Boo Everyone!  Happy Halloween!  I hope that you all have some spooky fun and plenty of your favorite treats today!  I can’t honestly say what my favorite Halloween candy would be. It would definitely be chocolate.  There would probably be some sort of peanut butter or caramel involved. I am not a huge nougat fan so I could rule that out.  Hmmm. This requires some deliberation and most likely some taste tests.

Anywho…..I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago and am just now finding the time to polish it up and smooth it out for sharing.  It seems pretty appropriate for today since it is all about Monster Cookie Energy Balls. Get it…monsters…Halloween…chuckle, chuckle?  Well, enough hilarity. On to the recipe.

So, a couple of weeks ago I was sitting in the back seat of a campus car on my way to Chicago for a conference.  I figured that I might as well get some writing in while I was sitting there on my tush. And, I happened to have a container of Monster Cookie Energy Balls right next to me.  They were hidden in a bag so that I was not tempted to pop them in my mouth one after another. Who am I kidding? I was tempted. I could seriously eat an entire batch. You see, I love the monster cookie flavor and texture.  The combination of peanut butter and oats and chocolate in a chewy cookie is a seriously delicious force of nature. When I am trolling Pinterest and I see a recipe that has anything to do with monster cookies, I click. And, to be honest, I don’t make many of them, but I want them all just in case.  I used to limit my monster cookie fix to the once a year Christmas baking but then I decided that there is no reason not to enjoy this obsession the whole year through. One of the best decisions ever! A few years ago, I found this energy ball recipe and thought I would give it a try. To tell the truth, I was not convinced that so few ingredients could give me the monster cookie flavor that I love.  Well, I soon realized that my doubts were unfounded. These little suckers are so, so good. Monster Cookie Energy Balls are power-packed and flavor-packed. The peanut butter and honey combine in a soft and sweet base for the slightly chewy oats and little chunks of chocolate and candy-coated heaven.

There are only a few ingredients and you probably have most of them in your pantry right now.  I don’t always have the mini M&M’s and mini chocolate chips on hand which is probably a good thing.  I would be too tempted to make these more often and then eat them all. Seriously, if you make these you will love them.  If you share with others, be prepared to share the recipe too. I guarantee that you will be asked.

You will need peanut butter, old-fashioned oats, honey, vanilla extract, mini chocolate chips and mini M&M’s.  I use the mini baking M&M’s but you can also use the regular mini M&M’s.

You do not have to use a mixer for this, but I do just so that I know everything is mixed thoroughly – and I’m lazy sometimes.  This is a no-bake recipe, but you will need a baking sheet. I cover mine in parchment just to make sure that the balls don’t stick after chilling.

Combine the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla in your mixer bowl and mix until completely combined. Mix the oats in until everything is evenly distributed.

Mix in the chocolate chips and M&M’s.  You can do this with the mixer on low speed or by hand.  Once mixed thoroughly, use an ice cream or cookie scoop to measure out mounds that are about 2 or 3 tablespoons full.  Roll the mounds into balls with your hands and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill the energy balls for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  Enjoy these chilled or at room temperature.

These keep very well.  Since none of the ingredients are perishable you can pack them in lunch boxes or take them to a party or practice.  The peanut butter, honey, and oats provide great energy and the little bursts of chocolate are a special treat. Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Monster Cookie Energy Balls

These little suckers are so, so good.  Monster Cookie Energy Balls are power-packed and flavor-packed.  The peanut butter and honey combine in a soft and sweet base for the slightly chewy oats and little chunks of chocolate and candy-coated heaven.

Prep Time15 mins

Chilling Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Author: Wench Sherry

Ingredients

• 5 cups old-fashioned oats
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10 oz mini chocolate chips
• 10 oz mini M&M candies

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey and vanilla until evenly mixed. I use my mixer for this but it isn't necessary.
• Mix the oats in until everything is evenly distributed.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and M&M's. You can do this by hand or with the mixer on low speed.
• Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to measure out mounds that are about 2 or 3 tablespoons full.  Roll the mounds into balls with your hands and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Chill the energy balls for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  Enjoy these chilled or at room temperature.

