Healthier Monster Cookies for those peanut butter m&m cookie lovers! Lightened up flourless peanut butter cookies made with oats, chocolate chips and m&ms – gluten-free friendly.
Where my COOKIE MONSTERS AT?? I made you (healthier) monster cookies because I just couldn’t help myself.
When I had my siblings over for cookie decorating Christmas eve, I made those (amazing) little pretzel kiss m&m treats – you know the ones. They’re basically a must for the holidays. Well when I started the pretzel kiss assembly I realized I forgot to pick up m&ms. *DOH* So I asked my sister to bring me a bag of red and green m&ms on her way over. But what she brought me instead was a ginormous bag of regular m&ms. Which was fine because I made asked my little brother to pick out all of the red and green ones for the pretzel kiss treats 😀 But then that still left me with a big ole bag of m&ms. I mean there are only so many green and red m&ms per regular bag, ya know?
So anyways, I don’t like to leave candy sitting out because I WILL eat it – especially m&ms. I just can’t help but love those little coated bites of chocolate. So I stuck the bag in the pantry out of eyesight and told myself I’d make some cookies with them at a later date.
Well that date is now, my friends. And Healthier Monster Cookies won over “real” cookies for Mr. FMK. Although I honestly doubt Mr. FMK even noticed these were made a touch healthier.
Healthier Monster Cookies
But what does “healthier” mean in this case? We’re using less butter, less sugar and just oats as the binder (no all-purpose flour). Thankfully these are still loaded with flavor and satisfy the sweet tooth craving.
what you need
- peanut butter
- granulated sugar
- butter
- egg
- vanilla
- oats
- baking soda
- salt
- chocolate chips
- m&ms
The process
Overall this is a pretty standard cookie recipe.
You cream together the peanut butter, butter and sugar before adding in the egg and vanilla. Then all that’s left are dry ingredients – oats, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and m&ms.
Scoop into dough balls using a rounded tablespoon or medium cookie scoop.
Press flat slightly – the cookies don’t spread too much.
Then bake and eat!
Healthier Monster Cookies
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Prep Time: 10 minutes - Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
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Yield: 20 cookies
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Healthier Monster Cookies for those peanut butter m&m cookie lovers! Lightened up flourless peanut butter cookies made with oats, chocolate chips and m&ms – gluten-free friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup gluten-free quick oats*
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter**
- 1/4 cup butter***, softened
- 1/3 cup coconut or brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup m&ms (plus more for topping if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside
- In medium bowl combine oats, baking soda and salt.
- In large bowl of stand mixer or using electric hand mixer, beat together peanut butter and sugar for about 1 minute. Scrap down sides of bowl then beat in softened butter for another 30 seconds – 1 minute.
- Add in egg and beat slowly until combined; scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add in bowl of dry ingredients beating on low speed until combined; mixture will be thick, not too soft like “normal” cookie dough.
- Add in mini chocolate chips and m&s; use large wooden spoon or rubber spatula to gently fold in, being careful not to break m&ms.
- Using medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons) scoop dough and drop onto cookie sheet spacing evenly, shaping into even circle and flattening slightly with palm of hand (see pictures in post). Add more m&ms to tops of cookies if desired. These cookies won’t spread much, so you want to flatten them slightly.
- Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
- Enjoy with your favorite person!
Notes
*I tested these with both quick oats and rolled oats. While both worked okay, the quick oats held the cookies together slightly better. The pictures are shown with rolled oats but I would recommend quick oats for the best results. However if you only have rolled oats on hand, you can use those. OR pulse them *slightly* to break them up.
**I used a natural peanut butter with just peanuts and salt for the ingredients. If you choose to use a creamy peanuit butter (i.e. JIF) that should also work.
***I did NOT test these with coconut oil, but it will likely work – just make sure oil is softened and you may need to cream longer with peanut butter and sugar. Let me know if you try!
SOME OF THE PRODUCTS I USED IN TODAY’S RECIPE
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Pal says
THANK YOU FOR THIS.
Ashley says
😀 LOVE YOUUU
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life says
These look so delicious! I will eat anything that has m&ms in it, but I love the addition of peanut butter and oats. Fudgy, peanut buttery cookies for the win!
Ashley says
You just can’t beat m&ms!
Luann Gale says
Made these today for my 2 grandsons, very easy and good, used mini m&m’s they worked great 🙂
Ashley says
Aw yay! Thanks so much for sharing with me Luann 🙂
Patricia says
Assuming you could sub almond butter for the peanut butter?? I’m trying to stay away from legumes because of the lectin issues with legumes….also trying to be a good girl on Paleo) Anyone tried that yet?
Patricia says
Although…..the oats would be a no-no on Paleo anyway……but you need a treat now and then to keep you motivated, right?!!
Ashley says
Hi Patricia! Yes you can sub almond or cashew butter here and they’d still be great. And correct on the oats, but I agree with you 😉
Jazfit says
Hello Ashley! I’m loving my new approach to healthy wholesome cooking & baking & am feeling so inspired like wonderful people like you with such a easy amazing creations. I could spend hours going through your recipes
Btw I prefer to use organic coconut flour due to its lower carb content. Can you give me a tip as to how to substitute it in your recipes such as this one?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING WORK:-)
Ashley says
Hi there, you can likely sub the oats with coconut flour by using about 3 TBS but I haven’t tested that myself. Coconut flour is a difficult baking sub because it is so much more absorbent so it is not typically a 1:1 substitute with other grains or flours.
Thank you so much for your support!
Lynn says
I’m out of eggs 😞 do you think a chia egg would work?
Ashley says
Chia egg could work in a pinch. Flaxseed egg may work a little bit better. Cookies may not hold together as well but overall I think they’ll turn out okay.
Kate says
These are little morsels of heaven! My baby was being a bit of a monster today, so naturally I decided to make monster cookies while he napped 😉
I’m not sure they will have any impact on him (he’s to little to eat cookies), but they sure turned my day around.
Love, love, love all your recipes, this one is no exception.
Ashley says
Kate I am SO glad you enjoyed the cookies! This comment made my day! 😀
Cara says
Do we need to chill the dough?
Ashley says
No you do not 🙂 In any of my cookie recipes if you have to chill the dough I make sure to include that in the step. If the dough feels unusually sticky it could mean that the flour ratio is slightly off. If you have time, sometimes it can be a good idea to test a couple of cookies before baking a full sheet.