Easy & Delicious M&M Cookies
The best and easiest M&M cookies are chewy with crispy edges, full of M&M candies, and loved by kids of all ages. Grab a glass of ice cold milk and dive right in!
M&M Cookies
Looking for the ultimate snack that kids of all ages love? Look no further than the M&M cookie! I always loved making these as a kid.
Better yet, the bakery at our grocery store always had these available for free for the kids that shopped with their parents. First stop was always the bakery!
Even though I am WAY OLDER I still love a chewy cookie and a glass of ice cold chocolate milk for an afternoon snack. Or breakfast. No one home to see so I didn’t really eat them right?
If you want to revert back to childhood and enjoy a chewy cookie with the sweet crunch of chocolate candies today, read on!
Ingredients Needed
- all purpose flour
- salt
- baking soda
- unsalted butter
- instant vanilla pudding
- brown sugar
- sugar
- eggs
- vanilla
- chocolate chips
- M&Ms
If you don’t have baking soda, you can substitute baking powder. Just add 3x powder what you would in soda.
Example: Recipe calls for 1 teaspoon baking soda – use 3 teaspoons baking powder.
How to make M&M Cookies
First: Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Second: In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, white and brown sugar, vanilla, and pudding mix. Beat in eggs one at a time.
Third: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Be careful not to overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and M&M candies by hand.
Fourth: Scoop the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets and chill in the refrigerator for 20-130 minutes while you preheat the oven to 375F.
Fifth: Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to brown. Remove from the oven and let the cookies set up on the baking sheet another 1-2 minutes.
Sixth: Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container until ready to enjoy.
For the full recipe and detailed baking instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Can you use regular M&Ms for baking?
Not all M&M candies are created equal! If you are wondering what kind to use, stick with the regular ones, with a few exceptions, for baking.
The flavored varieties, like peanut butter, caramel, white chocolate, hazelnut, and mint are also easy to bake with because of their size.
If you use the ones with nuts like peanuts and almonds, they are larger in size and don’t work well with cookies. Save these for ice cream cakes etc.
How do you make M&M cookies from scratch?
Is you oven lonely today? Whip up this delicious cookie dough in just a few minutes and pop some in the oven. What better way to enjoy some family time playing games than with cookies and milk?
Start with quality ingredients. Soft creamy butter, flour, sugar, and your favorite flavor of M&Ms. You can use the regular sized ones or if you have bag of the minis already in the pantry, grab those!
Looking for more leftover worthy dishes? Follow LTB on Pinterest and pin to a board!
Tips for No Leftovers
- SOFTENED BUTTER – make sure the butter is softened but not melted. This will make the cookies spread while baking.
- FRESH BROWN SUGAR – the molasses in the brown sugar keeps the cookies chewy so make sure it’s fresh and not hard.
- CORNSTARCH TO SOFTEN – two teaspoons of cornstarch in the dough helps to keep the cookies chewy.
- ICE CREAM SCOOP – use this to portion your dough so all the cookies are the same size and cook evenly.
- CHILLY DOUGH – cold dough doesn’t spread when baked so make sure you chill the dough balls for at least 15 minutes before baking.
- DON’T OVER BAKE – take the cookies out before they are completely brown and they will be perfectly soft. They will continue to bake a few minutes after you take them out of the oven.
- DECORATE AFTER BAKING – to avoid cracked M&Ms on the top of your cookies, gently press a few into the cookie tops as soon as you take them out of the oven. Instant Pretty!
- COOL COMPLETELY – cool completely before storing and they will last longer.
Variations
If adding additional goodies into the cookie dough, don’t use more than 1.5 cups of it or it will throw off the delicate balance of dough to goodies!
- NUTS – try pecans, peanuts, almonds, or walnuts
- CANDY – chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butter scotch chips
- SALT/SPICES – sea salt, cinnamon
- BARS – press into a pan and bake, slice into bars
- DIFFERENT COLORS – pick your favorite candy colors to match the occasion. Perfect for birthdays, showers, and tailgating!
Thick or Thin M&M Cookies
If you want thicker cookies, start with a ball uses 2 tablespoons of cookie dough. Be sure to chill these for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.
For thinner crispier cookies, start with 1 – 1.5 tablespoons of dough in you ball. This will allow the cookies to spread more while baking producing a thinner cookie.
How long do they last?
If stored in an air tight container these cookies will last 1 week at room temperature if they aren’t eaten before then. For a “fresh out of the oven” warm cookie, pop in oven at 250F for 3 minutes to rewarm.
Can you freeze them?
You can freeze the dough before baking and then thaw in the refrigerator before baking.
Freezing after baking is just as easy just remember when thawing the M&Ms that are exposed to the air will start to “sweat” and the color could run. I like to thaw my frozen, already baked, cookies at room temperature to keep this from happening.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please write a five-star review in the comment section below (or on Pinterest with the “tried it” button – you can now add pictures into reviews, too!), and be sure to help me share on facebook!
These M and M cookies have crisp edges, soft and chewy middles, are loaded with M&Ms, and are deliciously addicting! Grab this great recipes and make a few dozen today!
More Easy Recipes
M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
- 1 box 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups or 1 package 12 oz plain chocolate candies plus more for adding to the top before baking if desired
- 1 cup chocolate chips semi sweet or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter, dry pudding mix, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time making sure they are incorporated before adding the next one.
- Gradually add flour mixture until smooth.
- Stir in M&M candies and chocolate chips gently.
- Using a cookie dough scoop, divide dough and roll into balls.
- Place on baking sheet and slightly press down the top.
- Add more candy on top if desired.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool slightly on the baking sheet.
- Transfer to wire rack.
- Store in airtight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Make sure the butter is softened but not melted. This will make the cookies spread while baking.
- The molasses in the brown sugar keeps the cookies chewy so make sure it’s fresh and not hard.
- Two teaspoons of cornstarch in the dough helps to keep the cookies chewy.
- Use an ice cream scoop to portion your dough so all the cookies are the same size and cook evenly.
- Cold dough doesn’t spread when baked so make sure you chill the dough balls for at least 15 minutes before baking.
- Take the cookies out before they are completely brown and they will be perfectly soft. They will continue to bake a few minutes after you take them out of the oven.
- To avoid cracked M&Ms on the top of your cookies, gently press a few into the cookie tops as soon as you take them out of the oven. Instant Pretty!
- Cool completely before storing and they will last longer.
Nutrition
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