Big, soft, chewy M&M cookies that not only look gorgeous, but taste even better! They’re easy to make and guaranteed to satisfy any cookie craving. Pour a glass of milk and get ready to indulge!
You guys know how much I LOVE developing cookie recipes. From chewy peanut butter cookies, to alfajores and brown butter chocolate chip cookies, coming up with new, delicious cookies is something I’ll never get tired of. In fact, I could create a blog dedicated entirely to cookie recipes and never get bored!
I love experimenting with different mix-ins and flavors. I recently had a few bags of M&Ms laying around and decided to throw them in a cookie recipe from Cook’s Illustrated and man, they were amazing. Today, I’m sharing the recipe with you guys so you can experience the same magic as I did.
Get ready for the best M&M cookies of your life!
How to make M&M cookies
- Sift together the dry ingredients. This include the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Melt the butter. Once your butter is melted, whisk in both the granulated and brown sugars.
- Add the eggs. Whisk in the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in the dry ingredients and M&Ms. Don’t overmix the batter, simply mix in the dry ingredients just until combined. I like to use a rubber spatula to help with this because it’s a more gentle way to fold in the ingredients. Then, fold in the M&Ms.
- Chill. It’s extremely important to chill this cookie dough. Because this recipe uses melted butter, it’s a very soft dough. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours, otherwise the cookies will spread too much in the oven and be very flat ( I know it’s hard and not very fun to wait, but it’s worth it!).
- Bake. Remove your chilled dough from the fridge. If it’s very cold and hard to handle, allow it to warm up slightly on the counter for a few minutes. Drop rounded balls of dough, around 3 tablespoons, onto prepared baking sheet and press extra M&Ms into the tops. Bake for 10-12 minutes just until the cookies start appearing golden around the edges.
- Cool. Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove and place cookies on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Baking tip: To produce the softest cookies, don’t wait for them to appear dry before taking them out of the oven. Even if they look extremely soft, they will firm up once cooled. The middle should appear under baked and the edges should just be beginning to brown. This makes all the difference in the world between a crunchy cookie and a soft, chewy one.
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Tips for making perfect M&M cookies
-Don’t overmix your cookie dough. This will result in tougher cookies, and we want them to be extra soft and chewy. Once you add the dry ingredients, combine everything together as gently as possible.
-Chill your cookie dough. This recipe is made with melted butter, so it is extremely soft. To prevent your cookies from spreading too much while baking, make sure to chill your cookie dough for at least 2 hours before forming into balls and baking.
-Slightly underbake your cookies. The cookies will continue baking from residual heat when pulled from the heat, so don’t wait for them to look completely done baking before removing from the oven. Once the edges look slightly golden after about 10-12 minutes, pull them out and allow them to cool.
–Feel free to try different types of M&Ms. With so many varieties of M&Ms on the market, feel free to try different varieties. I also love making this recipe with peanut butter M&Ms!
More of my favorite cookie recipes
- Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies: Made with fresh ginger, these soft and fudgy cookies are amazing.
- Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies: Crumbly, buttery shortbread cookies dipped in dark chocolate.
- Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies: For those late night cookie cravings.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: These chewy chocolate chip cookies are perfect for fall.
- Peanut Butter Pretzel Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies: Quite a mouthful to say, but totally worth making to have a mouthful of these cookies!
M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170g) butter, melted
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar (preferably dark)
- 1 large egg , plus 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (200gs) M&M’s
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, place the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk until well combined. Whisk in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and mix just until combined; do not over mix. Fold in M&Ms.
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Chill the dough for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably 6 hours or overnight (or up to 3 days).
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Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C. Line pans with parchment paper.
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If the cookie dough is hard to handle, leave it on the counter for a few minutes to soften.
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Drop rounded balls of dough, around 3 tablespoons in size each, onto prepared baking sheet. Press extra M&Ms into the tops. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown at the edges and the center is still soft. Cookies will appear undone but will continue to bake on the warm baking sheet. Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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Cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Germaine says
Hi there, what kind of butter should I use? Unsalted or salted? Thanks
Shiran says
Hi Germaine! In all my recipes, I use unsalted butter, unless I mention otherwise.
kathy says
Can I just grease the cookie sheet instaed of using parchment paper?
Shiran says
Yes you can, or you can use a silicone baking mat like this one, which is amazing. Parchment paper would prevent the cookies from sticking to the bottom, so you won’t need to scrub the cookie sheet, but that should be fine for these cookies.
Sommer says
I used a very well seasoned baking sheet and they came out excellent. No parchment. No butter or oil.
doc rock says
Hi. When you say drop rounded balls of dough on the sheet, do you really mean rounded balls??? as in i dont have to flatten them even a bit? can you post a pic pls to explain? (sorry am a real novice)
Shiran says
Hi! To make a round ball of dough, all you need to do is take a piece of dough and make a ball out of it, by rolling it between your hands. You don’t need to flatten them at all as they would spread during baking. If you need more help just let me know!
doc rock says
This helps. Thanks
Zeezal says
Hi is it ok to put in two eggs and 2 1/2 cups of flour?
Shiran says
If you prefer using 2 eggs, you can use the cookie dough from this recipe. Omit the Oreos and add 1 cup M&M’s.
Tarsha says
Mine were raw and I cooked them 12 min. and they sat for 10 min. I did everything right
Shiran says
Hi Tarsha, I’m guessing that either the cookies were bigger in size than what the recipe suggests or that your over temperature wasn’t accurate (that happens sometimes). The center should be soft and not fully cooked, but if you prefer crunchy cookies then you should bake them for longer. Hope this helps!
Brenna says
Hi there these sound great. Im new to baking and just wandering if I freeze them, what I do when I want to take them out soo they are still as delicious 🙂
Shiran says
Hi Brenna 🙂 All you need to do is place them in the fridge for a few hours to thaw or in room temperature for about 2 hours. Then, either serve them at room temperature or you can reheat them in the oven just until they’re warm.
lisa says
do you have to chill for hours
Shiran says
Hi Lisa, you don’t have to chill the dough but it would help in holding the shape of the cookie better and spreading out less during baking.
Amy says
Is it unsalted butter or is baking soft butter (stork)?
Shiran says
It’s unsalted butter.
Ramya says
Hi Shiran- do they only stay well for 3 days? I was hoping to make them ahead as christmas gifts…
Shiran says
Hi Ramya, freshly baked soft cookies remain fresh for only 2-3 days. Hard homemade cookies like shortbread cookies stay fresh for longer.
Kavya says
Hey! I tried this recipe and I just want to say its simply great! It was my first time making cookies and they turned out great! Thank you for posting this!
Shiran says
Thank you so much, Kavya!
Sarah says
Hi how are you?
When you say whisk the butter and sugar; eggs and flour; do you mean by using the mixer(electric whisk) or manual hand whisk?
Hope you reply!
Thanks!
Shiran says
It means whisking by hand using a hand whisk.
Gina says
These are amazing! Made these with leftover holiday m&m’s. My family was happy to munch on these while staying away from our company holiday cookies. I’m a fellow baker and always chill my drop cookie dough. Timing depends on how cols the dough is. I keep the bowl in fridge between batches. Also, know your ovens hot and cool spots. I have to rotate half way through. Great cookie!!!