Monster Cookies from Baking with Blondie

Monster Cookies - made dough December 27, 2022 from Baking with Blondie

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs, cold

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup uncooked, old-fashioned oats

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup M&Ms

1. Preheat oven to 410 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar, beating on high speed for 3 minutes, until mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to keep mixture even texutred.
3. Beat in peanut butter, vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined.
4. Add in oats, flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Reserve 1/8 cup chocolate chips and M&Ms then fold in the rest of the chocolate chips and M&Ms.
6. Portion dough into 8 equal-size dough balls and form into tall round balls. Evenly space 4 dough balls on each sheet and flatten slightly to thick discs. Hand press reserved chocolate chips and M&Ms onto the tops of each disc.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

These were meant to be Giant Monster Cookies from Baking with Blondie's blog but I made all but the taste test cookie into smaller ones instead. Sometimes I like to make them all giant-sized for my care packages but for this particular one, I needed quantity so I portioned them into normal sizes. Easier to fit into the shipping boxes.

As with all the cookies from Baking with Blondie, the base recipe is similar (no need to mess with a good thing) and the flavoring (peanut butter) and add-ins are the main changes.

And just like all her other cookie recipes, this turned out well. There isn't a strong peanut butter flavor since it only contains a half cup so if you want to amp up the peanut flavor, add toasted chopped peanuts as one of the add-ins.

This is a soft, chewy texture, not crisp. Don't overbake it. You really only need to leave it in the oven at the 410-degree temperature for about 10 minutes (slightly less if you make them small) and then let them rest on the hot baking sheets for another 10 minutes to continue the bake.

These don't spread much so if you don't want a thick domed middle, press into thick discs for a more uniform bake.