M&M Cookies

These M&M Cookies are sweet with chewy interiors and crispy edges. They’ve got bright pops of crunchy M&M’s® and melty milk chocolate chips. These cookies are simple to make and you only need one bowl and a spoon — no hand or stand mixer required! They’re also great to customize for holidays or special events by using certain color M&M’s.

Try our other favorite cookie recipes next: snickerdoodles, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or pistachio cookies.

Every year after our first day back to school, my mom would surprise us with either M&M’s cookies or rice krispie treats. It made going back to school after a fun summer a little bit easier. And now, I’m the mom and my kids know that after the first day of school, they’ll have a sweet treat waiting.

My personal favorite were the chocolate chip M&M cookies because it also meant there was a bag of the rest of the M&M’s somewhere that could also be eaten (haha).

M&M Cookie ingredients

• Butter not shortening: These cookies use butter which gives them a great flavor base and wonderful texture. I don’t recommend substituting margarine or shortening in these cookies.
• Maple syrup: Seems like a strange ingredient but it keeps these cookies ultra soft and chewy. It also adds a really delicious subtle sweetness different from the sugars.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar has a higher moisture content than white sugar and thus will produce a chewier cookie than if you just used white sugar. 
• White sugar: We also include white sugar for cookie stability and to ensure the cookies aren’t overly sweet (using only brown sugar would result in extremely sweet cookies).
• Egg: Make sure to use a large egg in this recipe.
• Vanilla extract: It’s added for flavor.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps to keep these cookies soft and chewy.
• Baking soda/baking powder: The leavening agents ensure these cookies bake properly
• White all-purpose flour: Make sure to measure this ingredient accurately (more on this below). It’s the most important measurement to ensuring you get the perfect M&M cookies!

Tips for these cookies

• Let the melted butter cool: Once the butter is melted, it needs to cool back to room temperature. If the butter is hot, it will melt the sugars and cause greasy, flat cookies.
• Chill the dough: Since we melted the butter, the dough needs time to chill to allow the butter to re-solidify so you don’t have flat cookies. The chilling time also allows the flavors and textures to meld together and intensify.
• Bake on a Silpat® liner or parchment paper: This helps the cookies bake more evenly and keep the bottoms of the cookies from getting too brown.

QUICK TIP

Measure carefully: The most important measurement is the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a bag of flour you are most likely packing in way too much flour– which will yield cakey and less-flavorful cookies. Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife. The printable recipe includes gram measurements if you prefer to measure using a scale.

Avoid flat M&M cookies

If your cookies come out flat, it’s most likely because the cookies did not chill long enough. Since there is melted butter in the batter, it needs a chance to firm up again. Also, if the butter was too hot when you added in other ingredients, they’ll likely end up a bit flat and greasy.

Another reason these cookies could be flat is if the flour was under measured. One other factor that comes into play is if you live in a high-altitude area. 

Keeping the M&M cookies soft

After baking the cookies, let them cool completely on a wire rack (this will keep the bottoms from getting soggy from the steam). Once cooled, place cookies in an airtight container and store at room temperature. For tips on how to “revive” no-longer-soft cookies, check out these tips from Cooks Illustrated.

I recommend freezing dough balls instead of freezing the baked cookies. To freeze: Drop the cookie dough balls on a large sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookie dough balls into an airtight container/bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

To bake: You can bake the cookies straight from the freezer; just add 1-3 minutes onto the cooking time. (Or thaw the dough in the fridge and bake according to directions.)

M&M cookie variations

More delicious desserts

• Icebox Cake (made with Oreos)
• Carmelitas (chewy oatmeal-chocolate-caramel bars; a reader favorite)
• Muddy Buddies (peanut butter and chocolate snack mix)
• Monkey Bread (sweetened biscuits baked in a cinnamon-sugar mixture)
• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (with cream cheese frosting)

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M&M Cookies

5 from 1 vote

- Review this recipe

These M&M Cookies are sweet with chewy interiors and crispy edges. They've got bright pops of crunchy M&M's and melty milk chocolate chips. These cookies are simple to make, you only need one bowl and a spoon — no hand or stand mixer required! They're also great to customize for holidays or special events by using certain color M&M's.

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

M&M Cookies

5 from 1 vote

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

These M&M Cookies are sweet with chewy interiors and crispy edges. They've got bright pops of crunchy M&M's and melty milk chocolate chips. These cookies are simple to make, you only need one bowl and a spoon — no hand or stand mixer required! They're also great to customize for holidays or special events by using certain color M&M's.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword m and m cookies, m&m cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 9 minutes

Chilling Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 24 minutes

Servings 16 -18 cookies

Calories 280kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $5.69

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1/3 cup white sugar
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon sea salt reduce if using table salt OR if sensitive to salt
• ▢ 1 and 3/4 cups white all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup M&M's candies
• ▢ 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips separated (OR use semi-sweet or dark chocolate -- whichever is your favorite)

US - Metric

USMetric

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a very large, microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, refrigerate it for 5 minutes. It's important the butter isn't hot when you add in the sugars or it will melt the sugar and make the cookies greasy.
• Once butter is cooled to room temperature, stir in the light brown and white sugars. Stir until smooth. Stir in the egg, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Stir until smooth.
• Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Again, stir until smooth. Add in the accurately measured (See Note 1) flour and mix until JUST combined. Don't over mix.
• Gently stir in 1 cup of M&M's and 1/4 cup chocolate chips until combined.
• Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper or use a nonstick liner.
• Roll balls of dough into tall cylindrical balls. Place 6-8 cookie balls on a sheet to give the cookies plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces.
• Bake for 8-12 minutes, erring on the side of underbaking, which keeps them soft and chewy (we like ours right at 9 minutes)! Remember, the cookies will continue to "bake" a little more out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown.
• Remove from the oven and press the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies (ensures even placement of chocolate and also makes them look pretty!). Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
• STORAGE: We like these cookies best on days 1 and 2 of being made. They do last up to 1 week, but they do begin to lose texture and flavor. To store: Place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies are completely cooled before adding to the container.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a table knife instead of scooping the flour from the bag into a measuring cup. This method assures the most accurate measurement.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 174mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 233IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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