If you want a crowd-pleaser. If you want a cookie to share at a party. If you want to take some cookies to work...

Make this monster cookie.

A sign of a great recipe is one that stays with you through every stage of life. This is the cookie I think about when I think about childhood. Well, aside from my mom’s chocolate chip cookies. We made these monster cookies all the time. This recipe started with my childhood friend in our second-grade class cookbook (shout out to Jacki Ralph!). Over the years, it’s been scaled down and tweaked, and it's become a family staple. The smell of the dough alone brings back memories.

I call these “classic monster cookies” because it has the traditional monster cookie ingredients…

oats
peanut butter
m&m’s
chocolate chips

That combination is the bee’s knees. These are classic and soooo good. I make this cookie for holidays, parties or just because. I even made this recipe for one of my sister’s weddings! I love it because it makes a big batch - 50 cookies! So perfect if you need to make a lot of cookies for a party or holiday. It is also one of my top ten cookie recipes that I share in my cookie cookbook you can get here. The cookbook has this recipe, and nine other go-to recipes I have been making for years. I find that when I need a recipe for something, I am making one of those 10 recipes, including this monster cookie. You literally cannot go wrong with this one. It’s been a blog favorite on here for years, too!

These classic monster cookies are chewy, sweet and oh-so-addicting. The kind of cookie that is chewy in the middle, but not too chewy, and still a little crisp around the edges. I think of that as the perfect cookie ratio.

I also have some variations. Need a monster cookie that is gluten-free? See my recipe without flour, here. Need one without nuts? See my recipe without peanut butter, here.

Classic Monster Cookies

1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
4 ¼ cups quick cooking oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1-2 cups candy coated chocolate (M&M’s)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream the butter and the sugars together until well combined. Add in the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and mix until combined.
Slowly add in the baking soda, salt, oats and flour until combined. Stir in M&M’s and chocolate.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, scoop out large tablespoons of dough.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 9-10 minutes, or until the edges are just golden and the middle seems underdone (they will continue to bake as they rest on the pan when you take them out of the oven). Rotate the pans halfway through the baking time. Then take them out and let sit on the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack completely.
Store in airtight container.
This recipe will make about 50 cookies.

You can also see this recipe featured on St. Louis Magazine here.

If you make them and share it, be sure to tag me at @urban.apron so I can see your creations!!!

Enjoy!!

This recipe is so special to me and holds a lot of memories, and I hope you find memories in making it, too!!! That is what this is all about. Sharing what we love, and also forming memories and our own traditions when we make something. Remember, it is way more than just about the food. You remember how you feel, who you were with, the smells and the feelings you had when you make something. Baking is a gift.