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NO FLOUR MONSTER COOKIE BARS RECIPE
These no flour monster cookie bars are one of my most popular recipes! And they also happen to be the most requested treat in my house.
Monster cookie bars are loaded with peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips and m&m’s. I love this recipe because you can also use whatever you have in your pantry. Peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, chopped Reese’s, or even dark chocolate chips.
The recipe does not call for flour at all but if you truly want a gluten-free dessert then be sure to use the gluten-free oats.
MY TIPS FOR THIS NO FLOUR DESSERT RECIPE
For best results use regular, full fat and oil peanut butter. The all natural peanut butter does not have enough “moisture” (oil and fat) for baked goods. Some people have reported good results with all natural peanut butter but I have never used it so I can’t say for sure.
I love the mixture of regular old-fashioned oats and quick oats. With that said, many have used all of one oat with great results.
You don’t have to use the miniature chocolate chips and m&m’s in this recipe. They are smaller in shape which I think works better in baked goods (especially bar recipes) but you can use regular sized with good results too.
Many people have commented about cutting the sugars in half with still amazing results. If that is something you want to do, I am sure it would be fine. We love it as is and have only ever made per the recipe.
When these bars are done baking they will still look slightly soft (not wet/raw dough) but slightly underdone and that is exactly what you want! As they cool on the cookie sheet they will firm up and set. I have never baked them past the minimum time indicated in the recipe. Watch carefully.
TRY THESE OTHER PEANUT BUTTER DESSERT RECIPES
- triple peanut butter monster cookies
- muddy buddy cookies
- oatmeal chocolate chip peanut butter bars
- peanut butter surprise cookies
- peanut butter butterfinger cookies
- (no bake) chocolate peanut butter cheesecake pie
- peanut butter bread
No Flour Monster Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (NOT all-natural)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups mini m&m's
- 1 cup miniature chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper, silpat liner, or spraying with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, or bowl of stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter. Mix until fluffy and pale in color. About 1-2 minutes.
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix together.
- Add in the oats and baking soda. Mix until combined.
- Add in the m&m's and chocolate chips (reserve some for top of bars if wanted). Stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula until combined.
- Dump dough onto the cookie sheet and spread out. This will take several minutes, but it can be done. It helps if you dollop spoonful's of dough all over the cookie sheet (rather than one pile in the middle) and then spread it out. Sprinkle the reserved m&m's and chocolate chips on top (if wanted). Press down slightly into dough.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes. The edges will be lightly browned and the middle will still look pale and underdone, but it will finish baking as it cools. Let cool for at least an hour so the bars can firm up and come together. You do not want to over-bake these!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!
There is only one kind of oats that is offered in the stores as certified gluten-free. Does this recipe only work with the two different types or can I use the one type?
Hey Lisa. I’ve had many readers tell me that they use all of one kind of oats and they turn out just fine. Quick oats have a finer, more ground up texture which really gives a nice chewiness to the bars. The regular oats provide a lot of texture. I just really love the combo of both, but you would be fine just using one kind of oats. I hope that helps. Oh, and so sorry my reply is late. I have had some issues with my site lately. Thanks for commenting 🙂
You can make quick oats or oat flour by blitzing regular rolled outs in a food processor, or I use our nutri-ninja. Depending on your preference, you can make them really fine, or have them a bit coarser. It’s a much cheaper alternative to buying to types, and you get the different textures while knowing it’s definitely gluten free!
Thanks for the tip!
I just started a new job at an Assisted Living home and one oof my duties is too make dessert for the next day’s supper. I am looking for recipes to use and this one sounds perfect. I am really excited to make these for our residents. Thank you for sharing! They look/sound delicious!
I can’t get the GF quick oats either. I think I’ll try using 2/3 regular gluten free oats and 1/3 gf oat flour.
I have had people who grind up some of the regular old-fashioned oats to make finer oats (like the quick oats). You could try that with the regular gluten-free oats. I would just put it in a blender or food processor/chopper and pulse them a few times until they are more ground up. Not powder! 🙂 Hopefully that works if you can’t find the quick oats that are gluten free.
I always use this exact recipe for monster cookies! They’re my family’s favourite. Pressing the dough into a cookie sheet would definitely save time, I’m excited to try it! We love a mixture of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips & Reese’s pieces! I’ve cut the sugar in half and sometimes substituted a cup of oatmeal for ground flaxseed, works great!
It’s the best recipe, huh?! I’ve used it for years too. I love your idea of all the peanut butter chips and reese’s pieces- I’m a peanut butter lover myself so I know your variation would be a hit at my house. The cookie sheet definitely makes it so much easier 🙂
If you make this batter (dough?) into cookies, how long do you bake them? I usually end up overbaking Monster Cookies if I don’t have a time to go by.
