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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
Hi! My wife and I are excited to try this recipe. However, we noticed and oddity in the recipe. It calls for 3 3/4 cups total of pretzel pieces, m&ms, and chocolate chips. Then in the directions, you only use a cup of the mixture. What do you do with the rest?
She means add 1 cup of M&Ms out of the 1 1/4 cups called for (you will use the remaining 1/4 cup to add towards the end), then ALL the pretzels, ALL the chocolate chips, and ALL the white chocolate chips.
My sons and I made the cookies. We had a great time, and they are delicious.
Hi Lequone,
Wonderful! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Hi Mike,
Sorry for any confusion, I think you are reading the instructions wrong. You will want to fold in 1 cup of the M&M’s and use the remaining 1/4 cup for the tops of the cookies. Please follow the measurements for the pretzels and chocolate chips. I hope this makes sense! xTieghan
Crunchy chewy and delicious! Really enjoyed making these with my family this weekend!
Hey Marie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
THESE ARE BOMB. Forgot to buy pretzels for this, but they’re still amazing without. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hey Abby,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I love how these turned out. I let them set out (partially covered) overnight and they were the perfect soft/chewy cookie the next morning!
Hey Kara,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
My first Christmas cookie bakeof the season, and what a great start! Delicious! And so festive!
Hey Janet,
Wonderful! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it! Have the best week:) xTieghan
I made these yesterday and they are fantastic! Since I didn’t have any white chocolate chips on hand, I swapped them with Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel chips. Oh, so yummy! Looking forward to serving these cookies, along with the Puff Pastry Wrapped Cranberry Brie and the Tomato Vodka Pizza today at our annual Nog & ‘Nosh party!
Hey Sheila,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
First time making monster cookies and they’re phenomenal!
Hey Natalie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made these tonight and they were delicious!! I will definitely be making more around Christmas. I baked half of them and froze the rest. Amazing!
Hey Kristina,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
So delicious! Will save to make again next year!
Brittney,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Super yummy. We loved them, I might make them a single cookie scoop moving forward.
I did a quick google search, but couldn’t find your suggestions for freezing cookies. Would love to know your suggestions. As a kid I put them in my attic (below 40 in Chicago.) I haven’t made a huge quantity in years. ??
Hey Bonnie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Sure, you could freeze them or freezing the dough would probably work best. xTieghan
Just a question, do you refrigerate your cookie dough before baking?
Hey Marian,
No need to refrigerate the dough here:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Followed the recipe to a tee and they turned out perfectly!! Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Hey Emily,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
What a delicious dough! All the add-ins are yummy, but the dough itself is great! Followed the recipe as is, till the end– I sprinkled a little kosher salt on top when I added the M&Ms 🙂
Looking forward to taking a cookie box to my neighbors with these!
Hey Madeline,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
We have a peanut and tree nut allergy in our house so I was excited to see a monster cookie recipe that is perfect for us without having to alter it as some monster cookies have peanut butter. We followed the recipe exactly and they were delicious. The pretzel pieces were a great addition. ?
Hey Emily,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
We were also thrilled to see one without peanut butter/nuts. Plan on making these this week
I hope you love the recipe! xTieghan
They were awesome! My husband and kids said best cookies in a long time!!
Hey Emily,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Lovely recipe, came out fantastic. With multiple little ones to worry about I did half whole wheat flour and coconut sugar instead of the refined. We passed the red and green m&Ms into the top of our scooped dough before putting into oven and they came out perfect… so saved a step messing with the hot cookie sheet to do it later. delicious and unique with the pretzel crunch!
*pressed
Hey Stephanie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan