Pumpkin Spice Monster Cookies
Big, bakery-style Monster Cookies all dressed up for autumn. With cozy pumpkin pie spice and creamy white chocolate chips, these fun, kid-friendly cookies are a popular cozy-season treat.
Pumpkin Spice Monster Cookies
Monster cookies for the Halloween season just make sense. Monster cookies for the beginning of fall? I’m there. Give me pumpkin spice. Give me white chocolate chips. Give me these Pumpkin Spice Monster Cookies, which combine classic fall flavors – and colors – with the beloved peanut butter oat “monster” cookie. Seriously, my family loves Monster Cookies.
To keep this recipe easy and simple, I’ve created the dough to be mixed all in one bowl; it can be baked immediately, so there’s no chill time required. Pumpkin pie spice is used to flavor these cookies, which keeps the ingredient list simple. And just a few orange candies dot the tops of the cookies, so you’ll only need a few tablespoons of candies.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Festive fall flavor and color
- Delicious chewy texture
- Dough requires zero chill time
- Perfect excuse to bake with Halloween candy 😉
What You’ll Need
- Plant-based butter brings that classic butter flavor and texture to these cookies. Feel free to use regular butter in its place. I like to use Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks with Olive Oil.
- Light brown sugar adds sweetness and flavor. I like to scoop mine into the measuring cup using the cup itself and then level it off with a butter knife – I find this gives a consistent “loosely packed” brown sugar. Weighing the sugar works as well 😉
- White granulated sugar also adds sweetness and lends a hand to the cookie’s spread and texture. You can replace the white sugar with raw cane sugar, unrefined cane sugar, or coconut sugar (just note that the gram weights will vary).
- Natural peanut butter (the kind made with just peanuts) adds moisture and peanut butter flavor. You’ll want to make sure the PB is room temperature and runny before making these cookies. I haven’t tested this recipe with peanut butter spread.
- Egg & egg yolk add chewiness and stability to the cookies. Eggs bind ingredients, and the extra egg yolk adds to the chewy texture.
- Vanilla extract adds flavor – I don’t recommend skimping here!
- Corn starch also lends a hand to the chewy texture. You can use arrowroot starch in its place.
- Baking soda leavens the cookies.
- Salt enhances flavor and cuts sweetness.
Continued below…
What You’ll Need
- Pumpkin pie spice adds that autumnal spice flavor. I find that the official “pumpkin pie spice” works well here for convenience and ease. Of course you can add your own spice mix if you have these ground spices on hand: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves.
- All-purpose flour makes up the bulk of the dough. I like to use an unbleached variety, but any all-purpose flour will work.
- Quick oats are added for texture (they help make these like classic “monster cookies”). I like to use the smaller quick oats instead of rolled oats as I find the cookies hold their shape better with the smaller oat pieces.
- White chocolate chips add a festive color and flavor to these cookies. Of course any chocolate chip will work, so feel free to use your favorite.
- Candy pieces dot the tops of these cookies. For that fall/Halloween look, you’ll want to use orange candy pieces.
More Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Chai Spice Rice Krispie Treats
Pumpkin Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins
Pumpkin Muffins with Brown Sugar Icing
Yield: 11 Big Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Monster Cookies
Big, bakery-style Monster Cookies with a touch of pumpkin pie spice and white chocolate chips. The perfect cookies for the cozy fall season.
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Total Time
55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (58g) plant-based butter (or regular butter), softened
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup (100g) white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (128g) natural peanut butter (made with just peanuts), room temp (see Note 1)
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (add an additional tsp for extra spice)
- 3/4 cup (98g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (50g) quick oats
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (plus more to top cookies)
- 2-3 Tbsp chocolate candy pieces (to top cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bring the eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for ~10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugars for 30 seconds. Beat in the runny peanut butter. And then beat in the egg and egg yolk. Beat in the vanilla.
- Beat in the corn starch, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Add the flour and quick oats and use a large spoon or spatula to combine the ingredients. Finally, stir in the white chocolate chips.
- Scoop dough balls 3 Tbsp in size (6 per baking sheet). Roll dough balls smooth and place on prepared baking sheet. Slightly flatten each dough ball into a disc shape. Press extra chocolate chips and the orange candies into the tops of the dough "discs".
- Bake cookies at 350°F for 11-13 minutes. If desired, immediately press more toppings into the cookies and use the back of a spoon to gently re-shape any lop-sided cookies. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Repeat Steps 4 & 5 to finish baking the cookies, making sure the baking sheet is cool before placing dough balls on top.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature (Note: cookies will be chewier and softer on the second day).
Notes
- Butter: I used Country Crock Plant-Based Butter with Olive Oil in this recipe. Regular butter will work as well.
- Peanut Butter: it's important to use a runny, room temperature peanut butter made with just peanuts for this recipe. I haven't tested this recipe with peanut butter "spreads".
- Brown Sugar: to get loosely packed brown sugar, use the measuring cup to scoop brown sugar into the cup directly from the bag/container and then level off the cup with the flat edge of a butter knife.