If you want baked monster cookies then give this recipe a try https://togetherasfamily.com/best-monster-cookies/
I still want to avoid flour though. Can I use this recipe and just bake them as cookies?
You could try it…. I do have this no flour monster cookie recipe that I know works as cookies https://togetherasfamily.com/no-flour-monster-cookies/
What size cookie sheet?
The standard size cookie sheet. Not the huge sheet pans that restaurants use. The standard size is around 12×18″.
Would I double the recipe for using one of the huge cookie sheets that restaurants use?
Possibly? Honestly, I’m not sure of the measurements of one of those huge restaurant cookie sheets so I can’t say for sure.
Yes, double for a full sheet pan.
Hi,
I’m in Australia,
Is the temperature for the oven Fahrenheit or Celsius?
I think 350 Celsius is bit high?
I am in the U.S so it is Fahrenheit. I didn’t even think to include Celsius…. So sorry. I can start adding that now. When I put it into the computer it said it’s equal to 176 Celsius. Hopefully that sounds better than the 350. I hope that helps.
Ever tried using Peanut Butter alternative like sunflower butter? We have some nut allergies…
I have never personally tried it but I have had several readers comment and tell me that they have used the other butters and it’s worked out just fine. I hope that helps!
I love sunflower butter…I cant wait to try this.
These r absolutely delish!! Found these on a Passover board and Only issue is they are not kosher for Passover bc of the oats and baking soda. Oh well. Great recipe for another time!
Thanks!! Oh darn, yea they probably would not work for Passover. But yes any other time 🙂 We love these bars!
What if you don’t have a sheet pan like shown in the video? My cookie sheets are not the same
The one in the video and that I use for this recipe is a cookie sheet that is 12″ x 18″. It is a fairly standard size that you can find in any store. Same size that you put cookies on to bake. The recipe was specifically designed for a cookie sheet so I don’t think you would have luck making it in something smaller or larger. Just make sure that the cookie sheet has sides on it like in the video. Hope that helps.
I use an 8×8 and make them extra thick … I use a glass pan and drop temp by 25 degrees, sprinkle salt flakes on top, and put tin foil on the top.
Have these ever been made with the gluten free rolled oats? I have a gluten intolerant person and I’m sure he would love these.
I’ve been told that gluten free oats work just fine in this recipe. I’ve never used them but from what I understand the gluten free oats are just like the regular oats (of course without the gluten part 🙂 ).
Oats alone are Gluten Free. It’s the mixture of other grains in with them as they grow, and the processing that renders them NOT gluten free. So only oats that say GF on them are ok for people with Celiac Disease.
Thank you! I did not know that, so I’m glad you commented because I always have readers asking about the gluten free aspect of these bars.
So festive and fun treat!
Seriously making these this weekend!
Hello. Do I cook this in a 13 X 9 pan or what?
Yes, you cook them in a cookie sheet with sides. It’s a standard cookie sheet, about 12″ x 18″. I hope that helps 🙂
Jelly roll pan would be a 12×18. I hope this helps clear up questions
I’ve adjusted this to make lactation cookies and they turn out great! I add in 1/2 cup (lightly heaped) of Brewers yeast and 1/2 cup of ground flax seed. I do not cut back on oatmeal at all for these 2 additions. I also used a combo of white chocolate chips and phone chips instead of mini choc chips, both about 3/4 cup. Awesome!
This is so great to hear. How neat that you were able to make lactation cookies from the recipe. I actually love the idea of adding ground flax seed. Thank you for coming back to leave your comment, I love hearing everyone’s variations on these cookie bars 🙂
This is what I do too!
I can’t believe you can make these amazing treats without flour – as someone trying to decrease gluten in their family’s life they are the perfect sweet solution. I made them last week for the first time for a road trip and am making them again this week for Memorial Day camping – thanks for the recipe!!
You’re welcome. That makes me happy to hear they were a hit. When I make these bars for Holidays I always try and use the festive m&m’s. I saw red, white, and blue m&m’s in the store and those would be perfect for Memorial Day! The recipe calls for mini m&m’s but the regular ones work just fine too. We just love the minis at my house 🙂
What is the calorie count for these?
Omgosh! I am Super excited to have come across this recipe & cannot wait to try it… so many endless possibilities. I want to try mixing in some rainbow sprinkles, mini choco. chips & toffee bits..whoah baby! I look forward to the many more fun recipies you’ll be sharing with us. Ive also just startd following you on Facebook 🙂 Yayyy.
