I’m sure if you’ve read any of my posts in the last few months you’ve heard me going on and on about how I’m having a baby in a few weeks. What you may not know is that my sister has been expecting a baby too, and he’s finally here! He’s adorable, I’m so in love, and only wish I was better able to make time to spend with them during these precious first weeks. My sister’s first born is only 9 months younger than my daughter, and my son was born almost exactly a year after him. These new babies will be about a month apart, and I’m so excited to raise all these kids in such a close age range. They already have a lot of fun (and fights), I can’t wait to watch them as they grow.
In an effort to save myself some time and sanity (and just in case I went into labor early myself) I asked my sister a couple of months ago what she would like me to bring her family to eat once the baby was born with the plan to make what I could ahead of time and freeze it. She requested Slow Cooker BBQ Pork, cornbread, Fat Witch caramel brownies, and monster cookies. I was more than happy to oblige.
The pork worked out well because it freezes beautifully. I was able to make a double batch, eat some for dinner, and save some for both her and my family once the babies were here. Cornbread is easily whipped up in under an hour, so I knew that wouldn’t be a problem no matter how busy i was. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand smelling brownies straight from the oven that were destined for someone else, so I doubled that recipe as well. Baked goods have been going like hot cakes (wait, hot cakes are baked goods – oh well) around here with all of the hard work we’ve been putting into the house, visitors stopping by, and hungry children growing at an alarming rate, so I didn’t have to worry too much about eating the entire pan myself (although I was tempted to try).
The final piece of the culinary puzzle was monster cookies. This is a chewy and satisfying cookie made with peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and M&Ms. They’re meant to be made in monster size (think somewhere between the palm of your hand and the size of your face, respectively) but I find it much more satisfying to make them itty bitty (an inch or two when baked) and eating 3 or 4. Feel free to go whichever direction you find most satisfying. When made small, this recipe makes about 100 cookies which, yes, is a lot. That was great because I could bring my sister a whopping 50 frozen cookie dough balls and still have 50 to eat and freeze myself. Well, not myself but, yeah, myself.
Congratulations Casey on your newest addition!
Recipe
Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 5 ¼ cups old fashioned oats
- ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup M&Ms
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour and baking soda together. Add the oats and stir until the ingredients are evenly combined.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and pale in color. Add the sugars and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the corn syrup and vanilla and beat until just incorporated.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the peanut butter. Mix on low speed until just combined. Add the oat mixture in three additions, mixing on low speed until just incorporated.
- Use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for 5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Spoon dough onto prepared baking sheet. Scoop 1 tablespoon for small cookies or 2 tablespoons of dough for large cookies. Place cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-15 minutes until the cookies just begin to brown. Let cool on the pans for 8 to 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
olive says
Nice! Cookie baking is therapy, right? (not the mention the brain benefits of actually consuming the results)
Couple questions… Do you use regular PB or natural/unsweetened? How important is the corn syrup? (I know it’s not exactly a luxury item, but i have an irrational issue with the bottle sitting in my cabinet for 2 years after a recipe.:))
Lindsay says
I almost always use natural/unsweetened peanut butter. The only ingredients are peanuts and a bit of salt. Some people complain about separation, but I go through it so fast that I find if I stir it really well when first opening it and store it upside down, everything stays together just fine. The original recipe insists the corn syrup is integral to the texture of the cookie. I totally understand not wanting it sitting around after using a 1/4 teaspoon, and would say feel free to experiment with not using it. If you do, let me know how it turns out!
Carol says
Hi Lindsay… Is the recipe correct to need 1 TBSP baking soda?or is it 1 tsp? Also, it doesn’t list salt but the directions say add the baking soda and salt to the flour. Thank you and congratulations on your beautiful new baby boy!
Lindsay says
Yes, it is 1 Tablespoon of baking soda – there are a lot of cookies here! Thanks for pointing out my error on the salt, I will fix it in the recipe. I did not add salt since I used salted butter, but if you were using unsalted I would add just a dash of salt to the dry ingredients.