Hi Everyone!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!  I hope that you are all surviving the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.  It seems to me that it gets worse every year. Right before Thanksgiving I have the feeling of confidence in my ability to get everything done but the days speed by and here it is, almost upon us and I am nowhere close to being ready.  Yikes! I think that I just try to do too much, honestly. But, I want everything to be perfect for my family and friends. I want for the decorations to be beautiful and magical. I want for the gifts to be thoughtful and perfect. I want to make delicious treats to share with everyone.  But mostly, by this time, I just want to take a nap. Don’t get me wrong, I am still pursuing all that perfection. I’m no quitter. I will be working my tushy off until the big event arrives.

I do have some very special help.  Both of my sons, Cody and Alex, are excellent and willing candy makers.  They each have their specialties and happily make batches each year to share with family and friends.  And, let me tell you, their treats are much requested. I don’t know how they do it but they consistently make complicated candies successfully.  Cody is so easy-going about it that it frustrates me. If I had that same carefree approach the candies would never turn out. The caramels would be rock hard and the fudge would be grainy.  Alex is more strict at following his recipes but still amazes me when his divinity turns out perfect – every stinking time. That is so not fair. But I appreciate their help in the holiday kitchen.  It takes some of the load from my weary shoulders.

There are some treats that we make as a family, year in and year out, never fail.  Christmas wouldn’t be the same without these sweet delicacies. Peanut Butter Bonbons is normally a collaborative project.  I will be posting about those very soon. But, the most anticipated baking project each December is Monster Cookies. We all absolutely love them and have such a good time mixing the dough.  We all gather around the kitchen island and take turns adding ingredients and mixing the dough. Cody and Alex do most of the hard work of mixing and stirring (by hand toward the end of the process) the massive amount of dough.  Of course, we make sure to have our traditional Fay’s Twelve Days of Christmas dvd playing all the while. It cracks us up every year, even though we have seen it sooooo many times.

I have been making this recipe for about 30 or so years I would guess.  I remember that the first time that I made these by myself was my first year of marriage.  The recipe was in a community cookbook. I did not doubt the list of ingredients – big mistake.  There was a misprint in the book and it said 8 teaspoons of salt rather than 1. Holy Cow! Salty cookies.  So many salty cookies. I still use that same book each year but have made the correction. It is always a reminder to me to use my own judgement in cooking and baking.  Do not blindly follow.

As I said, this recipe makes a huge amount of dough and then a huge amount of cookies from that dough.  The original recipe said to make the cookies very large but I do a moderately large cookie. I find that if I make the cookies huge, people are unwilling to partake because it might be too much.  I’m not one of those people who is frightened by a huge cookie but I respect the wishes of those that are. The ingredient list is not long but the quantities of those ingredients might intimidate you.  It takes a dozen eggs, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, peanut butter, quick-cooking oats, vanilla, corn syrup, salt, M&M’s and chocolate chips. You need to use a very large bowl or dishpan for this project.  I have a deep plastic dishpan that is only used for making these cookies. You will need a hand mixer as well. I have one that we got for a wedding shower gift 31 years ago and it is still chugging along. I normally use my stand mixer these days, but this recipe requires something more mobile.  You will also need a very sturdy, large and long-handled spoon for the last portion of the mixing. The mixer may not be able to handle the whole process. When mine starts to bog down and gets hot we shut it off and my strong sons take over the mixing with the spoon. I have made sure that each of them now owns their own big spoon.  You just never know when you are going to need one.

Once the mixing is complete, plan on baking for several hours.  This makes about 20 dozen cookies depending on how large you make them.  I do place my pan of dough in the frig between dipping out batches. I have never baked part of the cookies and then chilled the remaining dough for later but I suspect that it would be fine to do so.

These cookies are a wonderfully satisfying treat.  They are chewy with just a slight crunch at the edges but soft and gooey in the middle.  The irresistable combination of chocolate, peanut butter and oats is out of this world good.

The ingredients are a dozen eggs, 2 pounds of brown sugar, 4 cups of white sugar, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla, 1 Tablespoon of white corn syrup, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 pound of butter, 3 pounds of peanut butter, 42 oz. quick oats, 1 pound of chocolate chips and 2 bags of M&M’s (at least a pound).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.