Monster cookies

Chocolate chip cookie meets peanut butter, oats and M&Ms?! I am so excited to share this delicious cookie recipe that combines so many of my favorite things. This cookie is thick and gooey with a crisp exterior, and it has the perfect sweet and salty mix.

Because there are so many mix ins, I highly recommend using a stand or hand mixer for this recipe. It'll help to ensure you get the perfect distribution of semisweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and M&Ms throughout your dough.

With M&Ms, peanut butter chips and semisweet chocolate chips I was worried about these cookies being overly sweet. That was not the case at all though! The balance of salty and sweet in this cookie is so delicious. You get a double hit of peanut butter from the chips and the peanut butter in the dough, and then of course we have chocolate both from the chips and the M&M candy.

For ingredients, in addition to the standard flour, butter, and granulated and light brown sugars, we have some special add ins. Below are some of the special ingredients I used for my monster cookies:

• Semisweet chocolate chips: My favorite semisweet chocolate chips are made by Guittard. I used their classic sized chocolate chips for this recipe, but chopped chocolate would work great too.

• Old fashioned oats: Grab some oats for oatmeal or overnight oats (or maybe my brown butter and cinnamon oatmeal cookies!) and then use them for this recipe too. They add both texture and flavor to this cookie, and are the perfect add in.

• Peanut butter: I recommend using a natural peanut butter with just dry roasted peanuts and salt in the ingredients list. You won't want any added oil, though if all you have on hand is a peanut butter with added ingredients your cookies will still be delicious!

• M&Ms: A perfect low snack for my fellow diabetic typefoodies, these candies add a delicious crunch and chocolate to our monster cookies.

• Peanut butter chips: One of my favorite parts of this cookie are the melty peanut butter chips. I used Reese's brand, but any brand will do! If you can't find peanut butter chips you could swap in another type of chip of your choosing.

I don't always recommend mixing your dry ingredients together in a separate bowl before adding into your wet ingredients because I don't often find it necessary, but with this recipe I do recommend it. This will help to ensure that your oats get tossed first with your flour and other dry ingredients and will lead to a dough that comes together more evenly without a need for over mixing.

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature 113g

• 1/4 cup peanut butter* 65g

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar 96g

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 48g

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 150g

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 40g

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 oz (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate chips 86g

• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips 120g

• 1/3 cup M&Ms 70g

*The peanut butter should be a natural one with no added oils, dry roasted peanuts (and possibly salt) should be the only ingredient.

Total time: About one hour (plus chill time)

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Bake time: 9-12 minutes

Chill time: 6 hours (or overnight)

Servings: 14 cookies

Equipment:

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer)

• Spatula

• Medium bowl

• Cookie sheets

• Parchment paper

• Scooper (2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons)

Cooking instructions: Before you begin, ensure your butter is at room temperature. I also recommend taking your egg out of the fridge when gathering your ingredients so it can come to room temperature as well. If you store your peanut butter in the fridge, be sure to take that out ahead of time too so that it is soft.

Place your butter into your stand mixer with the paddle attachment secured. Let your mixer run for about a minute to soften your butter. Then, add in your peanut butter and continue mixing until your mixture is fully combined, smooth and lightened in color. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and paddle.

Add in both sugars, and turn your mixer back on for a minute or two. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and paddle again. Then, add in your egg and vanilla extract and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until your mixture is lightened in color, scraping down your bowl and paddle about halfway through, and being sure to reach down to the bottom of your bowl.

In a separate bowl, measure and mix your dry ingredients, flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add these dry ingredients into your stand mixer, and turn your mixer on at a low speed to start. Once your dough is about halfway formed, pause your mixer and scrape down to the bottom of the bowl with your spatula.

Measure out your semisweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and M&Ms. I like to chop or partially crush my M&Ms but that is baker's choice! Add all of your mix ins to your dough, and turn your mixer back on at a low to medium speed for about 30 seconds or until your dough has just formed and your mix ins are evenly dispersed. Note, you can save some of your mix ins to top your cookie scoops with later.

Cover your dough in your bowl by gently pressing plastic wrap onto the top layer of your dough, or transfer to an airtight container or into plastic wrap. Place your dough into the fridge and chill for 6 hours or overnight. Note: you can do a shorter chill (e.g. 1 hour) but just know your cookies may spread more than we want.

When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Onto a lined cookie sheet or two (I used parchment paper for my liner) use a cookie scoop or large spoon to portion out your dough. It should make about 14 scoops, 2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons per cookie. Use your palm to gently flatten each cookie scoop, and if you saved some mix ins you can press them into the top of our dough scoops now.

Bake your cookies for 9 to 12 minutes, allow them to cool slightly, and enjoy!

If you want to save some of your dough to bake another time, you can place some or all of your scooped cookie dough onto a baking sheet and into the freezer for 12-24 hours. Then, transfer your frozen dough to a plastic bag or airtight container and store in the freezer. To bake from frozen, set your oven to 325 and bake for 12-14 minutes. My preference is to enjoy these cookies fresh baked which is why I love freezing the unbaked dough, but you can also store your baked cookies once fully cooled in an airtight container for a few days. To refresh them, pop a cookie or two into the microwave for about 10 seconds.

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 14

Carbs per serving: 34

Carbs for full recipe: 474

Carbs from chocolate chips: 55

Carbs from peanut butter chips: 64

Carbs from M&Ms: 48

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.