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Christmas Monster Cookies for your December weekend baking…festive, easy, and sweet. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, made with oats, pretzels pieces, plenty of chocolate chunks, white chocolate, and plenty of holiday M&M’s. There’s nothing not to love about these sweet chocolate (crunch) cookies. Each bite is slightly crisp on the edges but soft and gooey in the center…with just a little salty pretzel crunch and milk chocolate throughout.
Fridays in December are just better! There are holiday parties, searching for the perfect gift for someone you love, and baking the nights away with family and friends. Well, at least that’s the “Hallmark” version I have in my head.
The reality is a little less picture-perfect for sure, but I’m definitely doing the baking! It’s one of the reasons we love this season the most. I mean there are so many cookies! As I said on Tuesday, this year I’m really focusing on all of the holiday cookies I haven’t made before.
My list of cookies is a mile long, but I only have a handful of days to share them. So, I’m trying to pick the very best on my list. It’s tricky, but I always knew these cookies needed to be shared. The combination of ingredients is just too good.
The steps are easy
One: gather your ingredients. You’ll need the basics…butter, sugar, flour, etc. Simple, simple, nothing fancy, but all good.
Two: the stir-ins, they’re are the most important part. You’ll need old fashioned oats, salted pretzel twists, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks, and white chocolate chips. And then plenty of red and green holiday M&M’s, which really make these cookies.
Three: beat, mix, stir, bake.
Four: eat these cookies warm, just out of the oven, because these are those kind of gooey delicious cookies.
A couple notes
It’s important to note that these cookies do spread. They’re meant to have slightly crisp edges and perfectly soft gooey centers, just like in the photos. My favorite type of cookie…totally delicious.
If you want a bit of a thicker cookie, simply omit the additional egg yolk and use only two eggs. This will give you a thicker cookie without as much spreading.
To get the M&M’s to really pop, I like to add in a few just before the cookies finish baking completely. This way each cookie has a bit of the festive M&M’s right on top.
What I love about these cookies is that they’re so easy to make. They require no chilling and they really are completely no fuss. Especially when it comes to Christmas cookies.
These cookies have perfectly crisp edges, yet soft and gooey centers. They’ve got a nice crunch plus a little saltiness from the pretzels – the best kind of cookie.
I’m excited to include these in the year’s Christmas cookie box. They’re perfect for packing up and gifting to friends for the holidays!
Looking for other Christmas cookies? Here are my favorites:
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Easy Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Christmas Monster Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Christmas Monster Cookies
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 364 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 1/4 cups holiday M&M’s
- 1 cup mini pretzel sticks, crushed
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until combined. Beat in the eggs and 1 egg yolk, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the oats. 3. Fold in 1 cup of the M&M's, the pretzels, chocolate chips, and white chocolate. 4. Roll the dough into 1/4 cup size balls. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. 5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake another 2 minutes. Pull the pan out and push the remaining M&M's into the cookies. Bake 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit on the baking sheet. 6. Eat warm (highly recommended) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
These cookies did not stick around very long. A hit with everyone that tried!
Hey Kim,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
Wow. These are the best cookies I have ever made.
Every single person that visited during Christmas were in a mini shock after they tasted them. Literally. Eyes widened. “What IS this cookie?!” was heard often. I had to share the recipe multiple times.
So good. I froze leftover cookie dough balls to have a cookie ready to pop in the oven in the weeks to come. I love them XXL size.
Hi Jenna,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
Just made these- Sooo fabulous! The pretzel adds that certain yummy salty mysterious bit that the whole family adored. Great recipe! ~Thank you~
Hi Kelly,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
Thanks for this recipe. I made it with Cup 4 Cup and subbed gluten free pretzels and “chocolate gems” aka naturally colored m&ms. Turned out amazing. Love the big size. Next time I want to add peanut butter chips too.
Hi Cissy,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
Thumbs up from all ages! Yum.
Hi Tanis,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Happy Holidays!? xT
My fiancés favorite cookies!! So good – I only change the m&m’s by not adding to the cookie dough but a few on top at the end. I prefer this 🙂 thanks for sharing!
If I wanted to freeze these to cook later, what would you suggest for the cook time? Could they go from freezer to oven or would they need thawed first?
Hi MyKaila,
I would thaw first and bake as directed. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi MyKaila,
I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! Happy Holidays! xT
My one soon to be two year old niece just whipped these up and I just put the second round in the oven.
For the first batch I forgot to take the out to add the m&ms. My sister and her girls still loved them.
I rolled up the remainder of the batter and placed them in the freezer because they were melting. I do have to say that I was scooping the dough with a quarter cup because I don’t have the big cookie scoop. Will freezing the dough make a difference?
Hi Arely,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, freezing the dough will be just fine. xTieghan
Gave these as Christmas gifts, and one for myself of course, absolutely delicious, super easy to make and look amazing too. Gifts went down a treat. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
followed the recipe to a T and they came out delicious! perfect for a christmas cookie swap. they were a hit!
Hi there,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
They came out very well! They were so good! I didnt use pretzels or the white chocolate because I couldn’t find any so I added extra chocolate chips, but next time I make them I will use the white chocolate and pretzels!
Hi AJ,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
I really like this recipe as it turned out well for me. The first time making it, I did not have pretzel. It was PERFECT. I went to the store and got pretzel to add in my second batch and it was a bit disappointing with the pretzels. The pretzels were not crunchy as it softened up in the batter. So the next batches of cookies, I stopped using the pretzels.
Hi Naley,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
They’re wonderful just as is and the tip about adding the M&Ms towards the end is genius!
Hi Summer,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
Followed it precisely and put it in a bit longer and still undercooked. Was going to gift it but if its undercooked, I will have to skip doing that. The cookies look pretty weird, like darker than most cookies. Hoping that they firm up more.
Hi Hilary,
So sorry to hear this. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? The cookies will finish cooking once you pull them from the oven on the hot baking sheets. Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
I may have put too many cookies on one sheet. Let’s just say it’s like a sheet cake full of heaven. I made the balls a bit smaller and put about 6 on sheet this time. If the spread and cook together again….square cookies for everyone! Excellent recipe.
Hi Diana,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Merry Christmas!?? xT
My cookies are not flattening. What did I do wrong?
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try. These really are not meant to be a flat cookie. Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan