These soft and chewy Trail Mix Cookies are packed full of goodies including chocolate, candy-coated chocolate, oats, almonds and peanuts. The cookie dough is made with peanut butter and sweetened with brown sugar and bit of honey. They're great for snacking any time of day, and I love to take them on long car rides or pack them on a hike. They keep their soft texture for days and don't dry out. You can customize this recipe based on your favorite trail mix, so feel free to swap in dried fruit or flaked coconut for any of the other mix-ins. If you like these, then be sure to try my Breakfast Cookies and Monster Cookies as well!
WHAT ARE TRAIL MIX COOKIES?
Trail mix cookies are hearty soft-baked cookies loaded with nutrient dense inclusions like the ones you'd typically find in trail mix. The cookie dough has less butter than typical recipes and includes peanut butter instead. It's an oatmeal cookie dough that can include any of the following: chocolate, nuts, dried fruit, coconut and/or seeds. They're similar to a kitchen sink cookie, except they're more fun with the colorful candies!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
- Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies - these soft-baked cookies have the most delightful chewy texture and they stay soft forever! Honey is a moisture-binding ingredient that helps to maintain the soft texture.
- Delicious peanut butter cookies - a blend of butter and peanut butter forms the basis of the cookie dough which makes them more substantial.
- M&M cookies - you can't make Trial mix cookies without candy-coated chocolate - it's like the treat in the trail mix. You can use M&M's or Smarties.
- Mixed nuts - I've used chopped almonds and peanuts, and you can use any mix of nuts that you enjoy such as cashews, pecans, hazelnuts or walnuts.
INGREDIENTS FOR TRAIL MIX COOKIES
Here are some notes on some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients and measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Unsalted butter - there's no substitute for butter in delicious homemade cookies for me. If you only have salted butter, then reduce the added salt by half.
- Peanut butter - this recipe works best with smooth or creamy peanut butter, and I used the regular emulsified type that doesn't need stirring (like Jif or Skippy). If you use natural peanut butter they will be slightly more crumbly but it will work.
- Brown sugar - I like to use light brown sugar for this recipe so the taste of the peanut butter and oats still shines. You can also use dark brown sugar.
- Egg - one large egg provides the right amount of moisture and structure.
- Rolled oats - this recipe is designed to use rolled oats. If you use quick oats the cookies will be thicker and spread less as oats absorb more moisture.
- Honey - honey is the key ingredient to make sure these cookies stay soft and chewy so they last for days.
- Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is essential to making delicious cookies. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
- Dark chocolate - my go-to semisweet chocolate chips are these right here.
- Candy-covered chocolate - the most fun part of trail mix is the colorful chocolate candy! You can use Smarties, M&M's or any generic candy-coated chocolate pieces.
- Almonds - roast the almonds first for the best flavor. Chop them up well so that they distribute through the cookie dough evenly.
- Peanuts - use roasted peanuts (even roasted salted peanuts would be delicious). I like to leave them whole for contrast of textures, but you can also chop them up.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- STEP 1). Cream butter and sugar. Combine soft butter, peanut butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and mix it together using the creaming method with a spatula until evenly blended, smooth and a bit fluffy. The mixture will look like fluffy wet sand. Mix in egg and vanilla until well incorporated, then mix in honey.
- STEP 2). Add dry ingredients. Mix in oats. Sprinkle in the flour over the batter, then sprinkle over the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Use the spatula to carefully mix the dry ingredients over the batter to roughly blend the raising agents with the flour, then fold it all in until mostly combined.
- STEP 3). Mix in chocolate and nuts. Add chocolate chips/chunks, smarties, peanuts and almonds and fold them in until evenly distributed.
- STEP 4). Chill the dough. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the dough in the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- STEP 5). Bake. Use a 1 ½ oz scoop to portion dough and release it onto prepared baking sheets spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Press a few extra chocolate chips and candies on top if you wish. Bake for 11-13 minutes until evenly browned on the bottom, lightly golden on top and around the edges but still slightly soft in the center. Let cookies cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them individually to a wire rack to finish cooling.
EXPERT BAKING TIPS
- Switch up the add-ins. This is a versatile recipe where you can use any combination of nuts and replace some of the chocolate with dried fruits.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough. Even 30 minutes will improve the taste and texture of these cookies. Oats need time to soften and absorb some moisture so that they bake into the cookie dough rather than remain hard. The cookies will also bake more evenly.
