Healthy Monster Cookies

These gluten-free monster cookies are made with rolled oats, peanut butter and chocolate chips. They’re thick, chewy and so easy to make!

Isaac loves monster trail mix and since becoming pregnant, I’ve been hooked on it as well! During my first trimester, I was sneaking handfuls every time I passed through the kitchen… strategically reaching for the handful with the most M&M’s. My new love for monster trail mix inspired this monster cookie recipe, but honestly, I’m surprised I haven’t shared a cookie recipe like this before because they combine all of my favorite ingredients for sweet treats: oats, peanut butter, and chocolate.

Needless to say, these are adult-friendly and they sure as heck are kid-friendly too! Bring them into the kitchen if you’re feeling like you have the patience for that. 😉 These cookies can be whipped up in one bowl. Assign simple tasks to your kiddos – measuring out the ingredients, adding ingredients to the bowl, cracking eggs or stirring.

Ingredients in Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Monster Cookies

I upgraded a few of these ingredients to make these healthier monster cookies. Because we don’t use any flour, these are naturally gluten-free.

• rolled old-fashioned oats – make sure the package says the oats are certified gluten-free. I like to use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats
• baking soda
• salt
• peanut butter
• unsalted butter
• coconut sugar
• cane sugar – you can definitely use more coconut sugar instead of the two types of sugars
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• chocolate chips – I love the Enjoy Life brand, they’re dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free
• M&M’S – I used natural candy-coated chocolate from Unreal which is made without artificial ingredients or dyes. Sunspire also offers natural candy-coated chocolate

How to Make Monster Cookies

First things first: preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, mix oats, baking soda, and sea salt. In a stand mixer, add in the peanut butter, butter, sugar and coconut sugar and mix using the paddle attachment until well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix again until everything’s combined and then add in your chocolate chips and M&M‘S. Mix until combined!

Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto a baking sheet. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, no worries! I like to use two spoons to scoop and form balls. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom and around the edges but still soft on the top. Remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Are Rolled Oats Gluten-Free?

Yes, pure, uncontaminated oats are gluten-free, but oats are easily contaminated by other grains that aren’t gluten-free (either in the field or through processing). Because of this you must buy certified gluten-free oats if you want this recipe to be totally gluten-free. Just make sure the label on your oatmeal package says certified gluten-free.

Why are my Oatmeal Cookies Falling Apart?

These monster cookie should hold together well, but if you have trouble with oatmeal cookies being too crumbly, a number of things might be happening. If your recipe calls for flour, you might be adding too much. This recipe doesn’t call for flour so you’re good there!

If you’re using a butter or oil substitute, you might want to try using the real deal. Or lastly, you might be cooking the cookies for too long. You might have to do some experimenting. I’ve tested these cookies countless times and I’ve never had that issue with this recipe but wanted to share these tips in case you’ve made oatmeal cookies in the past and had this kind of issue.

Like this Recipe? Here are More Cookie Recipes you Might Enjoy:

• Coconut Flour Cookies
• Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
• Granola Peanut Butter Cookies
• Healthy Tagalongs
• Healthy Thin Mints

If you try these gluten-free peanut butter monster cookies, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how they turn out! Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF followers.

Healthy Monster Cookies

4 from 7 votes

These gluten-free monster cookies are made with rolled oats, peanut butter and chocolate chips. They're thick, chewy and so easy to make!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 48 cookies

Ingredients

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups smooth peanut butter
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 2/3 cup cane sugar, or more coconut sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup M&M's, or natural candy coated chocolate

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine oats, baking soda and sea salt in a medium mixing bowl.
• Add peanut butter, butter, sugar, coconut sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix together on medium-high until combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until just incorporated and then add chocolate chips and M&Ms. Mix until combined.
• Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto a baking sheet.
• Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown on the bottom and edges, but still soft on the top. Remove cookies from the oven, allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• To ensure these cookies are gluten-free, you need to make sure you purchase certified gluten-free rolled oats.
• I haven't tested a vegan version of this recipe, but I would assume that you could use flax eggs and coconut oil to make them vegan. Let me know if you try it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie Calories: 115kcal Carbohydrates: 12g Protein: 3g Fat: 7g Sodium: 90mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 7g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten free monster cookies

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