Monster Cookies

Monster Cookies were a staple of our family camping and road trips as I grew up. They combine my favorites: peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. Usually bigger than my open hand, I also love to package these indiviually and freeze them to take out for breakfast on the run. I'm sharing a long-held family secret in disclosing the recipe. Click on the image below to enlarge it to a readable size, or follow along with my step-by-step pictures as I made an altered cherry-cashew version this week.

The margarine, granulated sugar, and brown sugars are creamed together above.

Eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter are added to the mix. I added the baking soda to the wet ingredients and mixed it in well.

The dry oats, chocolate chips, and nuts are mixed together and standing by. Utilizing what I had on hand in my pantry, I substituted cashews for the nuts, and doubled the chocolate chips in place of m&ms, and added 1/2 cup of dried cherries as a treat.

The wet and dry ingredients are mixed together in a large tupperware bowl.

An ice cream scoop makes a great measuring device to keep the cookies evenly sized. A wide-bottomed milk glass dipped in sugar is a useful tool to smash each ball flat, to about a 1/4 inch height.

Baked at 350 degrees, left to cool for about ten minutes, then transferred to wax paper to set, the cookies didn't last long enough to photograph more than one!

What's your favorite kind of cookies to bake? Who do you make them for, or where do you take them? Please leave me a comment on the blog, with your own recipe!