- Leave plenty of space. For best results, bake 6 to 8 cookies per tray so there is room for spreading and also room for the hot air to circulate around the dough balls and brown the edges nicely.
- Bake until golden. The honey in the dough will give help these cookies retain moisture, so you can bake them until nicely golden and they will still be soft.
RECIPE FAQ
You can make these cookies without chilling the dough, but I promise it's worth it. Giving the cookie dough time to rest and chill in the fridge allows the oats and flour to fully hydrate. This produces thicker, chewier cookies. Even 30 minutes will do in a hurry.
These cookies stay nice and thick, so if yours spread a lot, then it could be that there was not the right amount of flour added. Too little flour will mean the cookies will not have enough structure to hold their shape and the dough will be too wet. The best way to measure the flour is using a scale to ensure you use the right amount. If you skip the chilling time, the cookie dough will spread more as well.
This recipe for calls for rolled oats which provide wonderful texture and the right amount of spread in this cookie dough. You can use quick oats, however they will absorb more moisture and these cookies will turn out thicker (they will spread less).
These cookies are best stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
These cookies stay chewy with a tablespoon of honey. Honey is a "humectant" and that's a technical term for compounds or ingredients that hold onto water very tightly. This prevents excessive moisture loss from the cookie so that the moisture stays IN the cookie.
Yes! You can replace all or part of the chocolate chips/candies with dried cranberries, raisins or chopped dried apricots.
Yes, just place the cooled cookies in a resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. They just about 20 minutes to thaw.
If you love cookies, check out these recipes!
THE BEST EVER Chocolate Chip Cookies – Bakery Style! Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies The BEST Chewy Pumpkin Cookies Chewy Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Cookies Brown Butter M&M Cookies Recipe Lemon Blueberry Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks Coffee Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies Hazelnut Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies THE BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – Bakery Style!Craving more cookies?
If you love cookies as much as I do, check out the latest recipes:
Baking with chocolate
Here are some of my latest chocolate recipes:
Video
Trail Mix Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon (84g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup (80ml) smooth regular peanut butter
- ⅔ cup (145g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) honey
- 1 cup (142g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (75g) rolled oats
- ½ cup (85g) dark chocolate chips*, plus extra for topping
- ⅓ cup (70g) M&M's or other candy-coated chocolates, plus extra for topping
- ⅓ cup (45g) roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup (30g) chopped almonds
*You can replace some of the chocolate chips with any dried fruit such as raisins or dried cranberries if desired
Instructions
- *NOTE: do not under-bake these too much or they will be too soft. Bake until evenly golden on top and let them cool completely on the baking trays. They should be nicely browned on the bottom.
- Combine soft butter, peanut butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and mix it together using the creaming method with a spatula until evenly blended, smooth and a bit fluffy. The mixture will look like fluffy wet sand. Mix in egg and vanilla until well incorporated, then mix in honey.
- Mix in oats. Sprinkle in the flour over the batter, then sprinkle over the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Use the spatula to carefully mix the dry ingredients over the batter to roughly blend the raising agents with the flour, then fold it all in until mostly combined. Add chocolate chips/chunks, M&Ms, peanuts and almonds and fold them in until evenly distributed.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the dough in the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a 1.35-oz cookie scoop to portion dough and release it onto prepared baking sheets spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Press a few extra chocolate chips and candies on top if you wish. Bake for 11-13 minutes until evenly browned on the bottom, lightly golden on top and around the edges but still slightly soft in the center (they will set as they cool). Let cookies cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them individually to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Krista Cook
I always wonder about the plastic over the dough. I almost never do this, sometimes I put a towel or a plate over the bowl but I just can't bring myself to waste a strip of plastic most times. What's the rationale behind this? Just to keep it from drying out? I wish there was a non-single use plastic solution for covering things. That turned into a small rant, main question is about the rationale.
christina.marsigliese
Hi Krista! Yes, it is mainly to prevent the dough from drying out in the fridge. Placing it directly on the dough minimizes air contact surface, but you get away with a bowl with a tight fitting lid.
Mary
Perfect recipe for my family! I cut back the chocolate and added some dried fruit as Christina suggests and they are great.
christina.marsigliese
I love that your family enjoys these. Thank you Mary.
Katie Crokus
This is a great recipe. Super flexible with the mix ins and the honey is indeed a magic ingredient! Thanks for sharing, I’ll be using the base year round with seasonal add ins!
christina.marsigliese
Thanks so much Katie!