5 Essential Ingredients for Monster Cookie Bars

Introduction to Monster Cookie Bars

Monster Cookie Bars— all the taste of a CLASSIC MONSTER COOKIE in bar form. Combine peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and classic chocolate chip! Thick and Chewy M&M Cookie Bars are divine, with their deliciously soft texture, and incredible flavor that only dessert baked-in dish-style recipes can have (one of many reasons I obsessed over this Brown Butter Blondies Recipe so much), all studded with the colors my boys love from little candies which make these bars memorable and fun for people around here. 

What makes it so good is that they can be customized based on what you have in the pantry and your dietary needs. But there are a handful of must-have ingredients that work best to keep everything properly salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. There are 5 crucial ingredients at the base of Monster Cookie Bars that we’ll delve into more deeply in this post so you always get these chewy, cookie-monster-colored results.

The Base Ingredients: Butter, Sugar, and Eggs

All great cookie recipes begin with butter, sugar, and eggs — they are the building blocks of good cookies, which is why these cookies bars in no exception. All of those combined create the base for these thick, fudgy bars.

• Butter: The fat content in butter is important to get the soft and chewy texture that you expect from Monster Cookie Bars. The butter provides a more luxurious, Creamier taste and marries everything together well. Unsalted butter at room temperature works best; it creams nicely into the sugar.
• Sugar: brown sugar and granulated as both are included in Monster Cookie Bars. Brown sugar ensures the bars remain chewy, providing moisture and a molasses-like flavor. The granulated sugar helps them to be a bit crispy on the sides, and offer sweetness.
• Eggs: Egg is a binding agent here that ties everything up. They help to make the bars moist and fudgy. Large eggs at room temperature (mix completely with the batter so your consistency is even throughout)

These elements act as the structure and backbone for delicious Monster Cookie Bars, providing an excellent canvas on top of which to layer all other flavors & textures. And some other extra features.

Check Out: Baking White Chocolate Monster Cookies: A Complete 8 Step Guide.

Adding Flavor with Peanut Butter and Vanilla Extract

Next up in these cookies bars are peanut butter and vanilla extract. Just that these ingredients not only add extra richness but also help further the overall comfort in biting into this sweet treat.

• Peanut Butter: Monster Cookie Bars would not be the same without peanut butter, that nutty flavor you love! It also makes them more chewy and creamy to contrast the crunch of the oats, M&Ms, and chocolate chips. If you prefer the taste combination, this can be creamy peanut butter or if you like a bit of crunch it may well be chunky. Homemade or natural peanut butter can also be substituted however it will change the texture a bit as its oil content is higher.
• Vanilla Extract: This may be a small add-in, but it makes all the difference and boosts over flavor of your Monster Cookie Bars to another level. It infuses a cozy, sweet scent that perfectly balances out the butteriness of its fat and emphasizes the roasted taste profile of the peanut itself.

It adds to the complexity of taste within every different bite I don’t add but a few flavors, it just aids inside the flavor surrounding these monster cookie bars.

The Secret Ingredient: Rolled Oats

But did you know that without rolled oats, Monster Cookie Bars would be lackluster at best? Rather the trying to hold them together with flour alone, traditional cookies heartily give way while these bars answer back like an old-school Texas prison punch.

• Rolled Oats: Old-fashioned rolled oats are what lend the perfect chewiness to Monster Cookie Bars. Its chew holds up well in the baking process, adding a nice texture and mild, nuttier taste. You could use instant oats but they will break down more when baked, leading to a softer texture. Steel-cut oats, on the other hand, are too tough to break down enough during baking.ReadToEnd

The rolled oats added much desired texture to the bars and aided in balancing out the sweetness which made them a bit more filling as opposed to too sweet.

Mixing in Colorful M&Ms and Chocolate Chips

And what Monster Cookie Bar would be fit without a healthy dose of both colorful M&Ms and chocolate chips? Not only does this make the bars pretty and sweet -these ingredients burst with color and flavor.

• M&Ms: M&M’s are the classic candy that makes Monster Cookie Bars festive and fun. It is the perfect sweet treat with a crunchy candy shell, soft cookie base, and deliciously chocolatey middle. Try mini M&Ms, regular M&Ms, or even peanut M&Ms for extra crunch and flavor. Get creative and use M&Ms that are colors for the holiday.
• Chocolate Chips: Hello, could there even be a Monster Cookie Bar without chocolate chips?? The pockets of melty, gooey chocolate you find smattered throughout these bars more than satisfy any sweet tooth and ramp up the luxuriousness. The add-ins not only make the Monster Cookie Bars look festive but also help develop flavor and texture in every bite.

Baking Instructions for Perfectly Chewy Bars

Now that we have the basic ingredients down, let’s get them into the baking. Then it will be a snap for you to make eternally chewy Monster Cookie Bars!

1. Preheat Your Oven: First, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). 9×13-inch baking pan, lined or greased (or both).
2. Cream Butter and Sugars: Combine (or mix via paddle attachment) room-temperature butter / brown sugar/ granulated sugar until light & thick. Note, add an electric mixer it will take 2-3 minutes usually.
3. Add Eggs and Peanut Butter: Mix each egg in gradually before adding the next one. 
4. Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Slowly add the oats and flour to combine. If you overmix, your bars will be tough.
5. Fold in Mix-Ins: Fold M&Ms and chocolate chips throughout the batter.
6. Spread Batter in Pan: To pour batter into the baking pan and level it with the spatula.
7. Cool and Cut: Cool bars completely in the pan before cutting them into squares. This is done so that they can be set better and it will help them easier to cut.

Well, after following these directions you will have perfect soft and chewy Monster Cookie Bars with the best sweet-to-chewiness texture.

Conclusion

Monster Cookie Bars are a favorite cookie that combines the best of traditional cookies to an awesome dessert. Made with butter, sugar, eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla extract these key ingredients create that chewy texture with great flavor while the rolled oats give them a crisp bite full of M&M’s and chocolate chips which adds to their look but also satisfies your sweet tooth. With or without mix-ins, Classic Monster Cookie Bars are sure to become one of your favorites in no time!

For More Info: Click Here.

FAQs