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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! I saw the recipe was updated in 2025 and was curious what had changed! Also, would I be able to place the m&ms after they are fully done out of the oven (before cooled)?
Hi Sarah,
Nothing in the recipe has changed:)
Sure, you could wait to add the M&M’s if that is your preference.
I hope you love these cookies!
Just wondering if you could freeze the dough ahead of time ??
Hi Margie,
You bet, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love these cookies!
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi! I’ve made these cookies before, and they are delicious. I would like to add a peanut butter flavor to the recipe. Would it work if I added a cup of peanut butter? Would I have to change any other ingredient if I add the peanut butter?
Hey Denise,
Thanks so much for making these cookies! I’ve never added peanut butter to them, so I am not sure the adjustments without testing it. What if you used peanut butter M&M’s?
Hello,
Just be advised that the first ingredient (butter) when you adjust serving size remains at 1 cup. I decided to half the recipe and slid the serving size over to 10 cookies rather than 20 and I didn’t notice at the time that although the sticks of butter went from 2 to 1, the cup measurement remained at 1. It does the same when you go to 30 cookies (goes up to 3 sticks but cup measurement stays at 1). This ruined the cookies as it resulted in me using an extra 1/2 cup of butter, which I should have realized but didn’t think much of it at the time. Would be willing to retry baking these knowing now this error on the page and putting the appropriate measurements!
Hey Shannon,
Thanks so much for letting me know and so sorry about that!
Hi! I saw the recipe was updated in 2025 and just wondering what was changed! Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
Nothing in the recipe was changed:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way!
I have done pb m&ms with them before because my husband loves peanut butter and they worked out great!
Does the integrity of the cookie hold up if you freeze them till closer to Christmas?
Hi Brandy,
Yes, that will be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi! I dont have oats right now, can i just add more flour instead of the oats?
Hi Shayne,
I have not tested this, but I would add 1/4 cup more flour in place of the oats.
I hope you love these cookies!
Hi, can this dough be frozen ahead of time to bake ? I want to include this recipe in my Christmas cookie box but I’m looking for doughs that are easy to freeze and bake straight from the freezer. Thanks !
Hey Katie,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions!
Could you use rolled oats instead of old fashioned oats?
You bet, that will work nicely for you!
I hope you love these cookies, Rachelle!
These are a Christmas staple in our house. I make about 10 batches a year. At Halloween we put fall colors and monster eyes! These are the best cookies I’ve ever had and make them to give to people. Always a hit!!
Aw thanks so much Jill! These are definitely so fun and festive for the halloween season! So glad you love them! xT
In your cookbook, you have an autumn monster cookie recipe that’s similar but even better! My daughter is allergic to almond butter what should I substitute? Peanut butter imparted too much flavor. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much!
Thanks so much, Mari!! You could try cashew butter or even tahini, those should work nicely for you! I hope this helps! xT
My family absolutely LOVED these. I’ve made them about 4 times now & will continue making them. Thank u so much for giving the world the recipe for such a delectable treat!! God bless you!!
Hey Jenny,
Thanks so much for making this recipe! Love to hear it turned out well for you:) Have the best week! xxT
Amazing cookies! Made them three times now. Christmas style and regular too! A staple in our house now.
Rating…
Thanks so much, Kelley! So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies, I appreciate you making them! Have a wonderful weekend! xT
I forgot to put a rating on my comment!
Thanks again, Kat:)
I’m not a great baker – just started delving into the whole thing and my batches of cookies have been a hit or miss. Tried this recipe for the first time and loooooveeeeddddd the cookies. So I made em for my boyfriend’s coworkers, day and overnight shift. Got so many comments of these being the best cookies they’ve had… and now I’ve been informed of when some of their birthdays are LOL. I appreciated how easy these were to make and how easy the directions were to follow. The extra tips definitely helped 🙂
Thanks so much, Kat! Love to hear these cookies are always enjoyed, I appreciate you making them! Happy New Year! xxT
Hello! I LOVE your recipes! Can you use light brown sugar instead of dark brown? Just curious!
Hi Amanda,
Thanks so much! Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it:) xxT
These are so good. I make them for different holidays with different colored M&Ms.
Can they be frozen after baking?
Hi Darlene,
Love to hear these cookies are always enjoyed, thanks for making them so often. Yes, you can definitely freeze the cookies! Happy New Year! xx
3rd year making these. A Christmas tradition! Santa loves them!
Hey Mandy,
Wonderful! I’m so glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Merry Christmas!!🎄🎁☃️