Thursday Recipe - Monster Cookies

My youngest is allergic to wheat, dairy, and soy. Finding treats she can enjoy is a real challenge. Gluten-free snacks don't contain wheat, but many use dairy or soy to compensate. Besides, they're expensive. So when I found a cookie recipe that my daughter can eat, that everyone else enjoys, that doesn't cost a fortune, you can bet it became one of our family favorites. These cookies also contain protein and fiber, much like a granola bar, without the dry cardboard taste or weird bits of woody things and unidentifiable fibrous masses.

We've made these as small cookies, giant cookies, and bars. They freeze well. The recipe is easy to change around, too. If you don't like the butterscotch chips, substitute in a different flavor, just not mint. That's nasty. If you don't like coconut, replace it with oatmeal. If you don't have M&M's on hand, just add more chocolate chips. My friend can't eat chocolate, so we make these with butterscotch and white chips when she's around.

Be aware these are NOT gluten-free; oats do contain traces of gluten.

The name comes from the original recipe, which made a monstrously huge batch of cookies. Anything that takes 18 cups of oatmeal, 12 eggs, and 6 c. of peanut butter is a huge batch. I've reduced it to a manageable size. It still makes a lot of cookies, around 8 dozen regular size cookies, 3 dozen giant cookies, and 2 cookie sheets of bar cookies.

Monster Cookies

1/2 c. butter
2 c. peanut butter, creamy or chunky, your choice
1 1/3 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar (or just use 2 c. brown sugar and forget the white)
4 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 t. soda
6 c. oatmeal, regular or quick, doesn't really matter, just don't use steel-cut
1 1/3 c. coconut (or use 1 c. oats and leave it out)
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. butterscotch chips
2 c. M&M's

Heat oven 325° for bar cookies and giant cookies, 350° for regular size cookies. Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and soda. Beat smooth. Add oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, other chips, and M&M's. Stir just until mixed. Scoop onto greased cookie sheet. Bake regular cookies 9 - 11 minutes at 350°. For giant cookies, use ice cream scoop or about 1/4 c. dough. Bake 12 - 15 minutes at 325°. For bar cookies, spread dough on two greased cookie sheets. Bake 20 - 25 minutes at 325°. FOR ALL COOKIES - Let cool on sheet at least 10 minutes. Cookies won't look browned when you take them out, but if you cook them long enough to brown, they will be burnt.

To freeze - Let the cookies cool completely, then package 2 or 3 cookies per snack size ziploc. Chuck into the freezer. They never last more than a week at my house, so freezer burn isn't an issue. If it is at your house, then package the snack baggies into a larger plastic container or freezer bag.