Monster Cookie Bars
Monster Cookie Bars are so easy to make, and full of delicious flavor. Such a fun treat to bake with the kiddos!
Servings: 24 bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour see note 1
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
- 1 cup M&Ms
- 1 cup quick cooking or old fashioned
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until fully combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, until light and fluffy. About three minutes. Then proceed to beat in the peanut butter until fully combined.
- Beat the eggs into the butter/sugar/peanut butter mixture, one at a time. Finally, beat in the vanilla.
- Add in the flour mixture all at once (see note 2) mixing it in on a very low speed until you have no risk of flying flour and then up the speed just a little and mix in until the flour has just disappeared.
- Finally, stir in the chocolate chips, M&Ms, and oats.
- Dish the batter into the baking pan. It will be very sticky. Spray a spatula with cooking spray and use that to spread out the dough.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes or until the edges of the bars are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 24 equal squares.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. See notes in the post about freezing.
Notes
- To measure the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup and level off the top, rather than scooping it right from the flour container.
- Most cookie recipes suggest that you mix in the flour a little at a time so that the flour does not fly everywhere and it suggest that you not over-mix. I recently read that you should add it all at once, mixing in slowly at first so it doesn't go everywhere, and then just mixing until the flour disappears. This lowers the risk of over stimulating the gluten which can lead to a dense cookie.