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These flourless gluten free monster cookies are soft and chewy in the center, crisp around the edges, and packed with peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and M&Ms.
No gluten free flour blend needed at all, just a perfect mix of quick oats and ground oats that holds everything together. Plus, there’s no need to chill the dough—just mix, scoop, and bake!
what's in it
Recipe ingredients
Here's a quick overview of exactly what you need to make these cookies:
- Gluten free quick oats – For hearty texture. Pulse rolled oats briefly to make your own.
- Ground oats – Oats ground into a find powder helps add structure without a flour blend.
- Butter – Adds richness, tenderness and buttery flavor.
- Peanut butter – Use a smooth, no-stir variety (the kind that doesn't separate) for the best texture and structure.
- Egg + egg yolk – Bind the dough and add softness.
- Light brown sugar – For sweetness and chew.
- Chocolate chips – Melty chocolate in every bite.
- Mini M&Ms – For crunch, color, and more chocolate.
- Baking soda – Helps the cookies brown.
- Kosher salt – Enhances overall flavor.
How to make gluten free monster cookies
1. Preheat and prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, quick oats, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Combine the wet ingredients
In a large bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and brown sugar until smooth.
4. Make the dough
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms.
5. Scoop and shape
Scoop the dough into 2½ tablespoon mounds, spaced about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Use wet fingers to flatten each into a ½-inch thick disk.
6. Bake
Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the tops are crackled.
7. Cool and enjoy
Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 10 minutes to set before moving. They’ll firm up as they cool—and hold together beautifully.
Expert Tips
Use a mix of quick oats and oat flour
This combo gives the cookies chew and structure—no need for a gluten free flour blend.
Stick with no-stir peanut butter
Natural PB that separates is too oily and won’t mix evenly into the dough.
Don’t overmix
Overworking oat flour can make baked goods tough. Stir just until combined.
Weigh your ingredients
Oats and peanut butter can pack differently in a cup. For best results, use a kitchen scale.
Customize the mix-ins
Not a fan of M&Ms? Swap in more chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, or even dried fruit.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy-free
Use mini dairy-free chocolate chips in place of M&Ms, and swap the butter for block-style vegan butter (like Melt or Miyoko’s) or virgin coconut oil.
Egg-free
Replace the egg with a chia egg (1 tbsp ground white chia + 1 tbsp warm water, mixed and gelled). Use 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce for the extra yolk.
Peanut-free
No-stir almond butter (like Barney Butter) works well. For nut-free, try Wowbutter, made from toasted soy.
Oat-free
Substitute oat flour with quinoa flakes, and quick oats with buckwheat or rice flakes. More details are in how to substitute for oats.
Gluten-Free Monster Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) oat flour, (certified gluten free if necessary) (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) quick cooking oats, or rolled oats, processed slightly in a food processor or blender (certified gluten free if necessary) (See Recipe Notes)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (128 g) smooth, no-stir peanut butter, the kind that doesn't separate in the jar
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, beaten, at room temperature
- 1 (25 g) egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (218 g) packed light brown sugar
- 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 5 ounces miniature M&Ms chocolate candies, (gluten free in the U.S.)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, place the oat flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine. Set the bowl aside.
- In a large bowl, place the butter, peanut butter, egg and egg yolk, vanilla, and brown sugar, and mix well. Add the oat flour mixture to the large bowl, and mix until just combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and M&Ms candies and mix until the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the dough. The dough will be thick but should not be stiff.
- Using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons and scoop the dough into mounds about 2 1/2 tablespoons each onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart from one another.
- Using wet fingers, press each mound down into a disk about 1/2-inch thick.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, set in the center and the top of each cookie has taken on a crackled appearance.
- Allow the cookies to sit on the baking sheet for 10 minutes or until set. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
- These cookies also freeze amazingly well in a sealed freezer-safe container.
Video
Notes
Pulse certified gluten free rolled oats in a food processor. A few pulses makes quick oats; a longer blend turns them into oat flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
At room temperature: Store in a sealed glass container for up to 3 days. They'll keep their texture that way.
To freeze: Place in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at 50% power in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.
FAQs
Stick with smooth, no-stir peanut butter. Crunchy doesn’t blend well and can throw off the texture—if you want extra crunch, add chopped peanuts instead.
Your butter may have been too soft or slightly melted, which can cause the cookies to spread too much in the oven.
In the U.S., most plain M&Ms are gluten free, including mini M&Ms. If you're outside the U.S., check labels or substitute with mini chocolate chips or another mix-in.
