Next Post
Frosted Spicy Ginger Moscow Mule.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
My son loves a chewy cookie! Can anyone tell me if these are chewy? They look chewy!
Hey Wanda,
Yes, these are chewy. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Delicious cookies. This recipe is a keeper. My family and friends really enjoyed. Easy recipe. I added the mini m&m’s on top prior to the bake. Worked out great. I switched because on the first sheet full I dropped an m&m somewhere in the oven door crevice! Great recipe – Thank You!!
Hi Maria,
Wonderful!! I am so so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks a bunch for making it! xT
Delicious! We ate them warm and they were so soft (underbaked in the middle) that we needed a fork. I imagine they will be perfectly pick up-able tomorrow morning ? I subbed the semi-sweet and white chocolate chips for half dark chocolate, half peanut butter chips and really enjoyed the result. I was hesitant to put the pretzels in since I’m not a big salt in my sweets person but they were so good. I thought the baking process was kind of odd but once I did it, it made sense to keep them evenly baked and the appearance. Will make them again for sure!
Hey Kait,
Happy Sunday! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Hey!!
Thank you so much for another fabulous recipe! First, I have to tell you my Big (18 people) immediate family, we are ALL obsessed with your recipes! We all follow, have cookbooks, watch Instagram for your latest updates & recipes ❤️❤️❤️❤️ We refer to you simply as Tiegen, since we all know who we are referring to ????
So thank you for brightening our days & meals!
My question is I would love to make this recipe again but my husband & I couldn’t eat the whole batch while they are still fresh. Can you freeze the dough balls? How would baking work with the different steps….still add extra m&m’s?
Thank you again & blessings to your whole amazing family!!
Hey Jenna,
Thank you so much for your kind message and making so many recipes!! I love to hear that your family has been enjoying them. Yes, you can totally freeze the dough and then follow the baking instructions as listed. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
great recipe! I have made these a few times, not always with the same chocolate and/or candy pieces but always delicious! Yesterday, I did not feel like taking the time for cookies so I did a free form…simply spread the dough on parchment on a sheet pan.
Hi Lauren,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
These cookies are soooooo good!!! I love all the different textures and flavors. The pretzels in particular are such a fun addition. I knew they would be good because I also love your salted caramel pretzel snickerdoodles, but I think these monster cookies are even better.
Hi Erica,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
Made these last night and they are delicious! I had to add peanut butter because it is one of my favorite parts of monster cookies and since we are past Christmas, I used dark chocolate M&M’s. The crushed pretzels were a great addition, not going to lie, I was a little hesitant about adding them. Overall, awesome monster cookie recipe, will keep this one in the rotation!
Hi Erin,
I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xxT
I ran out of time at Christmas to make these, but I still had the m and ms waiting! Made these for after school snack and they were a hit. Everyone loves the oats and pretzels in it and I agree, definitely great additions. I appreciate any recipe that uses dark brown sugar! A great cookie for when you’re looking for something a little unexpected!
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made these Christmas Eve. They’re a lot of work just for cookies tbh. I prefer to stick to a simpler cookie in the future but it’s always fun trying out new recipes. I think it would have been better to just sprinkle them with flaky sea salt instead of pretzels since there is already so much going on in the cookie. This recipe is very versatile to whatever you want to put in them though so you can get creative.
Hi Sammi,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I have to disagree, I really don’t think this recipe could get any easier. Let me know if I can help in anyway for next time! xTieghan
Making these today! So excited!
Does anyone know if it would be best to freeze or refrigerate the extra dough? I’m not gonna make the whole batch at once!
Hi Barbara,
If you are not using the dough within the next week, I would freeze it. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Family Fav!
Hey Ruthe,
Happy Sunday! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it! xxT
These are my new favorite cookie! I made them for Christmas and everyone who tried one loved the salty sweet balance. I swapped white chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand.
I make cookie trays each year at Christmas. In the past I’ve done regular m&m cookies, but these will now take their place!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. Can’t wait to make them again!
Hey Danielle,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
These cookies are absolutely amazing!! The whole family LOVED them!! Will 100% be making them again!!!
Hey Spencer,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
We love these cookies! You can throw in anything you have on hand – we’ve done roasted, crushed pistachios in lieu of pretzels. We regularly use dark chocolate chips, and add cinnamon and nutmeg to the mix. We sprinkle a sugar/cinnamon/freshly grated nutmeg on top when they are fresh out of the oven. We made at a cookie-making party and had run out of brown sugar, so used white sugar and some molasses. They always turn out delicious!
Hey Kate,
I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for testing it out! Have a great week! xTieghan
I made these on Christmas Eve….huuuugggge hit with my family. So yummy…I hid a few and froze for my nightly treat. 30 seconds in the mwave …delicious. Will make again without changing a thing!
Hey Yolonda,
I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for testing it out! Have a great week! xTieghan
Can you freeze the dough? I am ready to bake them
But my oven is broken……
Hi Meredith,
Yes, that would be just fine to do. I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan