Whole-grain, gluten-free cookies that are still utterly delicious - sound too good to be true? Believe it! Of course, these still have plenty of butter, sugar, and peanut butter. But for any of you with wheat allergies these cookies are genuinely gluten-free and a bona fide addictive treat.
The traditional way to make these cookies is with big, fat chocolate candies like M&Ms, but we often substitute other mix-ins, like chocolate chunks, nuts, or dried berries.
The oats make these hearty and very satisfying, but there's no flour so the butter and peanut butter make these so soft and chewy that they are very hard to stop eating.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Monster Cookies
About 3 dozen cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened
1 1/2 cups creamy natural peanut butter, well-mixed
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
About 1 cup chocolate candies or other mix-ins
Preheat oven to 350F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in baking soda, then oatmeal and mix-ins.
Drop onto cookie sheets with an ice cream scoop and flatten slightly. Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes or until done. Do not overbake!
Remove from oven when slightly golden. Let cool on the sheets for a few minutes until they have firmed up enough to remove to wire racks.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Cookies have been a serious craving towards the end of this pregnancy (37 weeks and counting). These sound so good that I think I might be making them tonight!
view alisa k's profile
Monster cookies are a Christmas tradition in my family. This year I made a batch on my own for the first time. Yum! I think I might like the looks of this recipe better than the one I used-- can't wait to try it.
view J-fer Rose's profile
Oh. My. God. Back to the grocery store I go.
view Bruce's profile
Since this original post, I've made these cookies twice to rave reviews. I thought they were good but my friends and co-workers went nuts for them. A big crowd pleaser.
view jennyy's profile
just an fyi - oats are not considered gluten free. celiac disease means: no oats, wheat, barley and rye. some feel that oats are the first thing you can try to introduce back into your diet, but not recommended. so these are wheat free! which is nice for some people too!
these do look delicious, but i wouldn't serve them to my celiac-ridden lil sis!
view sizetoosmall's profile
sizetoosmall, people exclude oats from their gluten-free diets only because they are so easy to contaminate in the fields, not because of something inherent in the oats. Practically everyone with celiac can consume them if they are certified gluten-free - Bob's Red Mill is pretty readily available at this point, among the many brands. I think it's an important distinction to make.
view lyrabella's profile