Monster Cookies Recipe (2024)

By Nigella Lawson

Monster Cookies Recipe (1)

Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(1,926)
Notes
Read community notes

Studded with colored candies (delicious if they are peanut-filled, too), these treats are an amazing way to end a grown-up supper, and a very useful way to keep a roomful of boisterous children happy.

Featured in: AT MY TABLE; A Lot Tastier Than a Jack-o'-Lantern

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Ingredients

Yield:12 3½- to 4-inch cookies

  • 1cup flour
  • ½teaspoon baking powder
  • ½teaspoon salt
  • 1cup rolled oats
  • 9tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • ½cup light brown sugar
  • ½cup superfine sugar
  • 1large egg
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾cup chopped pecans
  • 1cup M&M's or other sugar-coated candies like Reese's pieces

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)

279 calories; 16 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 130 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Monster Cookies Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and rolled oats. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine butter, light brown sugar and superfine sugar. Beat until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat again until smooth.

  2. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat until smooth. By hand, fold in chopped pecans and M&M's.

  3. Step

    3

    Roll quarter-cup measures of dough into balls and flatten them into fat disks (about ½ inch thick). Place on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet, about 6 at a time, so they have room to spread.

  4. Step

    4

    Bake until cookies are risen, dry on surface and very lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. They will be too soft to lift from baking sheet. Set aside to harden for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Ratings

4

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1,926

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Jake Wagman

These were awesome! I’m eight years old and I made them without any help.

NYC Chef Mama

the photo above does not honestly represent this recipe. the MnMs in the photo have been pressed into the cookie by hand after, or near the end of, baking. If you follow the recipe above, and fold the candies into the dough, as told to, the MnMs will be covered in dough and the colors will bleed into the dough as they bake.

Catherine

Actually, I just made these, as directed, using Reese's Pieces instead of M&Ms and they turned out exactly as pictured.

Jean Laughlin Miller

Made them smaller and used what I had on hand. I switched out regular sugar for superfine, walnuts for pecans and kosher salt for regular. I was a bit short for M&M's so topped the cup off with chocolate chips. Hands down, the best cookies I've ever made and I'm a sixty-seven year old who has been making cookies since I was eleven. Good job, Nigella!

Emi

I made these cookies and they turned out nicely. I used peanut M&Ms (sorted through to pick out fall/Halloween colors) and omitted the pecans. I did have to reduce the cooking time to around 12 minutes. Definitely important to flatten the cookies by hand, and make sure none of the M&Ms in your dough ball are directly touching the cookie sheet, otherwise they'll melt and the bottom of the cookie will fall apart. Overall, I'd make them again.

hcg

Worked beautifully. For the bold, add softened vanilla ice cream between two and freeze for a couple hours to get a top-tier chipwich.

Gmama

Made these pressing the M&M"s into tops of dough as recommended and also reduced cooking time to 12 minutes- they came out Great! Will use this cookie recipe again and again-

Jesse

I don't see the real need for superfine/caster sugar in here. It's not a souffle, we're not going for refined dessert here. Regular granulated works perfectly well!

Sara

A recipe made with shortening, rather than butter, is likely to be crispier.

Naz

This is similar to oatmeal cookies found on the Quaker can so I'm sure you can go without nuts.

MN-Andrea

I used generic M&M-type candies bought in bulk at my co-op, and I mixed them into the dough. Had no problem with the color seeping out into the cookies.

Bake them?

I love these cookies! I have substituted mint chocolate chips for the pecans - Rave reviews! I sometimes make them smaller as well and bake them for less time. a keeper!

Deb

Made this for Christmas with red and green m and m’s and about half the size (22 grams) and got 40 cookies. As sn afterthought, thought they would be really good with coconut also.

Kristina

Not a nut fan.how necessary are the pecans?

Kate

Make with heaping tablespoons. About seven/eight to a sheet.

Sarah

For regular-sized cookies, bake about 12 minutes. Makes about 40.

Anne Marie Peterson

My mom and I LOVE this recipe. We have made multiple batches, some with M & Ms and some with chocolate chips instead. The cookies are a fav with us!

Liz

They’re good. Not great. Followed recipe as written. Converted to grams so I could be accurate. A little too sweet- and yes I realize it’s a cookie so it should be sweet, but this was a bit too much for my taste. I prefer my monster cookies with peanut butter for sure. Will go back to my original monster cookie recipe.

IK

Made a double batch with smaller cookie for my son’s class party. Used ~1 tbsp less butter, halved white sugar (actually course turbinado sugar). Melted the butter in microwave, whisked in wet ingredients then folded in dry, no mixer needed. Because of all the nut allergies I used sunflower seeds (raw) instead of nuts, thank you for that tip! Used TJ brand plain “M&Ms” to avoid artificial food colors. Candies paled from baking but cookies taste amazing. Love the texture from oats &seeds!

Mary

Everyone loved these. I used peanuts in place of pecans because I had them!

H.B.

I used Reeses Pieces and made these into much smaller cookies. They were a hit with all my co-workers!

John

Followed the recipe exactly, they were perfect. Love the soft center and slight chewy crust, perfect combo in a cookie. can't wait to make these again, would make a great gift!

Sylvia

I followed recipe to a tee and the cookies are delicious. However, within two or three days they become dry and hard. The cure is to microwave 20 seconds which restores their chewy goodness.

Madison

Made with Reese's pieces and no stand mixer. Only needed 15 minutes in the oven

Katharine

These worked wonderfully gluten free. Reserve a few candies to place on top for prettier cookies.