Thank you Connie for the facebook follow! I always love having more people follow along. And yes, you’re right the additions are endless in these bars. I’ve even added in some candy bar chunks. I cut up some Reese’s and add those or some butterscotch chips are another favorite addition of ours. Enjoy these!
These are awesome! I leave out the M&M’s and add dark chocolate chips, walnuts, and dried fruit. Great for breakfast.
What great additions. I’ve never thought to add walnuts and dried fruit but it sounds amazing. Thank you for your comment and sharing your idea!
Will honey or maple syrup work as a substitute for the sugar? Anyone ever try that?
I have not done that and have not heard from readers if it’s been done. To me, it seems like using honey or maple syrup would make the dough too wet. But I am not for sure on that, it’s just a guess. You could always try it and maybe start with 1/2 cup and work from there.
Maybe date sugar or coconut sugar?
When I make these I use Coconut Palm Sugar, I don’t use any white sugar and they come out great.
Made these today for our Sunday family dinner dessert. My kids and grand-children come over for dinner every Sunday. My daughter has Celiac disease, so I am always looking for Gluten Free recipes to try. Yours looked pretty easy to make GF. I used GF instant oats because that is what I had. Otherwise followed the recipe. They were delicious. Everyone loved them. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad your daughter could eat this! And yes, they are easy to make gf with the gf oats. So glad you all enjoyed these 🙂
I use some of the mini Reese’s Pieces in with the mini m&m’s and chips.
Love this! My kids love those mini reese’s pieces.
Have you ever mixed these up and then frozen them to bake later?
I have not. I’ve only ever frozen them after baking.
I am allergic to any type of nuts… what can be used in place of the peanut butter?
I would suggest substituting it with whatever you normally do. I don’t know anything about but allergies and substitutions so I could not say for sure. I know some readers have mentioned using sun butter. You could give that a try ?.
Hi, A few questions,,,could you subsitute powdered peanut butter, and could you get away with making the reciepe without eggs? My husband has had a major weight loss over the last year, and while I get he wants to maintain, he’s also turned into a calorie nazi if you will- low calorie as possible, no sugar etc. Anyhow, these bars look yummy, we are both intrigued with them being no flour, he says sub truvia/stevia, no eggs and do the powdered peanut butter. I say the eggs are needed to hold stuff together. Look forward to hearing back! Thanks. 🙂 If any other readers have made these with my mentioned ingredients please share! Thanks! 🙂
Well, first that’s awesome he’s gone through such a change. Congrats to him. About the peanut butter powder, I am not too familiar with it but I think it would be too dry to add to these bars. The peanut butter kind of acts like butter in this recipe, so if you did not have that and instead had powder, I don’t think it would come together at all. That’s just my thought but you could always try it and cross your fingers it works 🙂 I know others have reduced the sugar amount by half and still had success with the recipe. As far as the sugar sub of truvia or stevia, I know that they can be used in place of the sugar. I believe the package should tell you what amount of sugar substitute to use for real sugar. As far as eggs, I’ve seen lots of recipes that use flax egg (?) I think that’s what it’s called. I know other bloggers use them in their recipes all the time. The one that comes to mind is here : http://beamingbaker.com/gluten-free-vegan-oat-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-v-gf-dairy-free/ She uses a mixture of flax + water as a substitute for eggs. You could try that. Hopefully that helps a bit. Also, if your husband is looking for healthier treats, the website I linked to above has all kinds of those types of recipes.
Thanks!
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Just wondering the shelf life of these?? Want to take them camping so I need to make them ahead of time-ish.
I always freeze at least half. They freeze perfectly. As far as shelf life, they’ve only ever lasted about 3-4 days around my house. I would say up to a week? There is no flour in them which helps make it so they don’t dry out. I would suggest just freezing them and then taking the bars with you camping straight from the freezer. That’s what I would do anyways ☺️ Hopefully that helps. Enjoy!
Just made these today. As others have said, these are so good. And even better, easy to make gluten free. Love that! Thanks so much for such a simple to make recipe! Yum Yum!
So glad you loved them! And yes super easy to make gluten free with the gluten free oats 🙂 Thank you for coming back to let me know!
I love to bake and share my results with my coworkers. Two of them have Celiac disease and I always felt bad that they couldn’t eat what I was bringing in. When I found this recipe and read the comments about using GF quick oats I knew I had to give them a try. I only made a half batch and used 2 1/4 c. GF oats. I baked them too long, so ended up cutting off the sides (learned my lesson there) – they were a huge hit! Even the other folks were eating them, along with the PB cookies I brought for everyone else. I’m making them again tonight! Thanks!
