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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.
I followed the recipe exactly! Was hoping to give these out as a part of the Christmas cookie box. Dough seemed normal, but then spread way too much and was gooey. Not in the good gooey way, but in the raw way. I think just too much going on and the dough couldn’t support it.
Hi Sarah,
So sorry to hear you had some issues with this recipe! Sounds like your dough was just slightly too warm. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Unfortunately these spread and we’re way to flat and unevenly baked for me. Not sure where I went wrong. 🫤
Hey Samantha,
Thanks for giving the cookies a try, sorry to hear you had some issues. Was there anything you may have adjusted? Why were they unevenly baked, did you make sure they were all the same size? Let me know how I can help! xx
amazing cookies!! Will definitely be making them again!!
Hey Laurel,
Happy Monday!!☃️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
These were just ok. I followed the recipe to a T, including the extra egg yolk, and they weren’t even great while warm. I brought them straight from the oven to a Christmas party and most people just took a bite or two of a cookie and left the rest. There are too many toppings and not enough dough. But the dough is too crispy and doesn’t have great flavor. The pretzels were a nice touch but other than that these were just average in a sea of other amazing cookies out there this time of year.
Won’t be making this recipe again.
Hey Sterling,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear they were not enjoyed! xx
Great recipe! I added a twist and dipped them in Chocolate, and sprinkled with crushed candy cane. Sooo good!
Hey Marcie,
Happy Monday!!☃️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
I’m so excited about these cookies! A little salty and yummy chocolate! I’d like to make a batch ahead of the holidays. What do you think about freezing them for two weeks then thawing? Appreciate the advice!!
Hey Cyndi,
Sure, that would be okay, I would just freeze without the pretzels though so they don’t get soggy:) I hope you love these cookies! xT
Not sure what I did wrong, but I had the same issue that others have mentioned with the cookies flattening. The flavor is fantastic but they don’t look nice enough to use as gifts like I was planning. The only change I made was to use light brown sugar instead of dark because that’s what I had on hand. The dough was very thick, and they seemed to be normal cookie puffiness even as they came out of the oven, just flattened a lot on cooling.
The basic idea is delicious though. I think I might try again using my standard oatmeal cookie recipe as the base before adding all the monster deliciousness. Adding the extra m&ms toward the end makes them look so nice when they are finished.
Hi there,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback. The dough should definitely be thick. So yours were too flat? Sounds like your dough was just too warm. xx
These were fun to make with my young son and very tasty! Will make again ! Thanks!
Hey Alisha,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday!🎄
These were so soo good!! I was skeptical about the pretzels but it adds a delicious crunch and the flavors blend so well together.
I made these for an office holiday event and Tieghan was an absolute angel, I had to double the recipe and she was very responsive. Baking is what scares me the most about being in the kitchen and I love making your recipes because they’re always incredible and easy to follow!!
Oh, I am hoping to double this recipe for a cookie exchange I am going to! Do you have the doubled measurements on hand? Is it just 2x what’s seen in the recipe or are there additional modifications? Thank you!
Hi Jenny,
You can adjust the servings above the list of ingredients and then measurements will adjust for you! I hope you love these cookies! xT
Hey Naya,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday!🎄
These are really good. I didn’t add the extra egg yolk and found they spread quite a lot anyway- so I would recommend not adding it. I did make about 30 cookies per batch- and these aren’t small cookies! I also cooked them for about 15 mins total.
Hey Lauren,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review! Love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday!🎄
Absolutely the best Monster Cookie I have ever made. I did swap out the white chocolate chips for mini semi-sweet chocolate chips but only because that is what I had on hand. These have been a HUGE hit! My husband took a batch to work and they were gone in less than an hour!
Hey Carrie,
Awesome! I am so glad to hear that these cookies were enjoyed, thanks so much for making them:) xT
Just made these for a special boy. Followed the recipe exactly. Came out perfectly! Made exactly 30.
Thank you!
Hey Susan,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, I love to hear that it was tasty! Have a great weekend:)
A coworker loves your website and made these cookies for our Christmas cookie exchange and I’m obsessed!!
Hey there,
That’s amazing!! So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies and thanks to your coworker for making them! xx
I can’t wait to try these. I am baking tomorrow! I was wondering if they can be frozen (I do a lot of my baking ahead of time and freeze it before Christmas).
Thank you!
Hey Allison,
Sure, but I would freeze without the pretzels so they don’t become soggy. I hope you love this recipe! Happy Holidays! xT
Hello! Can you freeze the dough (rolled into balls) so that it can be baked later? Thanks 😀
Hey there,
Sure, you can do that, but I would freeze without the pretzels so they don’t become soggy. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT