Every year, my elementary school hosted a campus-wide Halloween celebration at the end of October. Everyone, both students and teachers alike, showed up dressed in costumes ranging from cute like Cinderella to scary like zombies, and the principals and yard duty volunteers even came to school wearing costumes, too.
Partway through the day, every single class gathered on the playground to participate in the school-wide parade. We walked single file around the outskirts of campus, and many parents camped out along the sidewalks like paparazzi to snap pictures of their kids smiling and waving.
Each teacher also organized a small group of parent volunteers to throw a Halloween party in their classroom, which they set up during our lunch break while we ran around outside playing four-square and swinging across the monkey bars. The more elaborate parties included lots of black and orange balloons and crêpe paper streamers, along with life-size posters of witches and ghosts hung on the walls.
Of course, all of us kids looked forward to one particular thing the most… The food! The parents brought in piles of treats: candy corn, other typical trick-or-treating candy, thickly iced cookies showered with black and orange jimmies, mini cupcakes adorned with jack-o-lantern toppers, and pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies covered in sparkling orange sugar. I wanted to put seconds of everything on my Halloween-themed paper plate… I loved all of those sweet treats!
So when I first heard about “monster cookies” as an adult, I envisioned something similar to those festive cookies from my childhood Halloween parties: sugar cookies cut into the shape of Frankenstein with a thick layer of bright green sugar sprinkles. When I typed in a quick Google search, I learned that was completely wrong!
Classic monster cookies are actually peanut butter oatmeal cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chips mixed in. No cookie cutters required—and much more appealing to a chocoholic like me!
With Halloween quickly approaching, I thought it’d be fun to create an autumn-themed version, which resulted in these Healthy Pumpkin Monster Cookies! They have the same familiar chocolaty and peanut buttery flavors, just with a pumpkin twist, which makes them even more irresistible than the originals!
And according to my dad, who took a batch to work last week, everyone there agreed. The cookies disappeared in just a few minutes, and some people even stopped by for seconds!
Just like the rest of my clean-eating oatmeal cookie recipes, this one starts with whole wheat flour (or gluten-free!) and instant oats. Instant oats are smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats, and you can find them in canisters right next to those rolled oats at the grocery store.
It’s incredibly important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using either the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale. Oats act like little sponges and soak up moisture from your cookie dough, so adding too many will dry it out and turn your cookies cakey.
Remember my post from three days ago? I told you how much I love my kitchen scale—it’s my favorite kitchen appliance! This is the one that I own, and it has been the best $20 I’ve ever spent. It ensures all of my treats, including these, turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time!
For the pumpkin flavor, you’ll mix in pumpkin purée and lots of spices. Just regular ol’ pumpkin purée! Skip the pumpkin pie mix because that contains refined sugar, which we’re avoiding in this healthier recipe. Instead, you’ll sweeten the cookies with pure maple syrup! Pure maple syrup is typically sold in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs, and the only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup.” You can generally find it near the oats at the grocery store, and I’ve also bought it here for a slightly cheaper price.
Of course, these wouldn’t be monster cookies without the peanut butter or chocolate! I used my easy blender peanut butter and highly recommend that you do the same. Natural, drippy-style store-bought creamy peanut butters will also work, as long as the only ingredients on the label are “peanuts” and “salt.” Do not substitute crunchy peanut butter because your cookies would turn out cakey or dry.
And finally, my favorite part… The M&Ms and chocolate chips! I used mini M&Ms and mini chocolate chips because their smaller size ensures that every bite contains a morsel of chocolate. I highly recommend these mini chocolate chips because they taste super rich and melt really well!
These are definitely my favorite kinds of monsters! Along with Mike Wazowski… ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Pumpkin Monster Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tbsp (32g) homemade creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (122g) pumpkin purée, room temperature (not pumpkin pie mix)
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp (21g) miniature M&Ms
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated. Stir in the maple syrup. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Gently fold in 1 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips and 1 ½ tablespoons of M&Ms.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to about half of their original height using a spatula. Gently press the remaining chocolate chips and M&Ms into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 11-14 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or minute oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal. To make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and the following gluten-free flour blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will also work, if measured like this.
For a vegan version, use the coconut oil option and additional miniature chocolate chips in place of the miniature M&Ms. (Make sure the chocolate chips are dairy-free!)
For a clean eating version, substitute additional miniature chocolate chips in place of the miniature M&Ms.
Any natural, drippy-style creamy peanut butter may be substituted for the homemade creamy peanut butter. The only ingredients on the label should be “peanuts” and “salt.” Creamy peanut butters with additional ingredients are typically thicker, which will make the cookie dough too dry, and the cookies will turn out cakey or dry. Do not substitute crunchy peanut butter.
For more tips and answers to all other questions, including substitutions, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ page.
{gluten-free, vegan option, clean eating option, low fat, low calorie}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Classic Monster Cookies
♥ Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
♥ Pumpkin Cheesecake Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookies
♥ Skinny Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundaes
♥ Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Brownies
♥ Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
♥ …and the rest of Amy’s oatmeal cookie recipes & pumpkin recipes!
I am in charge of the “sweet treat” for my son’s Halloween party at school. I am trying to make something yummy but healthy too. And, as my son can’t have dairy, it has to be homemade. We love Monster cookies, and you have added a nice twist with the pumpkin! Our natural peanut butter is made from just peanuts…do I need to add some salt to the recipe to compensate for that? Thanks Amy!
I’m truly honored that you’d consider making my recipe for such a special occasion Heidi! You should be fine if you keep it the salt as ¼ teaspoon. That’s what my plain oatmeal cookie recipes without PB call for, and they turn out just fine! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you son and his classmates think of these cookies!