I love hearing things like this! SO happy I could help. And yes, these bars are tricky because they will look like they’re not done but once they cool and come together they will be perfect. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Made these for myself and my family. Best monster cookie bars ever!! Recipe if perfect just the way it is!! Adding peanuts to it could add some great crunch.
Peanut would be a great addition or even crunchy peanut butter. Yum! Glad to hear these were a hit.
I am so happy I found these. I bake alot, and will say these are our new favorite recipe! Very easy and would highly recommend trying them.
Thank you SO much! That makes me happy to hear they were a hit. I make lots of different food but these bars are something that we always go back to. Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Freezing and thawing instructions you’ve found that work best?
There are a few ways. You can eat them right out of the freezer. They’re really cold and kind of amazing. Or, take one out of the freezer and leave on the countertop for about 5 minutes or so until it’s softened. Or, the last way is to microwave a bar straight from the freezer for about 5-10 seconds. There really is no wrong or right way to do it. I’ve tried all of the ways mentioned above and love them all 🙂 Enjoy!
So easy to make and so yummy! That you for sharing this recipe!
You’re very welcome! We love this recipe too 🙂 Thanks for coming back to let me know.
I can’t have sugar but I was thinking of trying this and substituting the sugar for honey ( so far many recipes have done well with that) but I wasnt sure as to what I could sub the M&Ms and chocolate chips with …….maybe chopped unsweetened chocolate or nuts ?? Any suggestions?
Has anyone else had trouble with the mix overflowing the cookie sheet? I used the size recommended, but it was billowing over one side of my cookie sheet when I opened the over after 20 minutes, and the mix felt pretty gelatinous at that point. I followed the recipe exactly, not sure what happened.
Mine always get puffy and maybe slightly higher than the edges of the pan, but it has never overflowed. That’s odd, I am not sure what it is. I use a regular, plain cookie sheet with the rimmed sides.
Kim you need to use a jelly roll pan that is 12×18 with an 1 inch lip on it anything smaller you will have boil over the edge. I’m not sure where you live. I live in Canada and had to buy mine at Micheals, for us in Canada that is not really a standard size cookie sheet, ours are a little smaller. Pretty sure you can also get that larger size from Amazon. Good luck.
These look amazing! Just wondering about substituting coconut oil for the butter to make it dairy free (and coconut oil is so good for you!).
I have never tried that so you’d have to experiment with it. Sorry I can’t help more!
I have used coconut oil in place of butter in many desserts. Actually makes it moister and richer. I have not tried with these. My first pan is just out of the oven. Looks amazing!!!
This looks so delicious! Do you think you could bake these in those disposable pans so it makes it easier to bring to work? With the baking sheet, I don’t want to transfer it into a casserole pan or into Tupperware. Just curious your thoughts before I commit. Thanks!
The disposable sheet pans would work just fine. I love using that stuff especially if I am taking it somewhere.
I have made these multiple times but I like to underbake them a little. I bake for about 17 minutes.
Yes! These are so good when they are slightly under baked cause they will continue cooking slightly in the pan while cooling. So happy to hear this recipe is a hit.
These are so simple to make. They are absolutely delicious!! They are too delicious. Lol
I will only make these on special occasions. If not then I will gain about 50lbs making these all the time. Hahaha
This is our favorite cookie to make and I use the gluten free oats without any problem. My kids love this recipe and so do I. I have a batch in the oven now and can’t wait for them to be done baking. Thank you for this recipe!!
You’re welcome! Thank you for coming back to leave your comment 🙂
These are too good! Sometimes I’m mad I ever found the recipe because when I make them for my family we literally can’t stop eating them! They never make it 2 days! These are my favorite treat! Thank you for sharing!
Please forgive me 🙂 haha I get mad too because no one in my family can stop eating these either! So happy to hear these are a hit!
These are excellent! My kids and husband won’t leave them alone. Full disclosure; I had issues. Lots of them. I thought I only had 2 jars of regular oats so I put some in the food processor in place of the quick oats. (As mentioned in the reviews).Then, I realized I’d processed regular oats but the other jar was quick oats. I used the quick oats in place of the regular oats and these bars still came out great. I don’t have a regular baking sheet so I used foil to make a wall so the dough wouldn’t spread. What I’m saying is, this recipe appears to be foolproof. I used 1 cup regular sized M&Ms, one cup of regular sized chocolate chips and 1 cup of walnuts. I also used almond butter (like reviews) because I’ve got one who doesn’t eat peanut butter. It may sound like I didn’t follow the recipe at all, but I did. It sounded really flexible or I’d never have made these modifications. I really like being able to use up what I have. Especially living far from town. I don’t just run to the store out here. I think the add-Ins could be fun to switch up. I might do coconut, pretzel pieces and chocolate chips next time. This is a great bar. Definitely a keeper.
