Next Post
Frosted Spicy Ginger Moscow Mule.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Christmas Monster Cookies for your December weekend baking…festive, easy, and sweet. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, made with oats, pretzels pieces, plenty of chocolate chunks, white chocolate, and plenty of holiday M&M’s. There’s nothing not to love about these sweet chocolate (crunch) cookies. Each bite is slightly crisp on the edges but soft and gooey in the center…with just a little salty pretzel crunch and milk chocolate throughout.
Fridays in December are just better! There are holiday parties, searching for the perfect gift for someone you love, and baking the nights away with family and friends. Well, at least that’s the “Hallmark” version I have in my head.
The reality is a little less picture-perfect for sure, but I’m definitely doing the baking! It’s one of the reasons we love this season the most. I mean there are so many cookies! As I said on Tuesday, this year I’m really focusing on all of the holiday cookies I haven’t made before.
My list of cookies is a mile long, but I only have a handful of days to share them. So, I’m trying to pick the very best on my list. It’s tricky, but I always knew these cookies needed to be shared. The combination of ingredients is just too good.
The steps are easy
One: gather your ingredients. You’ll need the basics…butter, sugar, flour, etc. Simple, simple, nothing fancy, but all good.
Two: the stir-ins, they’re are the most important part. You’ll need old fashioned oats, salted pretzel twists, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks, and white chocolate chips. And then plenty of red and green holiday M&M’s, which really make these cookies.
Three: beat, mix, stir, bake.
Four: eat these cookies warm, just out of the oven, because these are those kind of gooey delicious cookies.
A couple notes
It’s important to note that these cookies do spread, so be careful when cooking the cookie dough! They’re meant to have slightly crisp edges and perfectly soft gooey centers, just like in the photos. My favorite type of cookie…totally delicious.
If you want a bit of a thicker cookie, simply omit the additional egg yolk and use only two eggs. This will give you a thicker cookie without as much spreading.
To get the M&M’s to really pop, my trick is to add in a few just before the cookies finish baking completely. This way each cookie has a bit of the festive M&M’s right on top.
What I love about these cookies is that they’re so easy to make. They require no chilling and they really are completely no fuss. Especially when it comes to Christmas cookies.
These cookies have perfectly crisp edges, yet soft and gooey centers. They’ve got a nice crunch plus a little saltiness from the pretzels – the best kind of cookie.
I’m excited to include these in the year’s Christmas cookie box. They’re perfect for packing up and gifting to friends for the holidays!
Looking for other Christmas cookies? Here are my favorites:
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Easy Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Christmas Monster Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Christmas Monster Cookies
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 364 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 1/4 cups holiday M&M’s
- 1 cup mini pretzel sticks, crushed
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs and 1 egg yolk, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the oats. 3. Fold in 1 cup of the M&M's, the pretzels, chocolate chips, and white chocolate. 4. Roll the dough into 1/4 cup size balls. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. 5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 2 minutes. Pull the pan out and push the remaining M&M's into the cookies. Bake 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. 6. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
This post was originally published on December 3, 2021
I am a sucker for a chewy cookie, and boy oh boy did these deliver! The recipe was easy to follow and everything came out perfect. This is my new go-to holiday cookie!
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
I love these cookies! The pretzels added a wonderful texture and salty component. I did not end up adding the additional quarter cup of m&ms on top of the cookies and most are still festive looking. Mine also did not spread a ton, but that is totally fine. I could see making these again and experimenting with different flavor combinations. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Mary,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
Hmm these were way too salty. Is the salted butter a typo? Typically cookie recipes call for unsalted butter. Kosher salt also varies widely is saltiness (Diamond Crystal vs Morton) so sadly these are headed for the trash
Hi Sarah,
So sorry to hear this! The salted butter is not a typo, I always use salted butter:) xTieghan
Can I skip the oats?
Hi Amber,
Yes, you can skip the oats. I hope you love this recipe, happy holidays! xTieghan
These cookies were delicious! I followed the recipe exactly, slightly reduced the brown and granulated sugar and the amount of each treat added in (m&m, chocolate chips). Unfortunately mine did not spread out. Maybe because I reduced the treats. Also I used large flake rolled oats, as I didn’t have Old fashioned on had. They were still delicious.
Hi Valerie,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!?? xTieghan
I have made these multiple times and always a hit. I have subbed for mint MMS and right now I have a batch with caramel added in!
Hi Wendie,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
I am so excited to make these! I only have unsalted butter tho… are there any adjustments I need to make? Thanks so much!
Hi Kelly,
I would just add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I am excited to make this recipe as it looks tremendous, but there is a glaring error in the recipe. I did not read all of the comments, but you have the baker make almost 4 cups of mix-ins (chips, pretzels, etc.) and then say to use 1 cup in the cookie batter. Then sprinkle a few M&Ms on the cookies half way through baking. What do you do with the rest of the mix-ins? I did see people say they cut back on the mix-ins. Maybe they were adding all 3 3/4 cups of mix-ins to the dough?
Hi John,
There is no error in the recipe. You are going to mix 1 cup of M&M’s, 1 cup of chocolate chips, 1 cup of pretzels, 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips into the batter and then top the cookies with the remaining 1/4 cup of M&M’s. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I personally mixed everything in a small batter bowl then added it to the dough. I just forgot to set aside the 1/4 of m&ms. Not too big of a deal though- some to remember for next year! Will definitely be making these again.
I noticed this as well! That is an error in the recipe directions and is confusing. Please fix. Thanks for clearing that up.
Hi Lauren,
There is no error in the recipe, please refer to the response I gave John:)
If you make ahead do you freeze the dough or the baked cookies?
Hi Audrey,
You could do either one:) Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it. Happy Holidays! xT
My daughter and I made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious!! As we are in the final steps she goes, “Mom, chocolate chips and M&M’s? That’s crazy!” 🙂 It seemed like a ton of add ins, but boy are these cookies good! We couldn’t find pretzels at the store, so we substituted chopped pecans to add a little crunch. They turned out very yummy! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Hey Katie,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
We will be making these a lot! Ended up having to pick out green and red M&M’s out of a big bag but definitely worth it! Thank you!!!
I hope you love the recipe Sarah!
Loved these cookies so much! Perfect mix of salty and sweet. So filling! Big hit with my coworkers too! 🙂 thank you for sharing and happy holidays!!
Hey Danielle,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
These were AMAZING!
Hi Dee,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
these are AMAZING!!!
i could not find red and green m&m’s so i doubled up on both chocolate chips …
DELISH… thanks for sharing and merry christmas ?
Amazing recipe!! Happy Holidays to you and your family!!
Hi Nancy,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
Hi Gina,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
Going to try these for Christmas Eve. Are old fashioned oats the same as rolled oats? And do not use the quick cook ones, correct? Thanks!
Hi Kate,
Yes, those are the same, just don’t use quick oats. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Hope these are as tasty as they look! Knowing HBH, they’ll be gone in a flash!
Thanks so much Joy, I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
I made these and they are delicious! I am making them again to take to a party. I have a gas oven and though the cookies were great they didn’t spread like pictured. Any tips?
Thanks again!
Hi Julie,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Trying banging them on the counter to get them to spread. Happy Holidays!??
Thanks so much! Made them again and they came out perfect!!!
Hi Julie,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??