Probably not in this recipe. Almond flour may make the dough too crumbly. Try my almond flour chocolate chip cookies instead—and swap in M&Ms there if you’d like.
Yes! Scoop and flatten the dough, freeze in a single layer, then store in a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1–2 extra minutes to the bake time.
I made this yesterday and both my picky eaters loved them. They were quite good and it was an easy recipe.
So glad, Kathleen! Thanks for sharing your good experience. Sympathy for having 2 picky eaters, btw. I’ve been there and it’s not easy!
Is it possible to use All Purpose GF flour in this recipe rather than oat flour?
No, Michele, you can’t. They are not at all interchangeable. If you’d prefer to make a gf oatmeal cookie, just use that recipe on the blog. I also have a recipe for gf peanut butter oatmeal cookies. It’s always best to make a recipe as written, but if you want a different recipe, just use the search function because I bet I already have it developed as you like!
I looked at the other gf peanut butter oat cookie options in the DoSiDo recipe you recommend Spectrum Natural butter and shortening. I usually see you recommend Melt as the butter alternative. Would Melt work in that recipe?
I have taken the Melt recommendation from you and now I use it as my regular butter sub for most everything. Even my husband who doesn’t have a problem with dairy has taken to using on a regular basis. I use your recipes often. I appreciate your attention to detail like measuring the ingredients on a scale. Also love the suggestions for substitutions and and letting us know when a sub just won’t work. I have a few other food allergies besides wheat so thank you.
Thanks for your response.
Hi, Barb, good question about the Do-Si-Dos. At the time that I created that recipe, there weren’t as many readily available vegan butters in block form. Mostly there was just Earth Balance, and I really don’t care for that as a butter sub in most cases. But I really like Melt and Miyoko’s Creamery as long as it’s the block form vegan butter, and I think it would probably work in that recipe—but as usual can’t promise 100% because I haven’t tried it. Thank you for the kind words and the trust you’ve placed in me. I will always try to earn it!
Bless you! No rice flour! Since my daughter is grown and out of the house, I will have to eat them all myself, while my husband moans that I need to stop baking. :-) Thank you.
Haha, stop baking? No no no, Alene. :)
I wonder if Rosalind doesn’t realize you can now buy GF oats. I’ve had Celiac for 31 years and was really nervous about trying GF oats when they became available because I am very sick for 30 days when I get glutened. But good news…….I can eat GF oats with no problems!! Do you think we could substitute another type of flour for the oat flour? I don’t have a good blender to make the oat flour. Thanks!
You could try the oat flour replacement I mention, Jackie, quinoa flakes.
These are fantastic!! Both of us are celiac and neither of us has a problem with certified gf oats.
Thanks so much for the tip on making your own oat flour.
My pleasure, Robyn! I see no need to buy oat flour. :)
How should you store these, and do they stay fresh/chewy for a couple days?
They’ll keep fresh for at least a few days in a sealed container at room temperature, Denise, but I always store extra cookies in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer since they’ll keep for a long time like that. Freezer burn is a result of trapping air in the container, so be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible.
Nicole these cookies are amazing ! Thank you for sharing your tips. Easy to make in no time at all and came out great the very first try.
My husband and grandaughter love them !!
So glad, Diane!
These will be PERFECT for my Celiac son and bake sale at work! Off to the kitchen I go! I appreciate you and your dedication to the cause.
Most celiacs can eat oats once disease is controlled. My dietician says it is healthiest for non sensitive celiacs to eat oats than not to eat oats as GF diets tend to be low fiber. Oatmeal can also lower lipid levels. As a physician who is also Celiac I trust my dietician completely as her goal is my good health,
Many M and Ms in Canada are GF although “special occasion “ones may not be. In Canada if it has a contains or may contain statement that doesn’t list wheat or gluten it is gluten free. To make this claim the food ingredients must be reliably traced back to its origins. Luckily Canada, Australia and New Zealand are very progressive with food labeling laws.
There are too many gluten and Celiac misconceptions out there so let’s not add to them.
Thank for your comment, Barb, and the information about M&Ms in Canada.
Would I be able to freeze the dough before cooking?
I haven’t tried that specifically, Stephanie, but I generally have great success freezing cookie dough. Just portion and shape it, then freeze it on a baking sheet. Pile it into a freezer safe bag and return to the freezer. Before you’re ready to bake, let the dough thaw to room temperature. If you bake it from frozen, it won’t spread enough.