Monster Cookies for two very special care packages

We all have special people in our lives and want to show them our love in special ways. If you’re reading this blog, you probably like to make food for those you love. For me, I wanted to show my two younger brothers just how much I care about them while they are away from home serving our country.

When deciding which cookie to bake for my military brothers, naturally I leaned toward the classic chocolate chip. But after some research, I found that Monster cookies are a better choice because: 1) they are sturdier for shipping and 2) you can easily swap out the chocolate chips for M&M’s, which don’t melt as much in the hot weather overseas.

Also, my brothers were little monsters when they were growing up (Oh, do I have stories) so it seemed fitting, but we don’t have to share that with them… okay? Okay.

Monster cookies—everything cookies or kitchen-sink cookies, as some of you may know them—remind me of childhood. I remember making them with my mom and always throwing in lots of extra M&M’s… in the batter, sure, but mostly in my mouth. 🙂

I hope the Monster cookies will remind my brothers of home and let them know how proud I am of their service and bravery. Plus it’s my one brother’s birthday soon, so I wanted to surprise him with a homemade treat.

What’s great about this cookie dough is you can mix-in whatever you like and create separate batches with different mix-ins. You could try nuts, various types of chocolate chips, or other candies. Be creative, but be sure to half the mix-ins or else it will be all treats and no cookie (yes, that is a bad thing in this case!).

I made two separate batches: one for the birthday boy overseas with a ½ cup regular M&M’s and ½ cup peanut M&M’s (no chocolate chips due to the warm climate) and another for the brother in the States with a ½ cup regular M&M’s and ½ cup chocolate chips.

I doubled the recipe making about 140 cookies or almost 11 baker’s dozen. That’s a LOT of cookies.

140 cookies = one large container plus several small baggies for each care package + PLENTY of leftovers to snack on for the week and freeze for future cravings, which I wasn’t complaining about…

Obviously!!! 😉