Soft Peanut Butter Sugar Cookies with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting -- The Monster Cookies That Made Halloween Worth Staying Home For

Halloween week. The yard scavenger hunt was Saturday — I hid candy in the yard, thirty-two pieces, one for each year of Darla's life, though I did not tell the kids that, and the number was accidental except it was not, because nothing about Darla is accidental, nothing about the number thirty-two is accidental, and the candy hidden in the yard for children who are alive is the prayer for the child who is not.

The costumes: Josie was a witch (hat, cape, green face paint that will not fully wash off for three days). Tyler was a zombie (ripped clothes, fake blood, the commitment of a thirteen-year-old who takes horror seriously). Justin did not dress up, which is on-brand — Justin does not do costumes, Justin does himself, and himself is enough. Amber wore cat ears, which is the minimum viable costume for a sixteen-year-old who wants to participate without trying, and the minimum was perfectly executed.

Dave carved pumpkins with the kids. Four pumpkins, four designs. Josie's was elaborate — a haunted house with windows and a door, carved with the patience she usually does not have, which means Halloween brings out a version of Josie that I should bottle and deploy on school nights. Tyler's was a football. Justin's was a simple face — eyes, nose, mouth — clean and precise, the way Justin does everything. Amber's was a crescent moon with stars, which was beautiful and took twenty minutes, because Amber's talent-to-effort ratio is genuinely unfair.

I made monster cookies — peanut butter cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chips, oversized, the kind that break apart when you try to pick them up because the cookie is too big for its own structural integrity. The cookies were the trick-or-treat substitute, and the substitute was better than the original, because the original involves walking in the cold and ringing doorbells, and the substitute involves a warm kitchen and cookies and the specific joy of a ten-year-old in green face paint eating a cookie the size of her face.

These are the cookies — the ones I pulled out of the oven while Josie was still wearing her green face paint and Tyler was trying to scare Justin with his fake-blood hands. I’ve made monster cookies before, but this version, soft peanut butter dough with a generous swipe of chocolate frosting, felt right for a Halloween that was about warmth and staying in rather than going out. If you’re going to make a cookie that becomes the whole reason your kids don’t miss the cold and the doorbells, it should be this one.

Soft Peanut Butter Sugar Cookies with Fluffy Chocolate Frosting

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 32 min | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup M&Ms (plus more for topping)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Fluffy Chocolate Frosting:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2–3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and peanut butter. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and peanut butter together on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add sugars and egg. Beat in granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and combined. Add egg and vanilla extract; mix until incorporated.
4. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the peanut butter mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.
5. Fold in mix-ins. Gently fold in the M&Ms and chocolate chips, distributing evenly throughout the dough.
6. Scoop and bake. Scoop dough into generous 1 1/2-tablespoon rounds and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake 10–12 minutes, until edges are just set and centers look barely done. Do not overbake — they firm up as they cool.
7. Cool completely. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool fully before frosting.
8. Make the frosting. Beat softened butter on medium speed until creamy. Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Mix on low, then increase to medium-high. Add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until frosting is light and fluffy.
9. Frost and finish. Spread or pipe a generous layer of chocolate frosting onto each cooled cookie. Press a few extra M&Ms on top while the frosting is still soft.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 215 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 105mg