Super soft and light baked peanut butter donuts, topped with a cloud of fluffy peanut butter-oat frosting and generously studded with mini chocolate chips and M&Ms!
One of my favorite homemade cookies has to be the Monster Cookie. With my unhealthy infatuation with peanut butter and embarrassingly uncontrollable candy addiction, the reason is pretty obvious. I mean, why have a plain chocolate chip cookie, when you can have a colossal cookie brimming with colorful candy M&Ms, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, and toasty chewy oats? It’s basically a chocolate chip cookie on steroids. Hence the name, “Monster Cookie.”
While I do love the Monster Cookie in all of its glorious Hulk-of-a-cookie goodness, I decided to transform it into something different.
And cuter…
Meet the Monster Cookie Mini Donut!
Aren’t they just adorbs??
Everyone knows that everything’s cuter when it’s miniature. Why do you think people are willing to spend $5 on a single cupcake instead of $10 on a cake that serves 15 people? It all has to do with size. Or lack thereof…
Of course, this miniature theory mostly applies to food. Not other “things”…
like body parts….
I was talking about foreheads, people!
Aside from their cuteness factor, these mini monsters are as mouthwateringly delicious as they look. They’re super light and fluffy, which might come to you as a surprise being that the base of the donut is actually a store-bought peanut butter cookie mix. Similar to my Cotton Candy Mini Donuts, these donuts start out with a dry cookie mix, making the preparation that much simpler.
To get that moist tender crumb factor, I added a good amount of Greek yogurt into the donut batter. At first, I was a little worried that I had added too much yogurt, but once I sank my teeth into one, I couldn’t have been more satisfied. It was like biting into a sweet cloud of peanut butter Heaven.
And because a donut can’t truly be classified as a donut without some kind of frosting or glaze slathered on top (those are bagels, people!), I made a super simple, yet oh-so-fluffy, peanut butter-oat frosting to go on top. While I was a little hesitant about adding oats to the frosting, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice texture and taste that they added to the frosting–very subtle, yet a great addition. It reminded me of those yummy peanut butter no-bakes people always make around the holidays.
To finish things off, I added a little sprinkle (more like heavy coating) of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and colorful M&Ms.
Although these don’t look like the healthiest treats on the planet, they’re baked–not fried, which means that you don’t have to feel too guilt-ridden after eating one of these.
So go ahead, have another…
and another…
and another…
If you’re still unsure of whether you should make these, here’s me on Afternoon Live showing you just how easy these little minis are to throw together!
Monster Cookie Mini Donuts
Ingredients
For the Donuts
- 1 ½ cups peanut butter cookie mix dry*
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tablespoons butter melted
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
For the Frosting
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 5 Tablespoons peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup whole oats
- 3-4 Tablespoons milk
- ½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup mini M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease a mini donut pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter cookie mix and baking soda. Add the egg, butter, and yogurt and stir until combined.
- Transfer batter to a large plastic zip-top bag. Cut the tip off of one of the bottom corners and fill each donut reservoir about halfway.
- Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes, or until donuts spring back when lightly touched. Allow donuts to cool in donut pan for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and peanut butter together until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.
- Add the powdered sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing between each addition. Add the oats and continue mixing just until combined. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until creamy.
- Frost each donut and top with mini chips and M&Ms. Donuts will stay fresh sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
1 comment
these look sinfully delectable! i too have an uncontrollable candy addiction and i don’t even know where to begin..maybe by wiping up the drool on my keyboard!? 🙂 so happy to have found your site and these mini donuts! pinning!