Christine VB

Made with 3/4 cup of Reeses Pieces and 1/4 cup white chocolate chips that I wanted to use up. A stick of butter instead of 9 tablespoons. After reading the comments, I used half a cup of turbinado sugar instead of the other sugars. Made them a bit smaller than called for, coming out with 17 cookies. Yummy!

whitt911

I used Peanut Butter M&Ms - no nuts. Turned out amazing!

Annis

Baked with 3 different kinds of m&ms (regular, peanut & crispy) for 13 mins. I reduced the total sugar by a fifth and subbed allulose for half. Lovely, chewy cookies with great flavor!!

Danvillerose

Made these a few times, trying different tactics. Each batch was made without pecans, using regular not super fine sugar, and normal cookie-size, not “monster.” Used mini M&M’s.First batch - added the M&M’s on top before baking. M&M’s cracked. Cookies were bland.Second batch - added M&M’s to batter AND chocolate chips. M&M’s on tops before baking. Still cracked but much tastier.Third batch - added only choc chips to batter, no M&M’s; put M&M’s on tops AFTER baking. Bingo!

Nancy

Delish recipe - made them a tad smaller and baked them a bit longer because we like our cookies a bit caramelized. Really tasty!

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Monster Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my monster cookies falling apart? ›

Cookies can sometimes fall apart if you over measured your flour. Be careful not to pack the flour down into your measuring cup at all when measuring it. Oatmeal cookies can also tend to fall apart sometimes.

What's the deal with Cookie Monster's cookies? ›

According to The New York Times, they're baked by Lara MacLean, a "puppet wrangler" for the Jim Henson Company. But you probably wouldn't want to eat them. MacLean developed the recipe in the 2000s, and it includes pancake mix, Grape-Nuts, puffed rice, instant coffee, and water.

What is Monster cookie made of? ›

Monster Cookies are typically made with a peanut butter cookie base, and loaded up with oats, m&ms, and chocolate chips! Besides those mix-ins, you'll need a few other simple ingredients, which yield an incredibly delicious cookie! Butter – I love salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer.

What is in a Cookie Monster? ›

These cookie monster cookies combine chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, Oreos, and chocolate chip cookies all wrapped in a soft and gooey cookie dough! They can be made using regular dairy ingredients, or you can make them entirely dairy free using dairy free butter and vegan white chocolate.

Why aren t my monster cookies spreading? ›

Your cookies won't properly spread if your oven temperature is too high; the edges of your cookies will cook faster than the middle before they have a chance to spread properly.

What disability does Cookie Monster have? ›

Psychology Today attempted (tongue-in-cheek) to diagnose the Sesame Street characters with mental disorders. The Count has OCD (in the form of arithomania), and Cookie Monster has an eating disorder.

Who is Cookie Monster's girlfriend? ›

Cookie Monster, a character from the children's TV show Sesame Street, does not have a canonically established girlfriend in the show. Throughout the years, Cookie Monster has appeared in various skits and segments, but he has not been portrayed as having a romantic relationship with another character on the show.

Did Cookie Monster eat real cookies? ›

He is able to feed himself because his hands are simply gloves for the performer's hands, and he has a hole in his mouth that runs down the performer's sleeve. The cookies that are eaten by Cookie Monster are rice crackers that are made to look like cookies because the oils from actual cookies would damage the puppet.

What is in cowboy cookies? ›

As with most things in Texas, Bush's Cowboy Cookies are enormous and wholly stuffed with so many mix-ins: oats, coconut, pecans, and of course, chocolate chips. They're sure to win over any crowd.

What did Cookie Monster originally look like? ›

Cookie Monster did not start off as he did, in 1966 he was introduced as Wheel-Stealer and had sharp pointed teeth. In 1967, he changed again to have dark green fur but still had his sharp teeth. In 1969 his name was Arnold, he was purple, and had no teeth.

What's the deal with Cookie Monster cookies? ›

It turns out the cookies are real — sort of. They are baked at the home of Lara MacLean, who has been a “puppet wrangler” for the Jim Henson Company for almost three decades. MacLean started as an intern for Sesame Workshop in 1992 and has been working for the team ever since.

What is the flavor of Cookie Monster? ›

This sweet and fantastically blue flavor features sweet cream ice cream and is stuffed with a mix of chocolate sandwich cookie pieces, chocolate chip cookie pieces, and a cookie dough batter flavored swirls. Each scoop is creamy, crunchy, chewy, and perfectly satisfies those cookie cravings… until you want more!

Why are my monster cookies crumbly? ›

3. Why are my Monster Cookies falling apart? If Monster cookies are removed from the baking sheet too soon after coming out of the oven, they are prone to cracking and crumbling. Let the baked cookies stand for 3 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a rack to cool completely.

Why did my cookies crumble apart? ›

If you overmix the dough, the cookies will be dry and crumbly. The best way to fix this is to add more liquid to the dough. This can be done by adding milk, water, or even melted butter. You may also need to add more flour to the dough if it is too wet.

Why do my sugar cookies break? ›

Roll it too thin, and the dough will be really fragile and may easily tear or break. Roll it too thick, and you run the risk of the cookies not baking evenly or cooking all the way through. → Follow this tip: For super soft, tender sugar cookies, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thick.

Why are my cookies splitting? ›

The cracks in crinkle cookies or molasses cookies occur when the top of the cookie dries out before the interior has set. The means that as the cookie expands, it starts to crack the dry surface.

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