Sweet, salty, and packed in with all of your favorite mix-ins, these fun Christmas monster cookies will be an instant hit this holiday season. This easy butter-rich holiday cookie will satisfy all of your cookie cravings.
Christmas monster cookies (aka everything but the kitchen sink cookies) are the perfect recipe for your holiday baking festivities. They are festive, fun, easy, and packed with all the salty, sweet flavors from pretzel bites, M&Ms, chocolate chunks, white chocolate chips, and oats. Each bite is met with a slightly crisp brown edge and a soft, gooey, and slightly chewy center. I mean what is there not to love?
There is nothing better than a Christmas monster cookie that you can totally customize yourself with your favorite mix-ins. If you loved this kitchen sink cookies recipe and want some more Christmas cookie inspiration, check out my five spice snickerdoodles, hojicha gingerbread cookies, and yuzu lemon crinkle cookies!
Table of Contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Best Christmas cookie. These Christmas monster cookies would make the most perfect Christmas cookies for Santa that are fun for the whole family to make.
- Entirely Customizable. Don’t like my mix-ins combo? Go ahead and personalize this kitchen sink cookies recipe with whatever mix-ins you want! I’ve listed some suggestions in the substitutions and additions section.
- Easy and Delicious. These holiday monster cookies are so easy to make and are packed with rich delicious dark brown sugar and vanilla flavor.
🍽 Kitchen Equipment
For this Christmas monster cookie recipe, you will need all the following kitchen equipment. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements.
- Kitchen Scale: a kitchen scale is absolutely NECESSARY if you want to have foolproof bakes. This will ensure you have the exact measurements for each ingredient. My little pink kitchen scale is both aesthetic and precise.
- Mixing Bowls: This is one of my main kitchen essentials for almost all of my recipes. They allow me to keep an organized kitchen. These durable glass nesting bowls are also really sturdy and dishwasher-safe!
- Stand mixer: You will need a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together.
- Rubber spatula: you will use a rubber spatula to fold the batter together to create an evenly mixed batter.
- Cookie Scoop: using a cookie scoop will ensure that you have evenly sized kitchen sink cookies.
- Parchment paper or Silicone mat: You can either line your baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat. A silpat is seriously the best invention for baking that ever existed. It is reusable, and sustainable and will 100% guarantee the holiday monster cookies will easily slip off the tray.
- Half-Sheet Baking Trays: I have been using my Nordicware Aluminum half-sheet baking trays for years and it has never let me down.
- Large cookie cutter: since this kitchen sink cookies recipe has so many mix-ins in them they will bake a little wonky. For perfectly round cookies, I recommend using a large cookie cutter and swirling the warm cookies on the baking tray to create perfect circles.
🛒 Ingredients
All of these ingredients for the best monster cookie recipe can be found at your local grocery store in the baking aisle!
Cookie Dough
- All-Purpose Flour: all-purpose flour creates a tender yet hearty crumb for everything but the kitchen sink cookies. Make sure to measure your flour with a scale! If you don't have a scale, make sure to fluff up the flour before spooning it into your measuring cup and lightly leveling it off with a knife. Do not pack the flour into the cup!
- Baking Soda: baking soda aids in the rise of the holiday monster cookies to let some air in so the final texture is not too dense.
- Baking Powder: since this kitchen sink cookies recipe has so many mix-ins, it needs a little help in the rising department. Baking powder aids the baking soda in the rise of the holiday monster cookies.
- Salt: a pinch of salt balances and enhances the other ingredients. All baked goods need salt. Salt pushes a baked good from good to great.
- Unsalted butter: the main reason behind using unsalted butter is so that you can control the amount of salt going into your cookies and ensure that they will brown evenly. Make sure to use room-temperature butter to easily cream your butter and sugar together.
- Dark brown sugar and granulated sugar: every solid cookie recipe is made with a mixture of brown sugar and white granulated sugar. This recipe uses 3x as much brown sugar as white sugar to have a richer molasse-y taste.
- Eggs: binds the cookie together and gives the cookie its soft, chewy yet not cakey texture.
- Vanilla Extract: vanilla extract is a MUST to add to the flavor profile of the cookie.
Mix-Ins
For the best monster cookie recipe, I’ve added the following mix-ins. If you want some more ideas, I’ve listed that in the substitutions and additions section below.
- Christmas M&Ms: it wouldn’t be Christmas monster cookies without Christmas M&Ms!
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks: I like using cut-up pieces of chocolate that melt into the dough to create a more gooey chocolatey texture.
- White Chocolate Chips: white chocolate chips add in more chocolate goodness
- Pretzel Pieces: for some extra crunch and salty flavor. You can either use traditional or pretzel sticks.
- Old Fashioned Oats: old fashioned oats add some texture to the everything but the kitchen sink cookie structure.
- Red and Green Jimmies Sprinkles: the red and green jimmies sprinkles gently melt into the cookie dough giving it a Christmassy funfetti effect.
✨ Substitutions and Additions
For the best everything but the kitchen sink cookies, why not load them up with your favorite mix-ins? I’ve added some suggestions below.
- Potato Chips: for more of a salty crunch, why not add in some crushed-up potato chips too!
- Chocolate Chips: instead of chopped chocolate chunks, you can use milk or dark chocolate chips instead.
- Peanut Butter: if you want a peanut butter + chocolate experience add ¼ cup of peanut butter. You will need to remove ¼ cup of butter to even out the moisture of the cookie. Or alternatively, you can use peanut butter chips instead.
- Chopped Nuts: you can add chopped peanuts, almonds, or walnuts for more texture.
- Butterscotch chips: for more rich flavor, you can add butterscotch chips as well.
