I've been making these cookies for more than 30 years and they are my favorite. They meet all the criteria on my "premium cookie" checklist: sweet, chewy, textured, and contain something that crunches. As a bonus, they have no flour and with all the oats and peanut butter, I imagine them to be as healthy as a granola breakfast bar. They are sturdy enough to mail and they are seasonal as well, depending on the colors of M & M's that you choose: red and green for Christmas, white, pink and red for Valentines Day, autumnal colors for fall, and pastels for Easter. You can buy single color candies at Fresh Market; choose your kid's collegiate colors and send them a box of monster cookies in their team hues. Their friends will think you are the coolest Mom ever! This recipe makes 40 cookies, providing you don't eat too much of the dough as you bake.
Here is the cast of characters starring in the production.
Recipe for Monster Cookies
10 1/2 Tbsp. room temperature butter
2/3 c. white sugar
1 1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. white Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
4 large eggs
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 c. creamy peanut butter (that's one lb.)
6 c. rolled oats (I use 3 c. quick and 3 c. old fashioned)
12 oz. M & M candies
With an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugars, Karo and vanilla, mixing well. Beat in the eggs and baking soda. Add the peanut butter and beat well to create a smooth batter. With the mixer on low speed, blend in the rolled oats. Lastly, stir in the M & M's.
Preheat the oven to convection bake 320. (I only use convection bake; for regular bake, you will need to raise the temperature to 350). Spray two cookie sheets with baking spray. Drop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the cookie sheets. Gently spread the dough out slightly with your fingers and carefully arrange the M & M's so they are mostly visible and evenly spaced on each cookie. (Yes, that does seem a bit OCD, but we eat with our eyes first)! Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. I always rotate the sheets halfway through the baking time, swapping them from upper to lower oven racks. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes. Carefully remove to parchment paper to finish cooling. The cookies will appear slightly under baked, but will have a wonderful chewy texture when completely cooled.