely be cutting that recipe in half! Mmmmm cookies... We're still finishing up a cookie/brownie bar experiment that I made, and a blueberry crisp, so I guess I'll have to wait a few days to sabotage my diet (again) with monster cookies.
I love my Artisan and it's good for 90% of everything I do. We bought my mom a Cuisinart 5.5 quart (a full quart bigger than my KA) so we'll see how that works out.
I'd love to make these but after eating birthday cake for my fiancee and carrot birthday cake for a coworker (I did use American style Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese to cut down on the fat and calories a little) I think I should pass on these so I don't blow up like a balloon. 😛
Yeah, I can fit most everything into my Artisan. 4 loaves of bread dough won't work, though.
Can you substitute the peanut butter for something else? We have peanut allergies at home. Thanks
If you're not allergic to other nuts, other nut butters should work.
That's exactly what I was going to say.
We have peanut allergies here, too. I made these with Almond butter. Yum!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! My kids are gluten free and casein free and I have been looking for a Monster Cookie recipe that I could convert. I will give it a try this weekend and get back to you with the results. I know this is over the top, but seriously thank you! If I could, I would hug you 🙂
Buckeye Cookies may work for you also. They're about 50% PB and 50% confectioner's sugar mixed together, rolled into balls, and dipped in melted chocolate. For a gluten-free version (I think) that's not as sweet, use 1/3 PB, 1/3 confectioner's sugar, 1/3 dried milk instead.
Thank you William. I appreciate you mentioning this. I will be sure to give them a go as well 🙂
I just wanted to let you know I tried the modified version and it turned out perfect! Thank you again for the recipe!
How many quarts does your KA Bowl hold? Mine is a 6 quart and I'm trying to decide if that's big enough :).
Lovely memories of monster cookies. We made these monster and pumpkin cookies every fall/Halloween. I've always hand mixed this recipe. Our biggest bowl is over 6L and that works fine. I bake some before adding the M&M's and choc chips. We always did this when I was a kid because my dad's not big on sweets. My sisters and I, always had an assembly line going of putting the M&M's in the cookies by hand. I think my mom did this just to keep us busy. In fact, I never knew the candies were stirred into the recipe until I was an adult! I now make these cookies with my kids. I love that something so simple holds such fond memories. My sister even comes down from Chicago to bake with us. This year both my sisters will be here! It's probably been almost 20 years since we all made these cookies. Can't wait.
I think mine is 5.5. But I could be wrong! lol
I finally got around to printing out a ton of your recipes last weekend and have a lovely Frugal Girl binder now. Everything I have made from your site so far has been wonderful and I am much more likely to cook from a printed recipe than one on the laptop.
I also made a double batch of your basic rolls last weekend. I kept 12 of them and took the other 36 to a Canadian Thanksgiving party. There were none left by the time I left the party and everyone said they were great.
So thanks for all of your hard work! I love being able to find recipes (especially bread ones) that I know will be good.
I am so excited to try this recipe! It will make a great addition to the lunch boxes this week. I'm sure if you add a glass of milk these would make a "healthy" and delicious breakfast (LOL!).
Absolutely. I mean, between the milk and the peanut butter, it's a veritable protein-fest.
These look very tasty.. and they would fulfill my need for chocolate.
This recipe came in the nick of time! My cookie jar is empty and I was planning to bake some cookies today, and really was craving Monster cookies...but my recipe always comes out crunchy. I'm excited to give these a try!
My grandmother would very carefully wash out her dishpan, and then mix up Monster Cookies by hand in the dishpan! I guess she didn't have a bowl large enough.
I had monster cookies for the first time this summer and fell in love with them. These look GREAT! I've run across a few recipes lately that specify that the brown sugar should NOT be packed, but I'm assuming here it's 2 cups packed? 🙂 Thanks!
Yep, I always pack mine.
That is a monster batch of monster cookies. If I were making it I'd cut it by 2/3, using 2 eggs. I like the idea, though - oatmeal and PB and sweet additives. I'm tempted to try it with the butter brickle "chips" I just bought.
I absolutely love your photographs and these cookies look delicious!!! The look on your daughter's face is priceless.
As long as you use GF certified oats, like Bob's Red MIll, and a non dairy shortening, like crisco, spectrum, or Earth Balance, you should be good. I use a recipe like this a lot at home, my son and I are GF and dairy free, and I am vegetarian too. I like Enjoy LIfe mini chocolate chips, they taste great and are GF/CF. Most chips are not dairy free. I would love to find a M&M replacement that is dairy free, they are a big motivator for my sons, who are autistic. sigh.
I have dumped in cocoa powder when I was out of chips, and added nuts, coconut and other misc things like butterscotch chips. Heaven!
Thanks for chiming in! It's good to have a gluten-free voice to confirm what I was thinking.
hi kristen, i adore your blog and read it every day. you have really helped me with taking our finances seriously. i just opened my first ING account for a grocery account.
anyway, this recipe says oatmeal. do you mean oats, or are you actually adding oatmeal in the cookies?
Hi Christie (or anyone who might still read this),
I hope it's not dumb or intrusive but what is a ING account for a grocery account? Thank you. 🙂
Here you go....a post all about ING: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/07/my-multiple-savings-accounts-and-how-to-get-your-own/
And Christie, yep, it's just uncooked oatmeal. 🙂
Had these (or something very similar with the same name) for the first time this summer. Seeing them here might give me the added kick to actually make up a batch.
What are the cookies that look like they are half chocolate? Anyone else notice that? lol
Oh, those ones are just in a shadow. =P
I bought old-fashioned oats instead of quick oats. Can I use the old-fashioned in this recipe or should I stick w/ quick? I make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies using quick oats and they always come out great. Thanks.
You could try using old-fashioned...the oats might just not get quite as soft.
I cut the sugar down to 1-1/2 cups (well, then I fourthed the recipe... so 3/8ths of a cup) and they were plenty sweet. I might cut them down to half the sugar next time. Delicious!! And they were perfect because friends of ours from out of town stopped by (they are glutten free) and so I had snacks for them. YAY!! I topped a few with chocolate fudge. Amazing!!
So yummy! I can't resist to try this one. LOL. Maybe I should stop dieting before eating plenty of your cookies. My kids will surely love the nips and chocolate chips combination.
I'm hosting my first cookie swap this winter, and these are looking like a good recipe for me to make!! Thanks for posting
Wow! I love the colorful chocolate chips that you put on those cookies. I better try this one and share it with my nieces. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I just made this cookie and it is hearty! I also mixed the ingredients one day, separated it into about four logs and wrapped it in wax paper and froze. I pulled it out of the freezer when I was ready to bake it and cut it into about 1/4 inch slices. They came out beautifully and uniform. I know you were going to let us know how your frozen batch came out Kristen. So I just wanted to let you know it works. I do this with most of my christmas cookies too as there are just too many to mix and bake all in the same day,
Thanks for your great recipes!
Hoi Kirsten,
I made these and I thought they were delicious. Now I want to make a batch for a party, but my son asked to make them without peanut butter, he didn't like the taste....Could you point me to a similar recipe without the peanut butter? I have recipes for chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, but they are crisp cookies and I like it that these are chewy.
Hmm...you'd be looking for something more like a basic oatmeal cookie then, I suppose, but with M&Ms added in. Maybe try this recipe, but leave out the nutmeg and add in some M&Ms: http://www.bakingwithlisey.com/oatmeal-cookies-take-2/
Yes, I think these are what I'm looking for, I'm gonna try them out. Thanks for replying so fast!