- Oreos: for more crunch, chop up some Oreos into tiny little pieces and throw them into your cookie dough
📝 How to Make Christmas Monster Cookies
You can make this Christmas monster cookies recipe at home in a matter of minutes! I recommend reading the instructions and the tips section before you begin for the most foolproof bake.
- Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C). Place the rack in the center of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Cream the butter. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, add the room-temperature butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until light and airy.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Next, add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing for an additional 2 minutes. The color should be pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix to fully combine.
- Add dry ingredients. Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the egg mixture and mix until just combined.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Lastly, add the M&Ms, chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, oats, and sprinkles. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in until everything is combined.
- Scoop and chill. Scoop the dough using a small cookie scoop and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Add a few mix-ins on top and around the edges of the scooped cookie balls. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Bake. Bake at 350 F (176 C) for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly brown and puffed in the center. After 7-8 minutes, if you want to add more M&Ms for even distribution, you can do so here. If you want the cookies to be perfectly round, after you remove the cookies from the oven, swirl a large round cookie cutter around each warm cookie to shape them. Then let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
⭐️ Tips for the Best Christmas Monster Cookies
- Measure your flour with a scale! Adding too much flour to the best monster cookie dough will make it taste…like flour. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. The second best is to fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into a measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Cream your butter and sugar for at least 5 minutes. Make sure to cream the butter until it is very pale, light, and airy. This will ensure that the sugars will blend into the butter and prevent your cookies from tasting grainy.
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs. Use room temperature butter to easily cream and fluff the butter. Room-temperature eggs will be easier to blend into the holiday monster cookie and not shock the soft butter when incorporated.
- Use an oven thermometer! Not all ovens are created equally and you cannot entirely rely on the oven monitor to tell you the truth when it comes to the temperature. The best way to know the most accurate temperature is to place an oven thermometer in your oven and adjust your oven accordingly.
- Add a few extra mix-ins on top of the cookie dough balls halfway through the bake. This will give you the cookies as pictured. This is totally optional, only if you want a more full-looking cookie.
- Use a cookie cutter for round cookies. For perfectly round cookies, I recommend using a large cookie cutter and swirling the warm cookies on the baking tray to create perfect circles.
🥡 Storage Instructions
These holiday monster cookies can be stored for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the baked monster cookies for up to 3 months. To serve, simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Alternatively, you can store the kitchen sink cookie dough in the freezer for up to 3 months. Roll the balls out and chill them in the fridge or freezer until solid, then transfer to a sealable freezer bag and store them until ready to use. When you’re ready for Christmas monster cookies just thaw for about 10 minutes while the oven heats up and bakes! You’ll probably want to add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
💬 Frequently Asked Q’s & A’s
Of course! I would swap the number of mix-ins from the recipe with whatever you want to use instead. Some ideas for alternative mix-ins can be found in the substitutions and additions section above.
This monster cookie recipe uses a combination of oats, chocolate chunks, white chocolate chunks, M&Ms, and pretzels that are folded into regular vanilla and sugar-flavored cookie dough.
Monster cookies were created in 1971 by Dick Wesley, a University of Michigan photographer. He was the father of 6 kids and he threw together a bunch of ingredients together to use up the ingredients that he had.
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Christmas Monster Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 ½ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature, 12 tablespoons
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) vanilla extract
Mix-Ins
- ½ cup (120 g) red and green M&Ms
- ⅓ cup (52 g) semi-sweet chocolate chunks
- ⅓ cup (60 g) white chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup (18 g) pretzel pieces
- ⅓ cup (35 g) old fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoons red and green jimmies sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (176 C). Place the rack in the center of the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- Cream the butter. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment, add the room-temperature butter, granulated sugar, and dark brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium-high speed for 5 minutes or until light and airy.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Next, add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing for an additional 2 minutes. The color should be pale and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix to fully combine.
- Add dry ingredients. Pour the dry ingredient mixture into the egg mixture and mix until just combined.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Lastly, add the M&Ms, chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, oats, and sprinkles. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in until everything is combined.
- Scoop and chill. Scoop the dough using a small cookie scoop and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Add a few mix-ins on top and around the edges of the scooped cookie balls for the same resemblance of the cookies as pictured. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Bake. Bake at 350 F (176 C) for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly brown and puffed in the center. After 7-8 minutes, if you want to add more M&Ms for even distribution, you can do so here. If you want the cookies to be perfectly round, after you remove the cookies from the oven, swirl a large round cookie cutter around each warm cookie to shape them. Then let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Measure your flour with a scale! Adding too much flour to the best monster cookie dough will make it taste…like flour. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. The second best is to fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into a measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Cream your butter and sugar for at least 5 minutes. Make sure to cream the butter until it is very pale, light, and airy. This will ensure that the sugars will blend into the butter and prevent your cookies from tasting grainy.
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs. Use room temperature butter to easily cream and fluff the butter. Room-temperature eggs will be easier to blend into the holiday monster cookie and not shock the soft butter when incorporated.
- Use an oven thermometer! Not all ovens are created equally and you cannot entirely rely on the oven monitor to tell you the truth when it comes to the temperature. The best way to know the most accurate temperature is to place an oven thermometer in your oven and adjust your oven accordingly.
- Add a few extra mix-ins on top of the cookie dough balls halfway through the bake. This will give you the cookies as pictured. This is totally optional, only if you want a more loaded looking cookie.
- Use a cookie cutter for round cookies. For perfectly round cookies, I recommend using a large cookie cutter and swirling the warm cookies on the baking tray to create perfect circles.
- 🥡 Storage Instructions: These holiday monster cookies can be stored for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the baked monster cookies for up to 3 months. To serve, simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
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