These bars are to die for!!! I baked mine for 14 minutes (my oven is finicky) and they were perfect. Beware…you will want to keep these bars out of sight, or you will gorge on them. They are much easier/quicker, and easily as tasty as, traditional Monster cookies. Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe!
Ok, not impressed, I have not yet tried this recipe, I hit the print button to print out the recipe to try at a later date and got 40 pages of garbage and the recipe split onto 2 pages
Hi Esther. It sounds like you may have clicked on the print button from the internet/computer screen itself. I just tried printing this recipe out from the ‘print it’ button on the recipe card and it was one page. So sorry you had trouble. Try using the other button and you should not have that problem. Let me know 🙂
I somehow lost my recipe and had to google it again!
Easy peasy, no mess way to spread it out is use a piece of wax paper on top and press it out with your hands or use a rolling pin, then remove and toss waxed paper.
My kids ask for these, and the neighbor boy shyly comes over and asks for “cookie monster” bars. LOL
I love it! Cookie monster bars, so cute 🙂 Glad you could get the recipe again! Thanks for your comment and review.
I make this wonderful recipe probably 3 times a month. The easiest way to make it is put all the batter on the cookie sheet and press it out using your butter wrapper. I use peanut butter M&M’s, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. We like the regular size pieces instead of the mini ones. I will make bar cookies any day over the time it takes to make regular cookies.
This recipe is so easy and delicious! You probably have all the ingredients at home. This is my second time making it. I used have the amounts of both sugar and half the butter, it turned out perfect. It is sooo yummy!! Thank you Jessica ✨
You’re welcome! Thank YOU for leaving your comment and making the recipes.
These are absolutely the best Monster Cookie bars!!! Every time I make these, people go crazy!?? Anyway, the only thing I changed is the baking time. In my oven they are done within 14-15 minutes. Would not change a thing. Thanks so much for sharing!
Ten stars!!! One of my favorite ever recipes, and I’ve only tried it twice! I finally tracked it down and plan to make them for years to come and pass down the recipe to my grand kids and great grand kids!
These look so yummy! For a dairy free option do you think they’d be good without the m&Ms and chocolate chips?
You could always try it. They would probably taste much different but it may be great if you’re looking to do this recipe without dairy.
Love the recipe!
My whole family loves these!! I like add extra peanut butter and chocolate chips.
Everyone loves this recipe. I have to eat gluten free and people can’t believe it’s gluten free. Can I make these and freeze them after baking, cooling and cut them?
Yes they freeze perfectly! Enjoy!
Make these time and time again with sugar free brown sugar, Monkfruit sugar and chocolate morsels for my guy who is diabetic….great recipe. Makes a lot of cookies so I’m not constantly baking. Can’t stand recipes that use a 9×9 or 8×8 pan! Thank you for this recipe!
My grandchildren LOVE these bar cookies! I have a grandson spending the night tonight and he wanted to bake these. We’re on it! Thank you!
One of my favorite receipes to make! So easy and delicious!
These were amazing I sent more than half home with our company or I would have ate to many. My husband loved them too. I used crunchy peanut butter. Worked great mine overflowed a little to – no biggy didn’t hurt anything. Delicious!!
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These are dangerously delicious! Thank you for such a yummy GF recipe.
What a great recipe! My family is GF and we love to find a great treat! I made it for a group and people really enjoyed them. (It was nice not to be using our $$ GF flour, too!) I was using up the last of the Halloween candy so I used a combo of chocolate chips, a few fun packs of M&Ms, and some chopped up Hershey bars! I did cut the white sugar in half and add 1/2 tsp kosher salt because I love a little more salty/sweet. I know we will make these over and over!
Thank you for your comment! I love the idea of using leftover candy and doing a salty/sweet flavor! So glad you liked it!
There are a few versions of this recipe floating around and for some reason this version NEVER works for me. I have no idea why but the center always ends up falling and stays liquidy. Not sure why this always happens but so disappointing 🙁
I’m so sorry to hear that. Is there something different about this recipe from the others? Maybe the cook time or temp needs to be adjusted based on your oven’s output/power?
Have made this twice and going on number 3 today. It’s been great for my GF friends and several have asked for the recipe. Perfect for large group gatherings as it does make a a LOT! Have made with and without m&ms, just adding more chocolate chips for without and it’s delicious either way! Considering trying Reese’s pieces or peanut butter chips too, but haven’t yet.
Love the idea of switching up the mix-ins! Thank you for your comment!