Chocolate Monster Makes Mouths Happy

I used to think cookies with all sorts of “stuff” in them weren’t great, I have turned a corner somewhere along the line. These Monster Cookies? Are.amazing. Like for real, amazing. Maybe I haven’t had great cookies for a while or maybe they really are just ‘that’ good. We needed some fresh delicious cookies in our house – and these fit the bill! A bunch of M&Ms, some chocolate chips, peanut butter, oats, and oh so delicious! These aren’t a huge batch so they are easy to whip up and you don’t end up with a million cookies – but honestly if you did – that seems like a good thing. If you are weird, I guess you could add raisins, but I’m not. You could add nuts too but I think things just the way they are here… it works for me, I hope they work for you too.

Monster Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup peanut butter I prefer creamy but crunchy will also work
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup M&M's plus more for tops of cookies
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips plus more for tops of cookies
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper or silicon baking mat.
Place the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Add the egg, peanut butter and vanilla to the bowl and mix until combined.
Add the flour and baking soda to the bowl and mix until just combined. Stir in the oats.
Add the M&M's and chocolate chips to the bowl and gently fold them into the dough.
Make 2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet pan. You will need to bake the cookies in batches.
Press a few M&M's and chocolate chips onto the top of each cookie dough ball.
Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Repeat the process with the remaining cookie dough. Cool all cookies completely then serve.
Store any leftover cookies in a sealed container for up to 5 days, or you can freeze the cookies for up to 2 months.