If there’s one thing that can brighten up a cookie jar, it’s a batch of perfectly chewy M&M cookies. These delightful treats combine the perfect balance of a soft, chewy center with a slightly crisp edge, all adorned with colorful M&Ms. Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or just craving a sweet treat, these soft baked cookies are sure to hit the spot.
This is a simple step recipe combining a perfectly chewy cookie with our favourite candy – M&M’s! These cookies are perfect for casual snack time, M&M cookies embody the perfect blend of fun and deliciousness, making them a timeless classic that never fails to bring a smile.
These cookies are always a hit and disappear quickly in my household. These cookies are super easy to make, incorporating both M&Ms and chocolate chips is straightforward and doesn’t require any special adjustments to traditional cookie recipes. This makes it easy for bakers of all skill levels, the preparation process is straightforward and quick. This recipe requires just mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and folding in the M&Ms, which takes relatively little time.
What makes M&M cookies so great?
Easy & Quick
The recipe uses readily available ingredients and requires minimal preparation time. The basic ingredients for M&M cookies—such as flour, sugar, baking soda, butter, eggs, and M&Ms—are typically pantry staples. No need for complex components!
Flexible Variations
The recipe can easily be adapted based on personal preferences. You can swap out different types of M&Ms or chocolate chips, and even add in nuts, oats, or other ingredients without affecting the basic structure of the cookie.
Minimal cooling time
While the cookies need to cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes, they can be eaten warm right out of the oven or even enjoyed later on, making the whole process quicker from start to satisfaction.
Here’s what you’ll need
- Plain flour: Now I like to use a little bit more flour than most, my oven gets very hot very quickly and using a little more flour can help create cookies that are thicker, chewier, and hold their shape better.
- Butter: I have adjusted the amount of butter in my many attempts to perfect these cookies. Less butter can result in cookies that are less spread out and flatter. Although butter is important to maintain that chewy texture of the cookie.
- Brown to white sugar ratio: Brown sugar contains molasses which adds moisture to the dough. This moisture contributes to a chewier texture. White sugar absorbs moisture and helps the dough spread as it bakes, resulting in a slightly crisper edge.
- Egg: Eggs act as a binding agent that helps hold the cookie dough together.
- Salt: Salt creates a great contrast to the sweetness of the cookie. Using unsalted butter allows us to control the amount of salt we can use in our recipe.
- Brown Sugar: Adds a deeper flavour with caramel and toffee-like notes due to the molasses content.
- White Sugar: Offers a pure sweetness without altering the flavor profile significantly.
- Using both sugars helps achieve a balanced texture. The ratio of brown sugar to white sugar depends on what type of cookie you want. For this recipe I wanted to maintain the chewiness, hence I used more brown sugar than white.
- M&M’s: The star of the show! Opt for rainbow chocolate M&M’s – you can also use the mini version.
Recipe Tips
CHILL the dough: After preparing your dough, chill the dough in the refrigerator overnight. I like to pre roll my cookie dough into circles, put them into a zip-lock bag and chill overnight. This is to reduce spreading.
Perfectly round cookies: Use a larger cookie cutter and spin the cookies in between the cookie cutter while the cookies are still warm. This will mould them into that perfect circular shape.
Put M&M’s on the tops of cookie straight from the oven: Be Quick! The cookies will still be warm, making it easier to insert M&mS, but be mindful that the cookies start cooling quickly. This will make the cookies look absolutely loaded with m&m’s.
More Cookie Recipes:
M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 270 g plain/all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 145 g unsalted butter softened
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 100 g chocolate chips
- 200 g M&Ms
- 1 tsp cornstarch optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch (if using). Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms with a spatula, distributing them evenly throughout the dough.
- Scoop tablespoons of dough and roll them into balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving some space between each cookie to allow for spreading. If desired, press a few extra M&Ms on top of each dough ball for a colorful finish.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to turn golden. The centers should still look slightly underbaked for a chewy texture.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.