The first time I made Monster Cookies for my daughter, she was almost 3 and had a very strong response to the name.
“No, I don’t like that!” she yelled.
Okay then.
She has opinions about basically everything at this stage, but nothing but pure enthusiasm for cookies.
She decided to rename them Roar Cookies because she likes dinosaurs more than monsters and, really, who doesn’t? They are loaded with peanut butter, chocolate and M&Ms. Oatmeal and brown sugar make them chewy… I don’t think I need to say anymore.
ROAR! Cookies
2
dozen15
minutes8
minutesThese cookies come together quickly using staple ingredients (if M&Ms are a staple in your house). I like to use mini M&Ms because they distribute better throughout the cookie, and you get more color variety. They also freeze really well, both unbaked and baked.
Ingredients
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teas. baking soda
1/4 teas. cinnamon
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (not natural)
1 egg
1 teas. vanilla
1 cup M&Ms, divided
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugars with an electric or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla and mix for another minute.
- Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing until just combined. Add 1/2 cup of the M&Ms and the chocolate and combine using a spatula. Let dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the oats to hydrate.
- Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Scoop out 2 tbsp. sized balls onto the prepared sheets, placing them 2 inches apart. Top each cookie with a few of the reserved M&Ms and flatten slightly with your hand.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just set for a cookie with a crunchy edge and chewy middle, 12 minutes for a crunchy cookie all around.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cookies keep for several days in a sealed container at room temperature or
Notes
- While I prefer natural peanut butter in life, these cookies work best with commercial PB. I use Skippy Natural chunky (which, despite having the word “natural” in the name, still has added oil and sugar to stabilize it).
- The combination of old fashioned and quick cooking oats help the cookies maintain a heartiness, while also allowing better absorption of the liquid ingredients. I think it makes for a better cookie texture overall, but you could use all of one or the other: all quick cooking will result in a little more spread to the cookie and all old fashioned will result in a thicker, slightly crumbly cookie.
