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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. If I wanted to halve these prior to baking, what would the adjusted cook time be? I did not use the extra egg yolk. Thank you:). Excited to try these!
Hi Kelly,
I would still follow the same bake time, you will just have less cookies. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was that instead of using 1/4 cup of dough, I would use 1/8 of a cup. Thanks!
Ohh gotcha!! I would do 6 minutes, rotate and bake for 1 minute, add the M&M’s and do another 1 minute. I hope this helps! xx
Has anyone found that freezing these cookies makes the pretzels soggy?
Hey Rachel,
You could certainly wait to add the pretzels once the dough is thawed. I hope you love these cookies! Happy Holidays! xx
These have become a staple in my cookie assortment for gifts and parties! They’re such a hit & a perfect cookie to have my toddlers help with (they love smashing the pretzels). LOVE!
Thanks so much, Astin!! I am so glad to hear these cookies are always enjoyed, I appreciate you making them each year! Have a great Tuesday! xx
Added these to my holiday cookie platters this year and I’m so happy with the results.
Are they OK to freeze baked for 2-3 months ?!
Hey Jaylene,
Amazing! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! You bet, that will work nicely for you. Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Could I freeze the dough to bake later?!
Hi Natalie,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Best cookies ever! Turn out perfectly every time.
Hey Jennifer,
Fantastic! I’m so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! XxT
Hi there! I only have unsalted butter. Could I make these and just add a bit more salt? Any idea how much if I do? Thank you!
Hi Maggie,
You bet, just add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I hope you love these cookies! xT
Can I use quick oats. I added this cookie to my Christmas cookie box this year, can’t wait to try them!
Thanks so much, Alyssa! You will want to use the old fashioned oats for this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I have to hop on here to say if you are considering making these cookies- you simply must. These are officially apart of my Christmas cookies because they are so good! My husband and I hate sharing them honestly haha. I omitted the extra egg this time to try a thicker cookie and it’s great either way! Also didn’t have pretzels on hand this year so I did some toasted macadamia nuts since I had them around. Love that it’s the kind of recipe you can do that with! Great either way! Seriously amazing.
Hey Emily,
Yay!! Love to hear these cookies turned out well for you and were enjoyed! Thank you so much for making them and sharing your feedback! Happy Friday! XxT
Can you freeze these?
Hey Hannah,
Totally, that will work nicely for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi, was wondering if you think these could be done gluten free using all same ingredients but subbing out the all purpose flour for fluent free flour? These are my fav cookies and all my coworkers but one recently found out she needs to be gluten free so wanted to try to make then
Hi Lisa,
Yes, I think gluten free flour will work nicely for you! Make sure you also get gluten free pretzels:) I hope this helps! xT
Could you add a little peanut butter into the sugars?
Hey Allison,
Sure, I don’t see why not! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
I have been told by many people this is the best cookie they have ever had. I have made this recipe multiple times now and it never disappoints.
Hey Andrea,
Thanks so much! So glad to hear that these cookies always turn out well for you, I appreciate you making them so often! xx
I’ve been making these for a couple years now and they are my go to and impress everytime (we just change the seasonal m&m’s)!
We recently moved to a MUCH higher altitude though and I’m having such a hard time with these now! They are basically flat dark disks. Any tips??
(We went from sea level to 8500ft!)
Hey Steph,
Thanks so much for making this recipe so often:) Have you tried chilling the dough and then reducing your bake time? I would try that next time! Let me know how it goes! xT
Love these cookies and they are a constant repeat in our family. Are these able to be made ahead and frozen?
Hey Julia,
Love to hear that your family enjoyed these cookies! Yes, you can totally freeze them:) Have the best day! xT
My new year’s resolution was to re-start making homemade meals for my family after a bit of a hiatus. I’ve been making your dinner recipes since Jan.1 and my family is craving more each day. Your recipes from the books and online are such a hit and my kids are taking an affirmation to cooking themselves (and I absolutely adore the fancy drinks too). Tonight I also made these oh so delicious monster cookies. Yummy! Would you ever consider making a ‘mini egg’ monster/chocolate type cookie for Spring/Easter? (I really, really hope you do). PS. Would you ever consider writing a Dessert/Holiday Drink Book? Thank you
thank you so much Valentina! I’m so glad you’re enjoying these recipes! That would be a fun idea, I’ll have to look into that! xT