Let me just start with how fun and delicious these peanut butter pretzel monster cookies are! Quiet the mouthful of a title, I know, but trust me when I say they are full of flavor. Tons of creamy peanut butter, salty pretzels bits, chewy old fashioned oats for texture and Reese’s Pieces to finish them off! Yum!
How to make Monster Cookies
Monster cookies come together like most other standard cookie recipes. Beginning with combining the dry ingredients and creaming together the butter and sugars and remaining wet ingredients. Add the dry to the wet mixture and stir to evenly distribute all ingredients.
Next you’ll add in the extra good bits, the candy pieces and pretzels. The batter can be pretty thick so do your best to mix it as well as you can. Use those arm muscles if doing it by hand! Otherwise leave the arm workout to your stand mixer.
At this point I find it super efficient to measure out all the dough into the perfect sized rounds for baking. It’s much easier to do this all at one time vs measuring it out after each batch comes out of the oven. These cookies are a tad larger than standard cookies due to all the yummy add-ins, hence the name MONSTER cookies! At least that’s how I think of it!
When ready to bake place cookie dough rounds onto a lined baking sheet. Flatten down each cookie to about half its original height, so you end up with a flat topped disk shape. These cookies don’t spread too much during baking so flattening them helps achieve the right size and texture. Almost ready for the oven!
The finishing touches
Lastly, I like to add a few more candy pieces and pretzels to the top of each cookie so they stand out and you can see the additions more clearly. This is totally optional and completely for looks!
Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes. You are looking for the edges to be set but the center to still be very soft and puffy. Thirteen minutes has been the sweet spot for me but start with the lower amount of time since every oven cooks a bit differently. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes while the cookies continue to set up.
Add some holiday flair!
With Halloween coming up next week why not add some extra fun to your bakes! I looove myself a good eyeball sprinkle this time of year! Haha! I have too much fun adding them to all kinds of baked goods for Halloween but these monster cookies seem particularly fitting.
Simply add a few stand out sprinkles to the tops of cookies before baking OR immediately after removing from the oven. Some sprinkles can crack during baking so you may need to test out if adding them before or after baking is better. If adding after, really push the larger sprinkles into the soft dough to ensure good adherence.
Another option is to mix in a fun sprinkle blend into the dough. This could work for any season to make the cookies extra special. You can find these eyeball sprinkles and other festive Halloween sprinkles at your local craft store, grocery store or online. Have fun!
Peanut Butter Pretzel Monster Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 32–36 cookies 1x
Description
Thick and chewy peanut butter pretzel monster cookies. Chock full of creamy peanut butter, oats, salty pretzels and Reese’s Pieces candy!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup Reese’s Pieces candies (or peanut butter M&Ms)
- 1 cup mini pretzels, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients – flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until light and smooth. Add in the sugars and beat well until mixture is creamy, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl. Next, mix in the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until well combined.
- Stir in the Reese’s Pieces and pretzels, saving a few of each to place on top of cookies before baking (if desired). Batter will be thick and slightly tacky.
- Use a 2 tbsp size cookie scoop to measure dough and place on a lined cookie sheet, about 8 cookies per sheet. Use your fingers to flatten down each round to about half its original height. Place additional candies and pretzels on top of cookies if desired (this is just for looks!).
- Bake each sheet for 12-14 min, until the edges are set but the centers are still soft.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing from pan. Cookies will continue to set up as they cool.
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