Did your kids get a good haul this weekend? Maybe you overbought and find yourself with a bunch of leftover candy. Either way – score!!
In an effort to rein in my sweet treats, I’ve told myself that desserts must include a human-made element, so I’ve tried to abstain from dipping directly into my girls’ trick-or-treat bags. This means baked goods created by myself, friends, or small bakeries, ice cream from local shops like Purple Door and chocolates from Indulgence are okay, but anything straight from Hershey, PA is not. In theory, this negates Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups which sounds like a horrible way to live, so I found a loop hole – these Monster Cookies.
Leftover Halloween Candy Monster Cookies Recipe
I picked M&Ms and Peanut Butter Cups for my version of this oat-based cookie, but you could use whatever chocolate-y goodness you love (and/or are trying to use up). I even added in two small baggies of pretzels someone gave my girls at our trick-or-treating. Hunks of Snickers would be fabulous, as would the coconut pizazz of Almond Joys or bust out the Take 5 to get a bunch of stuff in there in one shot. Ultimately, you need two and a half cups of chopped up add-ins, however you want to divide it up. Regular chocolate chips do the trick, too.
Halloween Candy Monster Cookie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup oats
- 3/4 cup M&Ms
- 3/4 cup peanut butter cups, chopped
- 1 cup pretzels, chopped
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the peanut butter and mix well. Then add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Carefully add that salt, baking powder and baking soda. Then slowly add the oats and the flour. Set the mixer on low to combine only until just mixed together.
- Mix in M&Ms, peanut butter cups and pretzels. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheets with silpats.
- Scoop out 1" size cookies and bake for 11-13 minutes. Don't over bake, but do wait until they are just starting to brown on top.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on the pan. This won't take long. Store extras in your cookie jar.