All-Inclusive Monster Cookies

A favorite cookie of mine has recently become the “monster cookie,” and it’s pretty clear as to why: these cookies contain a bit of everything, and combine the best of peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies. I’ve also seen them called “kitchen sink” cookies, as in “everything but the…” When I made these cookies, I was received with two perspectives: one friend told me that she loved them, but they were quite heavy and eating one was more than enough for a sitting. Another friend reported back that he ate four of them after a hike, and that they were the perfect type of energy food. I agree with both; these cookies have a lot going on, ingredient-wise, and with peanut butter and oats, they make a very substantial snack. On reflection, the amount of sugar could be reduced, I’m sure, and the chocolate chips could possibly be omitted, if you wanted to make a hearty breakfast cookie. Of course, I would not leave the chocolate out, and even with their presence, I think that these cookies do pretty well as far as healthfulness goes. The consistency was the one thing that took me off guard (although I should have seen it coming, due to the lack of flour in the recipe): these are moist cookies and I needed to package them carefully so that they would travel well. Aside from that, these monster cookies turned out to be everything I could want in a cookie.

Monster Cookies

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups crunchy peanut butter
¼ cup applesauce
1 cup chocolate chips
¼ cup raisins
4 cups rolled oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. In a very large mixing bowl, cream the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer.
3. Add salt, baking soda, vanilla, peanut butter, and applesauce; blend together well.
4. Add chocolate chips, raisins, and oats. Stir until everything is combined.
5. Drop cookie dough by the tablespoonful on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool.