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
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 chipsand M&M‘S. Mix until combined!
Use a medium cookie scoop(affiliate link) to scoop the dough onto a baking sheet. If you don’t have a cookie scoop(affiliate link), 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 wirerack 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:
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.
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(affiliate link) 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.
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.
Awesome, easy recipe! I add raisins to this as well for another texture. Comes together with pantry items and my toddler helps to stir and scoop. So fun and he loves the m&ms and the color they add. Warning: these are totally addictive!
We so wanted to love this recipe. Used all organic, good quality ingredients, followed directons to a t and my dough was a crumbly mess. Could not form dough balls and when packed together they did not flatten at all. Added more peanut butter to help bind them better which helped slightly. Wet to dry ingredient ratio seems very off.
So funny how similar these are to the peanut butter Monster cookies my boarding school has made for 60 years in Southern Virginia! I did my own gluten free adaptation for the school and it’s alumni in 2015. I’ll have to try your version sometime to compare & contrast. 🙂
Hey Sharon. Oats are inherently gluten-free but are often times contaminated with other grains so that’s why you need to buy certified gluten-free oats if you want to make sure they are 100% gluten-free. Hope this helps!
These sound so good! I remember my mom making monster cookies when I was a child! Have you ever tried replacing some of the sugar with date paste? I was just wondering….
Hey Melissa, I have not tried using date paste in this recipe so I’m not 100% sure how they’d turn out, but I’m sure it would work! Definitely let me know if you try using date paste and how they turn out for you.
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Would i be able to use quick oats for this if i don’t care about the gluten free factor?
Hey Laura! Yes, you should be just fine using quick oats for this recipe!
Awesome, easy recipe! I add raisins to this as well for another texture. Comes together with pantry items and my toddler helps to stir and scoop. So fun and he loves the m&ms and the color they add. Warning: these are totally addictive!
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you love this recipe, Sonya. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it! <3
We so wanted to love this recipe. Used all organic, good quality ingredients, followed directons to a t and my dough was a crumbly mess. Could not form dough balls and when packed together they did not flatten at all. Added more peanut butter to help bind them better which helped slightly. Wet to dry ingredient ratio seems very off.
★
Hi Theresa. I’m so sorry to hear this, but I appreciate your feedback. Can I ask what type of peanut butter you used?
Sounds good.
★★★★★
So funny how similar these are to the peanut butter Monster cookies my boarding school has made for 60 years in Southern Virginia! I did my own gluten free adaptation for the school and it’s alumni in 2015. I’ll have to try your version sometime to compare & contrast. 🙂
That’s funny but I guess the base recipe for monster cookies is pretty standard so it makes sense! 🙂 You’ll have to try these and see what you think.
do you think you could sub another nut butter or sunflower seed butter?
Totally! Any nut or seed butter should work.
I think oats contain gluten
Hey Sharon. Oats are inherently gluten-free but are often times contaminated with other grains so that’s why you need to buy certified gluten-free oats if you want to make sure they are 100% gluten-free. Hope this helps!
There used to be a gluten-free bakery near me that made monster cookies. I’m so happy to be able to recreate these at home. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Janet, I’m so happy you found this recipe! Definitely come back and let me know what you think if you make them.
These sound so good! I remember my mom making monster cookies when I was a child! Have you ever tried replacing some of the sugar with date paste? I was just wondering….
Hey Melissa, I have not tried using date paste in this recipe so I’m not 100% sure how they’d turn out, but I’m sure it would work! Definitely let me know if you try using date paste and how they turn out for you.