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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
Just made a double batch for the holidays! YUM
Hey Laura,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Delicious mix. We loved the sweet and salty balance. My batch didn’t turn out quite as crispy and golden and beautiful; mine are light cookie, quite soft all around, slightly stiff on the exterior. Still delicious!
Hey Taylor,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
These are so so yummy!! Mine aren’t quite as pretty as the ones in the picture of this recipe, not sure why.
Hey Heather,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I just pulled these out of the oven! They smell fantastic and I can’t wait to try them!
Hey Amanda,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Can you use quick oats?
Hi Amanda,
Sorry, for this recipe you will want to use the old fashioned oats. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
What would you recommend for someone with an egg allergy? I typically use an egg substitute when I bake, would that work in this recipe?
Hey there,
I haven’t tested an egg substitute, but it should be okay to use! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Very good. My nephew said they were missing raisins! I did change one thing, I left out the M&Ms and added cut up fresh raspberries. I made some thing similar last year and they were a big hit. I’d like them but I don’t love them. Truth be told I don’t think I really like oatmeal cookies that much. I wanted them not to be overly sweet.
Hey Shelly,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Hi! Do you have any recommendation on an alternative to the oats? Monster cookies are my absolute favorite type of cookie, but I haven’t been able to eat them in the last few years since I’ve developed an oat allergy.
Try holiday Rice Krispies instead of oats
Hey Brooke,
You can skip the oats in this recipe. Please let me know if you give the cookies a try, I hope you love them! xTieghan
Hi! Can you make the dough ahead and freeze? Thanks!
Hey Stefanie,
Yes, that will work well for you. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Hi there! Can you sub for a GF flour like almond flour? And use coconut sugar vs granulated?
Hey Serena,
You can use an equal amount of GF flour, but I would not recommend using coconut sugar. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Do you have a version with peanut butter? Or any advice on adding some easily?
Like you I want to add peanut butter. I’m going to try adding peanut butter chips instead of white chocolate chips.
I hope you love the recipe Robin!
Let us know how that goes!!!
Hey Joey,
I would use Reese’s Pieces in place of the M&M’s to give that peanut butter flavor. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I made these last night: omitted the 1/2 cup of white sugar, used 2 eggs (no yolk) and added 1/4 cup peanut butter. Worked perfectly! Also, used 1:1 gluten free flour 🙂
Hey Nancy,
Wonderful! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Made one batch, only had regular choc chips and regular and mint m&ms. Husband and son said ‘delicious’! I couldn’t stop thinking about adding coconut, made another batch adding 1+ cup coconut with the crushed pretzels- for me that made these a huge hit! Thanks for the fun and colorful recipie!
Hey there,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
These are amazing. They will certainly be going into my Christmas baking rotation. I used a smaller scoop for more cookies.
Hey Ashley,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Can you make these without the oats? My daughter glad a sensitivity to oats.
Hey Nina,
Yes, you can omit the oats here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give them a try! xTieghan
Have you tried them with peanut butter added?
Hey Allie,
Sorry, I have never added peanut butter to this recipe. Please let me know if you give it a try, I hope you love the cookies! xTieghan