Halloween Monster Cookies are scary delicious! These treats are made with chocolate cake mix, quick oats, and peanut butter, then loaded with M&Ms and chocolate chips.
Decorated with Halloween sprinkles and candy eyeballs, this is a festive recipe to make with the kiddos! Plus everyone will love their thick and chewy texture!
Ready to get into the Halloween spirit? This chocolatey, peanut buttery Monster Cookie recipe is as fun to make as it is to taste!
These are sort of like double monster cookies. They have the makings of traditional monster cookies, but the adds ins give them that fun Halloween monster vibe!
Try making this sweet treat with your family and get excited for the spookiest holiday. Even your littlest helpers will love shaping dough balls and decorating their own little “monsters”!
Why You Should Make These Cookies!
- They are insanely easy! The cake mix takes a lot of the extra measuring out of the equation making the prep time minimal!
- No chilling required! Unlike a lot of my cookie recipes, this dough can go straight from the mixing bowl to the oven!
- They are delicious! The texture is chewy and soft and they taste like baked no bake cookies!
So grab your ingredients, measuring cups, and aprons, it’s time to get baking!
Monster Cookie Ingredients:
- Chocolate cake mix – The secret to moist, chocolatey cookies!
- Brown sugar – For a flavor that’s deeper and richer than granulated sugar.
- Butter – Make sure it’s at room temperature (but not melted) so it’s blendable.
- Creamy peanut butter – Because what goes better with chocolate?
- Whole milk – You’ll only need a couple of tablespoons but it makes a big difference to the dough and final cookie texture.
- Eggs – A binding agent that keeps everything together.
- Vanilla extract – For flavor.
- Minute oats – These make the cookies nice and dense. Be SURE to use 1-minute quick oats.
- Halloween M&M’s – Regular is fine, but Halloween is better!
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – For more intense chocolatey flavor.
- Candy eyes – These really make the treats come alive.
- Halloween sprinkles – Fun and festive for all your Halloween recipes!
How To Make Halloween Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
Mix together the cake mix, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, milk, egg, and vanilla extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fully combined.
Stir in the oatmeal, M&Ms, and chocolate chips until just combined. The dough is going to be thick.
Portion out the cookie dough with a medium cookie scoop and place the balls at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Then, top the cookie dough balls with sprinkles and extra M&Ms.
Bake the cookies, after the baking time is complete, add the candy eyes immediately after removing from the oven.
Expert Tip: For best baking results, bake these cookies one batch at a time on the middle rack in the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can I use melted butter instead of softened butter?
No – melted butter will completely change the texture of your cookies!
Can I use old-fashioned oats or steel-cut oats?
No, only quick (1-minute) oats should be used in this recipe! This ensures they’ll cook quickly so you’re not left with cookies filled with hard, uncooked oats.
How long are these Halloween Monster Cookies good for?
Keep these in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Substitutions & Variations:
- Chocolate chips: You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white, or even peanut butter chips instead. Or, get crazy and add ¼ cup of two different kinds!
- Cake Mix: Feel free to swap out the chocolate cake mix for another flavor! I personally like chocolate, but you could use a yellow or vanilla cake mix for a more traditional monster cookie flavor.
- Reese’s Pieces: Feel free to swap the M&Ms for Reese’s Pieces for even more peanut butter flavor!
More Halloween Recipes:
- Spider Cookies – This twist on Peanut Butter Blossoms is made with a Lindt chocolate “spider”!
- Mummy Cupcakes – These are so cute and surprisingly easy to decorate.
- Goosebumps Punch – A sherbet punch garnished with gummy worms is as creepy as it is fun!
- Melted Witch Cupcakes – A creative treat for novice decorators!
- Halloween Jello Shots – This recipe is just for the grown-ups. 😉
- Halloween 7-Layer Bars – Kids will love helping make these over the top cookie bars!
Halloween Monster Cookies
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Halloween Monster Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups minute oats
- ½ cup Halloween M&M’s
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons Halloween sprinkles
- candy eyes
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the cake mix, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, milk, egg, and vanilla on medium speed until fully combined.
- Stir in the oats, M&Ms, and chocolate chips just until combined.
- Use a medium cookie scoop, drop balls of dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Add sprinkles to the tops of the cookie dough balls, gently pressing them into the dough.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately after coming out of the oven, gently press candy eyes into the cookies (don't add them before baking or they will melt).
- Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Keep these in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
- Substitutions & Variations:
- Chocolate chips: You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white, or even peanut butter chips instead. Or, get crazy and add ¼ cup of two different kinds!
- Cake Mix: Feel free to swap out the chocolate cake mix for another flavor! I personally like chocolate, but you could use a yellow or vanilla cake mix for a more traditional monster cookie flavor.
Nutrition
Adapted from Betty Crocker.
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