Name: Ultimate Monster Cookie Recipe {Best 'n Easy}
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 37 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Hand mixer; Medium Cookie Scoop; Baking Sheet Set; Mixing Bowls; Measuring Spoons; Measuring Cups; ½ cup smooth peanut butter; ¼ cup granulated sugar; ¼ cup brown sugar, packed; 1/3 stick butter, softened to room temperature or a little bit more*; 1 egg, room temperature; 1 teaspoon maple syrup; 1/3 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour; ¾ cup rolled oats; ¾ cup quick oats; 2/3 teaspoon baking soda; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1/3 cup M&M’s; 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips; 2-3 tablespoons M&M’s

Jump to Recipe

This easy monster cookies recipe is packed with chewy oats & colorful M&M’s candies. With crisp edges and chewy, moist centers, this is the best & ultimate monster cookie recipe!

angled photo of monster cookies with chewy oat texture, dotted with colorful M&M’s candies and chocolate chips.

Why are these monster cookies the BEST monster cookie recipe? It’s the flavor, the texture, and the… everything. These cookies boast crisp-shelled M&M’s, chewy oats, peanut butter goodness and chocolate chips that all come together in the BEST monster cookies. They’re simply incredible!

The ultimate monster cookie recipe ingredients prepped in bowls including rolled oats, quick oats, flour, brown sugar, vanilla extract, peanut butter, eggs, butter, chocolate chips, and candies.

A monster cookie is basically made with an oatmeal cookie dough that incorporates peanut butter, M&M’s candies, and chocolate chips. Here are the ingredients in monster cookies:

Peanut butter – my favorite part of a great monster cookie. This ingredient is creamy and a bit savory, balancing the sweetness of M&M’s and chocolate chips so well!
Granulated sugar + brown sugar – a combination of these two create a warm molasses-like sweetness in the best monster cookie dough!
Butter – use unsalted butter so we can put exactly the right amount of salt in this recipe.
Egg – use a room temperature egg for the best mixing.
Maple syrup or honey – either will work to create more chewiness in this recipe
All purpose flour
Rolled oats & quick oats – rolled oats are extra chewy while quick oats hang in the background and add just a touch of oat-goodness to the dough of these monster cookies.
Vanilla, salt, baking soda
M&M’s – use any color M&M’s for the occasion you’re making these for. Valentine’s? Use red and pink candies. Christmas? Use red and green ones!
Chocolate chips – semi-sweet is my fave for this recipe, but feel free to use dark chocolate, white chocolate, or even butterscotch!

Rows of the best monster cookie recipe cooling on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet.

How Do You Make Monster Cookies?

Let’s learn how to make monster cookies together!

Preheat the oven to 350°F, then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, and butter to a large mixing bowl. Grab a hand mixer and beat these ingredients together until creamed.

Two photos showing How to Make Monster Cookies - wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and fully mixed ingredients in the same bowl.

Beat in the egg, then the maple syrup and vanilla. Stir in flour, rolled oats, quick oats, baking soda and salt until a cohesive monster cookies dough forms.

Two photos showing How to Make this easy Monster Cookie recipe - Using a hand mixer to whisk in eggs and the dry ingredients including flour, oats, and baking soda.

Fold M&M’s and chocolate chips into the monster cookie dough.

Someone folding M&M’s into this easy cookie dough dotted with chocolate chips and oats.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop and drop balls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet. Press M&M’s into the tops of each cookie, then flatten about halfway with a fork. Bake for about 12 minutes.

Using a fork to flatten balls of dough on a baking sheet and this fully baked recipe.

Cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack. Enjoy the best easy monster cookie recipe!

Tips for the Best Monster Cookies

Use smooth peanut butter. Using crunchy peanut butter will result in crumbly dough. Another recipe that uses smooth is peanut butter blossoms.
Make sure your butter is room temperature or even just a bit warmer than that. This will help the dough become more cohesive.
Use a combo of rolled oats and quick oats for the best texture. The rolled oats have a thicker, chewier texture, while the quick oats are softer and smaller, melding into the monster cookie dough better.
Press M&M’s into the tops of cookies before baking. They make the cookies’ color pop and truly gives them better texture.

You can freeze these monster cookies as unbaked dough or completely baked cookies.

To freeze the dough: scoop into balls and flatten halfway, then store in a freezer-friendly container for 1-2 months. Bake as normal, adding on maybe 1-2 extra minutes. To freeze baked cookies, cool completely and store in the freezer for 1-3 months.

For storing baked monster cookies at room temperature, cool completely and store in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks.

An overhead photo of this easy recipe with M&M’s, oats, and peanut butter.

Tools You Need

For more delicious recipe ideas, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this monster cookies recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it!

Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️