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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.
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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, so be careful when cooking the cookie dough! 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, my trick is 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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Can we use sprouted rolled oats?
Hi Angela,
Yes, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe!
I want to make these into a pan cookie. What size pan and baking time would you recommend? Hi from Cleveland!
Hey Katherine,
So sorry, I haven’t tested that with this recipe, but I would try a 9×13 baking dish for 18-22 minutes at 350F.
You might also like this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/christmas-mm-cookie-bars/
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Would love to make these for Christmas! If I choose to leave the pretzels out, do I have to adjust any of the measurements for the other ingredients or mix-in’s? Will the baking time and temp change?
Hey Marina,
You can simply omit the pretzels, no need to change anything else:)
I hope you love these cookies! Merry Christmas!!
These are a favorite of our family! I make a gluten free batch too!
Hey Geri,
Perfect! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Happy Holidays!🎁🎄
These were so delicious! I made with King Arthur gluten free flour, Glutino pretzels, and Bobs Red Mill oats. They came out perfect
Hey Amanda,
Perfect! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Happy Holidays!🎁🎄
Hi! Can I put the dough in the fridge for a day or two? If so, does it effect the cooking time or do I need to bring the dough to room temperature before I bake it?
Hi Becca,
Yes, that’s just fine to do! You can bake as directed.
I hope you love these cookies!
Hey hey! I’m not much of a pretzel fan- any way I can sub these for pecans or walnuts?
Hey Caitlin,
Totally, either will work well for you!
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
I loved the taste of these but mine flattened out a lot and fell apart. Even the second batch I put in the fridge before to firm up the dough and it didn’t help. Any ideas?
Hi Brianna,
I am so sorry to hear this! I would try rolling your dough balls next time and popping them in the freezer and then bake as directed.
I hope this helps! Happy Holidays!
Someone had these at a party I went to and they were amazing. Going to make them tomorrow.
When it says crushed pretzel sticks, are they crushed really fine or just broken into pieces. Also, is a 1/4 cup ball a regular cookie scoop?
Hey Brittany,
I just broke the pretzels into little pieces, you don’t need to crush them:)
All cookie scoops are different sizes, so I would double check on yours! Happy Holidays!
Love this recipe! Can these be frozen?!
Thanks so much, Sandi! Yes, you can freeze these! Happy Holidays!
Hi! If freezing, do you recommend taking out of freezer and letting rest in fridge first? Or ok to bake straight from frozen? Also, should I hold off on the fun mix-ins or should that be ok to freeze too?
Hi Chelsea,
You can bake straight from frozen, I would recommend freezing the dough in the balls that you plan to bake them as. You can also freeze the mix ins.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
I made these in Chicago last year and they were amazing!! Wanting to make them in Colorado for family this year— any high altitude adjustments needed?
Thanks so much, Holly!! You can keep the recipe as is, it will still work nicely for you!
Happy Holidays!
I just made these in Denver, and had no issues with the recipe here.
Just made these to take to work tomorrow…..soooo 😊 very easy to make. I love the pretzels in it.
Thanks so much, Jessica! I hope everyone loves these cookies!
Have a great Sunday!
I made these last year and everyone loved them in their cookie box! Can I make the dough 1-2 weeks ahead of time and freeze or chill?
Hey Sue,
Thanks so much for making these cookies!
Yes, you can freeze the dough, you could even freeze the cookies. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Tnx so much! What’s the bake time if made from frozen pre-shaped cookies?
I would keep the bake time the same:)
These cookies are amazing. There’s great texture and I love the mix of the sweet and salty. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Kristen,
Love to hear this! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment!
Have a great Sunday!
We love these cookies! Any way to make them Gluten Free?
Thanks so much, Bri! Sure, you could use gluten free flour and gluten free pretzels.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way!