Healthy Monster Cookies
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Published Sep 23, 2019, Updated Jun 12, 2023
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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 which makes clean up a breeze. Assign simple tasks to your kiddos – measuring out the ingredients, adding ingredients to the bowl, cracking eggs or stirring.
Here’s What You Need
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 – Oats are naturally gluten-free, but often cross contaminated so make sure to use gluten-free oats if you have a gluten intolerance. I like using Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats.
- baking soda – a leavening agent to help these cookies rise.
- salt – brings all the flavors together.
- peanut butter – look for a brand with just one or two ingredients (peanuts and salt). Alternatively, any nut or seed butter should work!
- unsalted butter – if you want to make these vegan, you can use a vegan butter or coconut oil instead.
- coconut sugar – the less-processed upgrade for granulated sugar or brown sugar.
- cane sugar – you can definitely use more coconut sugar instead of a mix of the two types of sugars.
- eggs – a binding ingredient. I haven’t tested it, but a flaxseed egg should work fine if you want to make these vegan or egg-free.
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- dark chocolate chips – I love the Enjoy Life brand, they’re dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free. Lily’s chocolate chips are another brand I love, they are low in sugar and calories.
- M&M’s – I used natural candy-coated chocolate from Unreal which is made without artificial ingredients or dyes.
How to Make Monster Cookies
Preheat Oven – First things first, preheat your oven to 350ºF.
Mix Ingredients – 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 just combined but be careful not to overmix.
Scoop Dough – 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 – 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.
Serve – 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.
Substitutions
- Change up your mix-ins. Traditionally you’ll find M&M’s and chocolate chips but you can add whatever you like! Try with your favorite nuts, coconut flakes, or even dried fruit like raisins.
- Make these cookies vegan by using flax eggs. Mix 1 Tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons of water per egg.
- Have a peanut allergy? Use your favorite nut or seed butter instead.
- Want to reduce the sugar content? You can certainly add less sugar to these cookies, as they’re plenty sweet with the mix-ins. Try adding a total of 2/3 cups of sugar and using only coconut sugar instead of a mix with cane sugar.
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 cookies should hold together well, but if you have had trouble in the past 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.
- 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 a crumbly 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.
Tips for Storing
You can leave these on the counter in an airtight container for 3-4 days or store them in the fridge to keep them about a week.
You can also easily freeze these cookies. I would store them in an airtight container and layer them in between sheets of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together and falling apart when you separate them. Let them come to room temperature on the counter for 30 or so minutes before you enjoy them!
Like this Recipe? Here are More Cookie Recipes you Might Enjoy
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Flour Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
- Cottage Cheese Cookies
- Granola Peanut Butter Cookies
- Healthy Tagalongs
- Healthy Thin Mints
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthy Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cups smooth peanut butter
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- ⅔ cup cane sugar, or more coconut sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips
- ⅔ 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Send these frequently to my daughter at college and they are gone almost immediately! Such a hit – thank you!
Yay! So glad to hear that, Karin. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, I really appreciate it.