It’s atrociously windy and cold Cold COLD outside here this weekend. Though, I think with the massive winter storm over the states, most of the country is in the same situation! Cold weather always means it’s time to do some baking. After a trip to a new local bakery this past weekend, I’ve had cookies on my mind. Those chocolate chip cookies there were some of the BEST cookies I’ve ever eaten. Seriously. The BEST.

That is… until I decided to try my hand at making these lightened up Monster Cookies. So what is a ‘monster cookie’ anyway. Welp. It’s basically a monster of a cookie that has a little bit of everything in it. Usually they are peanut butter based and loaded with oats, chocolate chips, and candy-coated chocolates.

I kept with the standard classic here with just a few substitutions to make them better-for-you. The first thing I did was to use some all-natural no artificial anything candy coated chocolates. Another thing I did was to use a SIMPLE clean peanut butter. Not one that’s junked up with any garbage that we don’t need. I also used a brown sugar/stevia blend in place of regular brown sugar. Why? Because I LOVE the brown sugar blend and can never tell the difference between it and the real deal. Plus, less sugar is always nice.

Even with all of the changes, these cookies turned out perfectly soft and chewy. That’s the peanut butter in there and the low cook time working together in there.

Even my daughter, who is completely AGAINST peanut butter and oatmeal right now, likes these cookies! She said they reminded her of a chocolate peanut butter cup, which I’m pretty okay with. I even sent her with a snack bag of these to her sweet teacher!

Step-by-Step Photos:

Nutritional Claims: Low Sodium • Low Potassium • Kidney Friendly • Vegetarian • Pescatarian • Tree Nut Free • Fish Free • Shellfish Free • Pork Free • Red Meat Free • Crustacean Free • Celery Free • Mustard Free • Sesame Free • Lupine Free • Mollusk Free • Alcohol Free • Kosher