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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 are the best! Making them today with mini eggs for Easter!
Hey Amanda,
Happy Monday!! ☀️⛅️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
I love these cookies! The first time I made them, I used peanut butter chips, pretzels, mini m&ms, and chocolate chips. This time I used chopped milk chocolate, reeses pieces, mini Reese cups, and pretzels. So delicious!
Hi Cheri,
Fantastic!!🌻 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for trying it out! xT
Can these be made into bars?
Hi Penny,
Sure, I don’t see why not! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Fantastic recipe. Pretzels not needed. Dark brown sugar is the magic here.
Hey Kimbo,
Happy Monday!!🌞 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Hi–Can you use light brown sugar instead of dark? That is what I have in the house…
What is the major difference between the two? Thanks
Hi Jen,
Light brown sugar will be just fine to use here. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
I’ve made these cookies twice and LOVE them!! I left the pretzels out because they’re not my favorite. They’re chewy with a slightly crisp edge. I love that I can use different holiday m&ms and they are festive for any holiday! Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Elizabeth,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a hit! xT
I made these with my 7 and 4 year old boys! I doubled the recipe…so the amount of dough was almost comical. But wow these are good! We’re sharing them with our guests on Superbowl Sunday. Thank you!
Hey Jessica,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a try! Have a great weekend! 🏈
didnt rise, flattened out
Hi Cate,
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this recipe, these cookies are meant to spread, especially with the tapping instructions. Please let me know what I can help with! xx
what are the tapping instructions–I did not see those…
Hi Jen,
If you want a flat cookie, you can tap on the counter when you rotate the pan:) xx
I’ve made these twice now and they are just the best cookies! I love the texture of the cookie the most.
Hey Laura,
Amazing!! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for making it and your comment! xx
Thank you for a great recipe! Didn’t use have pretzels but i had some ruffles potato chips that did wonderfully in them!
Hey Cherry,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well! xT
Terrible. We made these for Santa and I’m surprised he didn’t leave us coal. The only thing that I did different was use raw sugar (because I had run out of regular brown), so maybe that was why they were so bad? Total waste of time and money since no one in my family would eat them.
Hey Kris,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try, so sorry to hear they didn’t turn out for you. Unfortunately, raw sugar and brown sugar are two completely different products, so that was your issue. Let me know if you give these another try with the brown sugar:) xT
These are easy and delicious! Will definitely make again – thanks!
Hey Angela,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times now. Since it makes a lot of dough and there are only two people in my house, I like to shape some of it into balls and freeze them so I can easily bake up some fresh cookies without mixing a whole batch. These bake great from frozen with just a minute or two of extra baking time.
Hey Erica,
Happy Friday!!⛄️❄️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Hello Tieghan, first i would like to let you know how much i love your recipes. I love them altough i have to translate everything into german. I tried this recipe and i Was really ecxited. But my cookies came out really big, flat and thin. They were also kind of moist and chewy. I know in the States they have soft and chewy cookies. So i dont know if they are supposed to be like that or if i did something wrong. Maybe i should have only used the two eggs, without the egg yolk? Thanks for your great recipes and best wishes from Germany.
Hey Lisa,
Thanks so much for making so many recipes and your kind feedback! Next time, I would try chilling your dough, that will make for a puffier cookie! I hope this helps! xT
Made these tonight with my 5 year old. Sooooo yummy! He’s already asked when we can make them again. Question: mine were more puffy than yours. What can I do to flatten them a bit next time?
Hey Jen,
Happy Friday!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was a hit! Did you tap your baking sheet on the counter? That will help to flatten them!⛄️ xT
So.Good❤️ Just made these for my family and we loved them. A nice cookie to make when you want something a little extra!
PS I used flax eggs for anyone wondering the same.
Hey Leslie,
Happy Wednesday!!❄️ Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I am so glad it was a hit! xx