Halloween monster cookies are easy to make and fun for Halloween parties. Chewy peanut butter cookies with oats, chocolate chips and M&Ms make these cookies irresistible! It’s trick-or-treating in cookie form! These Halloween cookies are fun for kids and adults!
Ingredients for Halloween Monster Cookies
- Unsalted butter – Softened to room temperature.
- Creamy peanut butter – For these cookies, you want to use regular creamy peanut butter. I wouldn’t recommend using natural peanut butter for this recipe.
- Light brown sugar – Light brown sugar adds sweetness and helps the cookies be a bit chewy and soft.
- Egg – Large egg, room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Pure vanilla extract adds great underlying vanilla flavor to the cookies.
- Baking soda – A leavening agent used to help the cookies rise and spread.
- Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps the cookies stay soft and chewy.
- Salt – Enhances the flavor of the cookies and provides some contrast to the sweetness.
- Quick oats – Quick oats or quick cooking oats work best in this recipe for the best texture and appearance. You can use old-fashioned rolled oats if you prefer, but quick oats are the way to go!
- All-purpose flour – A bit of all-purpose flour helps create structure in the cookies.
- Semisweet chocolate chips – You could also use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate chips if you prefer.
- Halloween M&M candies – For a pop of Halloween color, use Ghoul’s mix M&Ms. You can use regular M&Ms as well!
Tools & Supplies to Make Halloween Monster Cookies
How to Make Halloween Monster Cookies
These Halloween monster cookies are simple to make! I recommend using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to make the cookie dough.
Here is the basic breakdown of the recipe.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment sheets.
- Cream unsalted butter, creamy peanut butter and light brown sugar.
- Add an egg and vanilla extract.
- Mix in baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.
- Add quick oats and all-purpose flour and mix until well combined.
- Fold in semisweet chocolate chips and M&Ms.
- Portion the cookie dough with a large cookie scoop and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the tops are golden-brown but the inside appears underbaked.
- Remove from the oven. Press in additional M&Ms if desired and allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Halloween Monster Cookies Recipe Tips
Use a large cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough
Cookie scoops are a must-have baking tool to create the best cookies! For these cookies, I used a large cookie scoop which contains 3 tablespoons of cookie dough. Using a cookie scoop ensures that the cookies are uniform in size and shape and makes portioning the dough quick and easy.
Shape the cookies after baking
A simple trick to shape the cookies after baking is to use the back of a spoon to gently press the edges of the cookie to create a perfectly round shape. Be sure to do this immediately after pulling the cookies out of the oven. Then, let the cookies sit on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes so they firm up a bit and maintain a round shape.
Press in extra M&Ms after baking
Another great way to create visually beautiful cookies is to press additional M&Ms into the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven and are still sitting on the pan. The cookies will still be a bit soft, so the M&Ms will easily stick to the cookies! This adds additional color and even more chocolate!
Storing and serving
Halloween monster cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days. Serve the cookies at room temperature or pop them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to melt the chocolate chips and M&Ms.
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Halloween Monster Cookies
Equipment
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cup quick oats
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup M&Ms
- additional M&Ms optional – for pressing into the top of the cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line baking sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed cream unsalted butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar until smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla extract and continue to mix until well combined.
- Add baking soda, cornstarch and salt and mix on low until combined.
- Add in quick oats and all-purpose flour. Mix on low speed until the wet and dry ingredients are well incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the cookie dough is well mixed.
- With a spatula or spoon, fold in semisweet chocolate chips and M&Ms until they are well dispersed throughout the batter.
- Using a large cookie scoop (3 tbsp), portion the cookie dough and place onto the prepared baking trays allowing room in between the dough balls for spreading.
- Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes until the cookies are set and slightly golden brown on the outside but appear underdone in the middle.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes on the baking pan. Press additional M&Ms in the top of the cookies for extra color.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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