Deliciously Easy Peanut-Free Monster Cookies: Your Ultimate Nut-Free SunButter Recipe for Allergy-Friendly Fun
Imagine the perfect cookie – chewy, loaded with chocolate chips, colorful M&M’s, and wholesome oats, all wrapped up in a delightful, rich dough. Now, imagine it entirely free from peanuts and nuts, making it a safe and delicious treat for everyone, especially those with allergies. These easy-to-make and incredibly fun peanut-free monster cookies are precisely that! Crafted with creamy SunButter, a fantastic nut-free alternative, along with classic add-ins like chocolate chips, M&M’s, and hearty rolled oats, these cookies are a glorious hybrid. They brilliantly combine the best qualities of traditional chocolate chip, oatmeal, and classic monster cookies, but without any peanuts or tree nuts, ensuring everyone can enjoy a bite without worry. They’re not just allergy-friendly; they’re incredibly satisfying and sure to become a new family favorite!
A special thank you to SunButter® for generously sponsoring this Peanut Free Monster Cookie recipe! As always, all opinions, creative ideas, and love for these cookies are 100% my own.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ingredient notes
- How to make the peanut free monster cookies
- Tips & tricks
- Equipment required
- How to store the cookies
- FAQ
- Related recipes
Why You’ll Adore This Allergy-Friendly Monster Cookie Recipe
Peanut and Nut-Free: This is the star feature of these monster cookies! Traditional monster cookies often contain peanut butter, which is a major allergen for many. By substituting it with SunButter, we create a recipe that’s completely peanut and tree nut-free. This means these delightful treats are school-safe and perfect for parties, playdates, or any gathering where allergies are a concern, allowing everyone to indulge without a second thought. It’s about inclusivity and ensuring no one misses out on the fun of a truly classic cookie.
Effortless, Quick, and Straightforward: There’s nothing quite like a homemade cookie that doesn’t demand hours in the kitchen or require specialized equipment. This recipe is designed for simplicity. You won’t need a heavy-duty stand mixer; a hand mixer or even a sturdy whisk will do the trick. From start to finish, you can have these incredible cookies baked and ready to enjoy in under an hour, making them ideal for spontaneous baking urges or when you need a quick dessert.
Irresistibly Chewy and Deliciously Satisfying: When it comes to cookies, texture is paramount, and these monster cookies deliver a perfect chewiness that will have you reaching for another. The combination of rolled oats and just the right balance of fats and sugars ensures a soft, pliable interior with a slightly crisp edge. Each bite offers a delightful mouthfeel that makes these cookies incredibly satisfying and truly addictive – they definitely earn an A+ on the chewiness scale!
Bursting with Chocolate, M&M’s, and Oats: A monster cookie wouldn’t be complete without its signature medley of amazing add-ins! These cookies are generously packed with luscious chocolate chips that melt in your mouth, vibrant M&M’s that add a satisfying crunch and pop of color, and hearty rolled oats that contribute to their unique chewy texture and wholesome flavor. This rich combination creates a true hybrid cookie experience that promises to make everyone happy, offering a little something for every craving in one fantastic bite.
Key Ingredient Insights for Perfect Nut-Free Monster Cookies
Natural SunButter: This is the secret ingredient that transforms these into truly peanut-free monster cookies! SunButter is a fantastic, readily available nut-free alternative to traditional peanut butter. Made from roasted sunflower seeds, it boasts a similar creamy texture and rich flavor profile, making it an ideal swap. Beyond its allergy-friendly benefits, SunButter is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with a ton of essential vitamins, minerals, and protein, adding a healthy boost to your cookies. Remember to use “natural” SunButter, as it often has a smoother consistency when mixed and fewer added sugars.
Rolled Oats: Essential for that signature monster cookie chewiness and robust structure. Rolled oats, also known as old-fashioned oats, absorb moisture slowly, which helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much and gives them a satisfying, hearty texture. Avoid instant or quick oats, as they are processed differently and won’t provide the same structural integrity or chewiness to the final product.
