Soft Pudding Monster Cookies

Soft Pudding Monster Cookies - made dough September 16, 2013 from For the Love of Dessert

I always love how great Monster Cookies look.  By their very nature and name, they need to be large, chubby cookies filled with various goodness like peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, M&Ms, even nuts if you're so inclined (I'm not).  They're not quite everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type of cookies but they generally have the above combination in order to qualify them as monster cookies.

Although I love how they look, especially these (look at the chubby!), monster cookies are not my favorite cookie in general.  Many people like them but to me, they have commitment issues. There aren't enough oats in them to make them oatmeal cookies or enough peanut butter to make them peanut butter cookies.  The addition of those ingredients disqualifies them from being straight-up chocolate chip cookies or M&M cookies.  They're a little bit of everything. I like them well enough but I make them more as crowd pleasers, or, in this case, bake sale contenders, rather than because I want to eat one.  I made a mini version of these for my taste test cookie and it was good: the edges were crisp and the middle was chewy.  The crunch and chocolate from the M&Ms is probably my favorite part.  If you like monster cookies, this is a good version to make.  Don't forget to make them monster size!  I made the dough balls just a little bigger than the size of golf balls and baked from frozen dough so they didn't spread much and stayed satisfyingly chubby.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 box (3.4 oz) vanilla pudding 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 stick of butter, softened 

1/2 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup mini M&Ms

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (if baking right away).
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and vanilla pudding; set aside. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, on medium speed cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Then add egg and vanilla. Scrape down sides. 
4. Reduce to low speed and add flour mixture. Combine until just incorporated. 
5. Add oats, M&Ms, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. The batter should be thick enough to work with and roll. 
6. Line cookie sheets with parchment or a baking mat and scoop golf-sized balls of dough. Roll into ball shape between palms and space cookies 2 inches apart. (You can freeze them at this point.) Bake for 10-12 minutes or longer depending on the size. Bake just until the middle no longer looks raw and the edges are golden. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.