It all started with a party panic. I had ten minutes before guests arrived and needed a dessert that felt fun, nostalgic, and required absolutely zero baking. I stared at the cream cheese and peanut butter in my fridge, and the classic flavors of a monster cookie—those oatmeal, peanut butter, M&M-studded wonders from my childhood—flashed in my mind. Five minutes of frantic mixing later, I took a taste. My kitchen smelled like a candy shop and a peanut butter factory had a party, and the rich, creamy, sweet-and-salty dip on my spoon was an absolute revelation. It was a hit that night, and it’s been my secret weapon for easy entertaining ever since.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You will love this recipe because it captures all the best parts of eating cookie dough—creamy, sweet, studded with chocolate and color—but in a perfectly safe, scoopable, shareable form. It comes together faster than you can preheat an oven, requires no special skills, and is guaranteed to be the centerpiece of any snack table. From my experience, it’s the dish that makes both kids and adults light up, and it has this magical ability to make people gather around the bowl, laughing and dipping, which is really the whole point of good food.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (one block) full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see note below!)
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup mini M&M’s (plus extra for garnish)
Let’s talk ingredients, because a few choices here make all the difference. First, you must use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick-cooking or instant. I made the swap once, and the quick oats absorbed too much moisture and turned the dip pasty and dense within an hour. The rolled oats give you that perfect monster cookie texture and chew. For the peanut butter, use a standard creamy, shelf-stable kind like Jif or Skippy. Natural peanut butter that separates can make the dip oily and won’t hold together as well. And trust me, that pinch of salt is not optional—it cuts the sweetness and makes the peanut butter flavor pop.(See the next page below to continue…)