Chocolate Chips: I opted for mini chocolate chips for a more even distribution of chocolate in every bite, but regular-sized semi-sweet chocolate chips work perfectly too. You can experiment with different types like milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even a mix to tailor the sweetness and intensity to your preference. Quality chocolate chips will melt beautifully and enhance the overall flavor.
M&M’s: Just like with the chocolate chips, I found mini M&M’s to be charming for these cookies, providing smaller bursts of color and sweetness. However, standard-sized M&M’s are a great alternative. For those with severe peanut allergies, it’s crucial to be mindful of cross-contamination. Some M&M’s products may be manufactured on shared equipment. For peace of mind, consider checking product labels carefully. You can also refer to articles like this one about facilities that produce peanut-free M&M substitutes. My Canadian friends can confidently substitute with Smarties (look for the peanut-free logo), as they are made in dedicated peanut-free facilities, offering a delicious and safe alternative.
Unsalted Butter: Melted butter is key to achieving the desired chewy texture and rich flavor in this monster cookie recipe. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the overall salt content in the cookies. Don’t worry if your butter is still hard from the fridge; melting it is part of the process, just ensure it’s slightly cooled before mixing with other ingredients to avoid cooking the eggs prematurely.
All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of our cookie. Proper measurement is crucial for the correct texture. We highly recommend weighing your flour for accuracy, as volumetric measurements can vary significantly.
Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These leavening agents work together to give the cookies their perfect rise and soft texture. Baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar, while baking powder provides additional lift, ensuring a light yet chewy result.
Salt: A pinch of salt enhances all the other flavors, balancing the sweetness of the sugars and chocolate and bringing out the richness of the SunButter.
Dark Brown Sugar & White Sugar: The combination of these two sugars is important. Dark brown sugar adds moisture, depth of flavor, and contributes significantly to the chewy texture. White granulated sugar provides crispness and helps the cookies spread slightly. The ratio creates a beautifully balanced cookie.
Large Eggs: Eggs act as a binder, adding structure, moisture, and richness to the dough. Ensure they are at room temperature for better emulsification with the other wet ingredients, leading to a smoother, more uniform dough.
Vanilla Extract: A splash of good quality vanilla extract is non-negotiable in nearly any cookie recipe. It boosts the overall flavor profile, adding warmth and complexity that complements the chocolate and SunButter perfectly.
Simple Steps to Bake Your Delicious Peanut-Free Monster Cookies
1. Prepare Wet Ingredients: Begin by combining both dark brown sugar and white granulated sugar with your melted (and slightly cooled) butter, well-mixed SunButter, large eggs, and vanilla extract in a spacious mixing bowl. Using either an electric hand mixer on medium speed or a sturdy whisk, beat these ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined and the mixture appears light and creamy. This typically takes about 1-2 minutes, ensuring everything is well emulsified.
2. Incorporate Dry Ingredients: In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. This step is crucial for ensuring that the leavening agents and flavorings are evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture. Once combined, gradually add this dry mixture into the large bowl containing your wet ingredients. Mix on low speed, or fold gently with a spatula, until the flour streaks have just disappeared. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough cookies.
3. Add the Fun Stuff (Chocolate & M&M’s): Now for the best part! Gently fold in your chosen chocolate chips and colorful M&M’s into the cookie dough using a spatula. Continue to fold until these delightful add-ins are evenly distributed throughout the dough, making sure every cookie will be packed with flavor and texture. Avoid aggressive mixing here to maintain the tender consistency of your dough.
4. Scoop and Bake to Perfection: Using a cookie scoop (approximately 2 tablespoons in size) or your hands, portion out the cookie dough onto a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Ensure you leave enough space between each cookie (about 2 inches) as they will spread during baking. For a slightly thicker, chewier cookie with less spread, I highly recommend chilling the scooped dough in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes before baking. Once ready, place the baking sheet into your preheated oven and bake according to the recipe instructions until the edges are golden brown and the centers are just set.
