Your IT Guy Knows How to Make Monster Cookies and Bars
He’s been holding out on you. No, it’s not about monster (strip) bars, your IT guy knows how to bake! His secret is out – and from one big, bad batch, you can make a 10-pound pan of golden brown monster bars and at least two dozen Monster cookies easily mistaken for small pizzas jammed with M&M’s, oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.
For the sake of privacy, we’ll call him Rich. Ok, maybe it wasn’t his idea to cut the bars into strips and triangles, but Rich was the one who brought these to work in 2007. And I’ve only used his monster cookie recipe since.
I recommend you use a sturdy, wooden spoon toward the end of the mixing process in this recipe. If you try to whip these up with nothing but your electric mixer, it’ll start smoking like a hot summer night’s fire pit.
I like to make a pan of bars and roll the rest of the dough into big cookie balls and put them in the freezer to bake another day. (Use a cookie scoop so you are making similar sizes.) Line the balls of dough on a large cookie sheet(s) and put them in the freezer. Don’t let the cookies touch each other. Once they are frozen, you can put the cookie balls in plastic containers or plastic freezer bags. When you want fresh-baked Monster Cookies, grab how many ever you want from the freezer and thaw. Then bake as usual at 350° for approximately 12-16 minutes, depending on how large they are.
That’s it! Now you’ve got enough monster cookies, bars, and strips to share with your favorite IT guys. And gals.
And for Pete’s sake, don’t add raisins to your cookies like someone did at the farmer’s market.
Sweet wishes,
Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 sticks, softened
- 2½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 6 eggs, large
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 9 cups quick-cooking oats
- 2½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2¼ cups plain M&Ms candies
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream softened butter and peanut butter together.
- Add white sugar and brown sugar, beating until well combined. Add baking soda.
- Add eggs and beat well.
- Pour in the corn syrup and vanilla. Continue mixing until everything is incorporated.
- At this point, you should be able to add at least a few cups of the oats and still use your mixer. But once the dough gets too heavy, stop using the mixer and continue adding oats stirring the batter with a wooden spoon. Use your sexy arm muscles.
- Stir in the M&M's and chocolate chips.
- If you are making bars, spread half of the dough into a 13×9-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden brown. If you take the pan out before they turn golden brown, the middle will not be done.
- For cookies, baking time depends on how large you make them. Place on cookie sheet. Using the back of a spoon, gently push down the dough a little bit so that they spread out instead of baking in one mound. Bake at 350° for 12-16 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
- If you want to use all your cookie dough at once, you can make one 13×9 pan of bars (baking time takes about 20-25 minutes) and at least two dozen large cookies (baking time takes about 12-16 minutes).
- Or, you can make two 13×9 pans of bars.
- Or, if you only want cookies, you can make at least six dozen large cookies or even a few more dozen if you make them smaller.
Nutrition
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All text and images © Staci Mergenthal • Random Sweets
LOVE this recipe. I incorporate some Rice Crispies cereal in place of some of the oats, a 1:1 exchange. Makes them slightly less dense and gives them a crisp crunch while they’re still chewy and soft.
That’s a great idea, Lori. I love the texture of Rice Crispies in treats. Thanks for the tip! Staci
WOW!!!