These Amish Monster Cookies are lovely, chewy oatmeal and peanut butter cookies packed with chocolate chips and M&M candies. They are wonderful for the holidays or any day for a special after-school treat. I hope you love every luscious bite!
These cookies are so easy to make that your littles can help you and gain the sense of accomplishment and pride when they eat what they created. It is that feeling that spurred my love of cooking and baking from a very early age.
The Amish community of bakers have incredibly delicious and simple recipes that they share. They remind me of the foods my grandmother made for us and always bring back beautiful, sweet memories.
And there is a bonus for those of us who have to be on a gluten-free diet … these cookies have no flour in them! You do have to be careful to use gluten-free oats but otherwise all the ingredients are gluten-free!
If you want to make them for holidays, look for special M&M colors – red and green for Christmas, pink and red for Valentine’s Day, orange, black, and white for Halloween, or red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July or Memorial Day. You can order special color combinations on their website, MMs.com. There is something for every occasion!
If you bake cookies often, you should buy several sizes of cookie scoops with a sweep arm. I think I have four sizes now, from tiny to 1/4 cup so I can make cookies of any size quickly and easily. Once you find out how fast and easy it is to portion your dough, you will wonder why you waited so long to get them!
You can use the same cookie scoops to fill cupcake and muffin tins which is much cleaner and easier. You can use larger ones to form individual meatloaves or mac and cheese balls that are baked in muffin tins. There are a number of ways you can use them!
Because there is no flour in this cookie dough, it is fairly wet to work with, but because of the oats, it holds together well when using a cookie scoop. I would not want to have to roll this dough into balls by hand! If you don’t have one already, buy yourself a cookie scoop or two and you’ll be thrilled with how easy and fast it is to portion doughs!
While we’re talking about baking, now is the time of the year to refresh your spices and replace your older baking soda and baking powder. Get it done now before you are in the middle of your holiday baking! You don’t want to have to run to the store in the middle of baking because you ran out!
These Amish Monster Cookies are such fun to make and even more fun to eat! Your children will love to help you decorate them with extra M&Ms or googly eyes! Wilton makes edible eyes that are super fun and safe to consume.
I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends as the days grow shorter and cooler. These cookies are guaranteed to put a big smile on everyone’s faces!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Amish Monster Cookies:
- Brown sugar, sugar, butter, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, baking soda
- GF quick oats, chocolate chips, M&Ms candies
PRO Tip:
This recipe makes a lot of heavy dough which might not all fit in your mixer’s bowl. If your bowl is too small or your motor not strong enough, blend together the sugars, butter, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Add the baking soda, salt (if using), and half the oats, mixing until evenly distributed. If the remaining ingredients won’t fit in your bowl, remove half of this dough and place it in a second bowl. Add the remaining oats, the chocolate chips, and M&Ms to the dough left in the mixer’s bowl and beat just until incorporated and evenly distributed. Add the reserved dough and mix the two together by hand.
How to make Amish Monster Cookies:
- Line two baking sheet pans with parchment paper sheets or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Cream the sugars and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, mixing until creamy and smooth. Add the baking soda, salt, and half the oats. Mix until evenly blended. If your mixer’s bowl is big enough, add remaining oats, the chocolate chips and M&Ms. Mix until just combined.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 11 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cookies sit on the trays for a minute or two to firm up, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
PRO Tip:
Using parchment makes any baking pan nonstick as do silicone baking mats. The mats are thicker and slightly insulate the cookies from the bottom heat. It make take 30 seconds, a minute, or so longer if using the silicone mats to get the cookies fully baked. Watch the first batch carefully and then you’ll know exactly how long to bake subsequent batches!
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- Baking sheet pans
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Aluminum mixing bowls
- Cookie scoop
Gluten-Free Tips:
If you use gluten-free oats, these cookies are naturally gluten-free! There is no flour in this recipe! My favorite GF oats are from Bob’s Red Mill. They are the safest I’ve found to bake with.
You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Amish Monster Cookies (Gluten Free)
These lovely, chewy oatmeal and peanut butter cookies are packed with chocolate chips and M&M candies. They are wonderful for the holidays or any day for a special after-school treat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (213g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup (198g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick; 113g) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (304g) creamy or chunky peanut butter
- 3 large eggs (150g)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3-1/2 to 4 cups (312g to 356g) gluten-free quick oats, divided (if needed) or GF regular oats
- 3/4 cup (128g) chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup (177 ml) M&Ms, plus extra for decorating if desired
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheet pans with parchment or silicone baking mats and set aside.
2. Cream both sugars and the butter in a stand mixer or use a very large bowl and a hand mixer. Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, mixing until creamy and smooth. Add the baking soda, salt (if using), and half the oats. Mix until evenly incorporated.
3. If your mixer’s bowl is big enough, add the remaining oats, the chocolate chips, and M&Ms and mix on low until combined. If the dough is super wet, add another 1/2 cup (45g) of oats. See Note* below if your mixer isn’t big enough or strong enough to handle all the dough.
4. Use a cookie scoop with a sweep arm to portion the dough into balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Only put 6 to 8 medium dough balls on each tray because they spread a lot. (I baked 6 per baking sheet at a time so they wouldn’t merge with each other.)
5. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. If you are using a silicone baking mat (or Silpat), it may take an extra minute to get fully browned because the mat insulates the pan.
6. If you want to, you can lightly press googly eyes into the tops of the hot from the oven cookies for even more fun. Let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two to firm up then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
If you use gluten-free oats, these cookies are naturally gluten-free – there is no flour in this dough! My favorite GF oats are from Bob’s Red Mill. They are the safest I’ve found to bake with.
* This recipe makes a lot of heavy dough which might not all fit in your mixing bowl. If your bowl is too small or the motor isn’t strong enough, blend together the sugars, butter, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Add the baking soda, salt (if using), and half the oats, mixing until evenly distributed. If the remaining ingredients won’t fit in your bowl, remove half of this mixed dough and place it in a second bowl. Add the remaining oats, the chocolate chips, and M&Ms to the dough left in the mixer’s bowl and beat just until incorporated and evenly distributed. Add the reserved dough and mix the two together by hand. Form the dough into balls and bake as directed.
You will get the best results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
The recipe is adapted from the Amish Heritage Organization
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
60Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 31Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 70mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
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