Expert Tips & Tricks for the Best Peanut-Free Monster Cookies
Thoroughly Mix the SunButter: When you first open a new jar of natural SunButter, it’s common for the natural oils to separate and settle on top. For the best consistency in your cookie dough, it’s absolutely vital to mix the SunButter thoroughly until it’s completely smooth and uniform before measuring. I find the easiest way to achieve this is by inserting one beater of an electric hand mixer directly into the jar and mixing on low speed, taking care to hold the jar tightly and scrape down the sides. Alternatively, a strong spoon and some elbow grease work too! This ensures the correct fat and moisture ratio in your dough.
Give the Cookie Dough a Quick Chill: While this recipe is designed to be baked immediately, a short chill period can significantly enhance the final cookie. I always prefer to chill my scooped-out cookie dough for about 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator. This brief chill solidifies the butter, which prevents the cookies from spreading too quickly in the oven, resulting in a delightfully chewier and slightly thicker cookie. It also allows the flavors to meld, creating a more complex taste profile.
Don’t Crowd the Baking Sheet: Monster cookies are known to spread a bit while baking, due to the fat content from the butter and SunButter. To ensure each cookie bakes evenly and retains its individual shape without merging into its neighbors, it’s crucial to leave ample space between each dough scoop on your baking sheet. I typically recommend baking no more than 6 cookies per standard baking sheet. This allows for proper air circulation around each cookie, promoting even browning and preventing a giant cookie-cake.
Weigh Your Ingredients for Precision: For consistently perfect cookies every single time, I cannot stress enough the importance of weighing your ingredients, especially the flour. Volumetric measuring (using cups) can be notoriously inaccurate, varying by as much as 50-100% depending on how tightly packed your flour is. A kitchen scale ensures you’re adding the exact amount of each ingredient, leading to reliable and delicious results. Here is an excellent resource that explains the critical importance of weighing ingredients in baking.
Avoid Overmixing Your Batter: Once you’ve added the dry ingredients to the wet, mix just until everything is combined and no dry streaks of flour remain. Overmixing the cookie batter will develop excess gluten, similar to what happens in bread dough. This overdevelopment of gluten will result in tougher, less tender cookies, taking away from that desirable chewy texture. As soon as all ingredients are properly incorporated, stop mixing immediately!
Don’t Overbake: For the ultimate chewy cookie, it’s better to slightly underbake than overbake. The cookies should look set around the edges and lightly golden, but the centers may still appear slightly soft and puffy. They will continue to cook and set as they cool on the baking sheet. Overbaking will lead to dry, crumbly cookies.
Press Extra M&M’s on Top: For an extra visual appeal and a delightful burst of color, immediately after taking the cookies out of the oven, gently press a few extra chocolate chips and M&M’s onto the tops of the warm cookies. This creates that iconic “bakery-style” look and makes them even more irresistible.
Room Temperature Eggs: Ensuring your eggs are at room temperature helps them incorporate more smoothly and evenly into the butter and sugar mixture, creating a more cohesive and emulsified dough. If you forget to take them out ahead of time, you can quickly warm them by placing them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 5-10 minutes.
Essential Equipment for Baking These Cookies
One of the beauties of this peanut-free monster cookie recipe is its simplicity, requiring no fancy kitchen gadgets. You won’t even need a bulky stand mixer! All you’ll really need are some basic kitchen tools that most home bakers already possess: a couple of large mixing bowls for wet and dry ingredients, a sturdy whisk for combining, a spatula for folding in your add-ins, and reliable baking sheets. However, I highly recommend investing in a good cookie scoop. It’s a game-changer for achieving uniformly sized cookies, which not only look professional but also bake much more evenly, ensuring consistent texture and doneness across the entire batch. Additionally, don’t forget parchment paper; it prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze!
How to Properly Store Your Delicious Monster Cookies
Proper storage is key to maintaining the freshness and delicious chewiness of these peanut-free monster cookies. Whether you’re planning to enjoy them over a few days or save them for a future craving, here’s how to keep them at their best:
Room Temperature Storage: Once completely cooled, these monster cookies are best stored at room temperature. Place them in an airtight container or a robust plastic freezer bag. Stored this way, they will retain their delightful chewy texture and fresh flavor for approximately 3 to 5 days. For optimal freshness, ensure the container is truly airtight to prevent them from drying out.
