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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
Do you think these could be made into cookie bars?
Hey Julia,
I’ve not tried that with this recipe, but it might work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Soooo good!!! Made these and put them in cute festive tins for my kids teacher Christmas gifts!
Hey Jerusha,
Happy Friday!!❄️🧑🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Can you freeze the dough then bake from frozen?
Hey Caroline,
Yes, that will work well for you! Please let me know if I can help in any other way! Happy Holidays! xx
Hi Tieghan,
Should the eggs be at room temperature for the recipe?
Thank you
Hi Alexandra,
Yes, you will want the eggs to be at room temp. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love these cookies! xx
Soo good!
Hey Kate,
Perfect!! ⛄️ I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for trying it out! xx
Will the cookie be doughy at all when they come out? Making sure they are not under cooked. But taste great.
Hey Morgan,
Yes, they will be doughy and continue to cook on the baking sheet:)
I’m confused by something, perhaps someone can clear this up for me. The recipe calls for 1 cup m & m’s, 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, which equals 2 1/2 cups, why do the directions say to fold in 1 cup of that mixture. There is so much left over.
H Kathleen? I think it’s because you use the remaking M&M on top once they sew about done!
Hi Kathleen,
The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of M&M’s, you are only going to fold in 1 cup of those and save 1/4 cup to add during step 5. I hope this helps! xx
It looks like you’re supposed to fold in 1 cup of the 1 1/4 cups of M&Ms and all of the pretzels, white chocolate chips, and chocolate chips.
Thanks Bethany!
Just made these and they are delicious! I was a little nervous since some of the comments read that they didn’t turn out great, but…. They do! They look amazing and taste even better. Can’t wait to share them at holiday parties.
Hey Lisa,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!🎄🎁
Made these for a work cookie swap, and they turned out excellent! The only change I made was to omit the extra egg yolk, as mentioned in many comments. The timing suggestions for turning the cookies and adding extra M&Ms on top were really helpful. They look beautiful. I would definitely recommend this recipe!
Hey Laura,
Wonderful!!🎅 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
Forgot the oats.. still turned out great. No issues.
Hey William,
Wonderful!!🎅 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
I’ve made 3 batches of these cookies in the last 2 weeks for different Christmas parties and they have been a hit at each one. Seriously, they’re so good!! I’ve been chilling my dough for a few hours before baking because I prefer thicker + fluffier cookies, but either way, you will be so happy with this recipe!
Hey Kylea,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making these cookies, I love to hear that they have been enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xx
Made these tonight and they are fantastic!! And easy!! Thank you for this recipe, I will definitely be making them again!!
Hey Erika,
Wonderful!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!🎄🎁
My family makes the same cookies for the holidays every year. But last year I wanted to try something new. I brought these home and this year had multiple requests for them to come back this year!
Hey Kate,
Wonderful!!🎅 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
Can you swap out flour for gluten free
Hey Marilyn,
Yes, you can use an equal amount of gluten free flour in this recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I just made a double batch for the freezer to bake off later in the week. I used a medium size scoop instead. Baked a dozen of them to try didn’t need to reduce the time when I baked them. They were amazing I could not believe how amazing they tasted and fuss free to make. Looking forward to bake these off for my cookie box to share with everyone.
Hey there,
Love it!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Happy Monday!🎄
Were the pretzels okay after being frozen?
Thanks!
Can these be frozen?
Hey Lindsey,
Yes, although I would freeze without the pretzels so they don’t become soggy. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This are so good and easy to make. Everyone in the family loves them!!!
Hey Jenn,
Happy Monday!!☃️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was enjoyed! xT