Freezer Storage for Dough: Planning ahead? The scooped-out, unbaked cookie dough is perfect for freezing! Arrange the dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze until solid (about 1-2 hours). Once frozen, transfer the solid dough balls to an airtight freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to bake, simply place the frozen dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and bake them directly from frozen, adding an extra 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
Freezer Storage for Baked Cookies: Baked cookies also freeze wonderfully. After they have completely cooled, arrange them in a single layer in an airtight freezer-safe container, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They will keep well in the freezer for 1-2 months. To enjoy, simply thaw them at room temperature for an hour or gently warm them in a microwave for a few seconds for that freshly baked feel.
Frequently Asked Questions About Peanut-Free Monster Cookies
Absolutely! You have two great options for freezing. You can freeze the baked cookies after they’ve completely cooled for 1-2 months, or you can freeze portioned, unbaked cookie dough for up to 1 month. Freezing the dough is fantastic for having fresh cookies on demand!
While chilling the cookie dough isn’t strictly necessary for this recipe to work, I highly recommend it if you have the time! A chill of 30-60 minutes will firm up the butter in the dough, which significantly helps in preventing excessive spreading. This results in a slightly thicker, chewier, and more flavorful cookie, which many, including myself, prefer!
The most common reason for cookies not spreading enough is using too much flour. Flour acts as a binding agent, and an excess can make your dough too stiff. Volumetric measuring (using cups) can easily lead to over-flouring, sometimes off by 50-100% depending on how it’s scooped. I strongly recommend weighing your ingredients, especially the flour, with a kitchen scale for consistent and perfect results every time.
This issue is most often caused by one of two factors: either you’ve overmixed the dough or you’ve added too much flour. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour too much, leading to a tough texture. Too much flour, as mentioned above, can also make the cookies dry and crumbly. Always mix just until combined and measure your flour accurately.
Yes, absolutely! This recipe is fantastic for making ahead. I recommend portioning the finished cookie dough onto a baking sheet, covering it tightly with plastic wrap, and then placing it into the fridge overnight. The cookies can be baked directly from cold dough, though they might take an extra minute or two in the oven, typically around 12-13 minutes, to reach perfection.
Yes, you can certainly substitute light brown sugar for dark brown sugar. While dark brown sugar offers a richer molasses flavor and contributes slightly more moisture, light brown sugar will still yield delicious cookies with a slightly milder, sweeter profile.
Not at all! While mini chocolate chips and M&M’s provide a fun, evenly distributed mix-in, regular-sized chocolate chips and M&M’s work just as wonderfully. Feel free to use what you have on hand or what you prefer for your cookies.
I do not recommend using instant oats for this recipe. Instant oats are more processed and finely cut, which means they absorb liquids much faster and don’t provide the same structural integrity or the desirable chewy texture that rolled oats contribute to these monster cookies. Stick to rolled oats for the best results!
Discover More Delicious Nut-Free Treats!
If you loved these peanut-free monster cookies, you’ll be thrilled to explore more allergy-friendly baking options featuring SunButter. Here are some other fantastic recipes that deliver on flavor without the nuts:
SunButter S’mores Cookies
Chocolate Dipped SunButter Cookies
SunButter Toffee Pretzel Cookies
Toffee Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Get the Recipe:
Peanut Free Monster Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2½ cups (300g) All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly (see above)
- 1/2 cup (40g) Rolled Oats
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup (114g) Unsalted Butter,, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup (120g) Natural SunButter,, well mixed
- 3/4 cup (165g) Dark Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup (150g) White Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 3/4 cup (200g) Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips, (mini or regular)
- 1/2 cup (120g) m&m’s, (mini or regular)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium to large sized bowl, add in flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk well to combine, then set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, SunButter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla, then beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
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Add in the flour mixture and mix on low until combined, scraping at the edges. Ensure it is well combined, but do not overmix. Add in the chocolate chips and m&m’s, then fold with a spatula until well dispersed.
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Using your hands or a scoop, scoop cookies to be about 2 tbsp each. Place all the cookies evenly onto the baking sheets (I do 6 per sheet). For a thicker, chewier cookie, place the cookies into the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
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Place into the oven and bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to fully cool.