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These are not your average M&M cookies. These cookies are RICH, HEFTY, and PACKED with M&M candies, similar to gourmet bakery cookies.
Featured with this recipe
These Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies are the kind of cookie you would find in a gourmet bakery in New York. They are slightly crispy on the edges, but chewy and exploding with candy pieces on the inside. These cookies are big enough to share (if you feel so inclined). They really are the best M&M cookies, and I can’t wait for you to try them!
Key Ingredients
For these cookies, the ingredients are pretty standard to most cookie recipes, however, there are a few key ingredients I want to highlight and write a few notes on…
- Flour: The mixture of cake flour and all-purpose flour give the cookie dough a nice, light texture, but if all-purpose is all you have on hand, you are fine just using 3 cups of the all-purpose flour.
- Butter: We used salted butter in this recipe. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, simply add an extra ½ teaspoon of salt to balance out the sweetness of the cookies. Also, keep the butter COLD, don’t allow it to get to room temperature before mixing it in.
- Dark brown sugar: This adds extra richness. If all you have is light brown sugar, that is fine too.
- Vanilla: We used our homemade Tahitian vanilla in this recipe. The flavor is outstanding! We highly recommend using a pure vanilla extract for these cookies.
What Kind of M&Ms are Best?
Regular, plain M&M candies are my favorite to use. I like getting the big “Family Size” or “Party Size” bag and I just keep it with all my baking ingredients. Mini M&Ms work great too, you can use Peanut M&Ms or peanut butter M&Ms, but because of their size, you may find that they make the cookies fall apart more easily.
Tips for Making M&M Cookies
- Use a stand mixer – This will just make your life easier. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer.
- Use an ice cream scoop – This will make your cookies LARGE and evenly sized for better baking and presentation. A regular cookie scoop will be too small.
- Decorate with M&Ms – Add a few M&Ms to the cookie dough balls before baking. That way you will be able to see the pretty M&Ms on the outside of the cookies after they bake.
- Chill the cookies before baking – Allowing the cookies to chill in the refrigerator solidifies the butter before baking. This makes it so they don’t spread out and flatten while baking. The longer you chill, the better they will be. They can also be chilled before or after being made into balls. Normally I like to chill the dough in one giant mass of cookie dough, but for this recipe I like to chill in balls so I can stick the M&Ms on the outside more easily. If I scoop after chilling, the M&Ms don’t stay on as well. Chill up to 72 hours before baking.
More Additions and Variations
Take these M&M cookies to the next level by adding any of these fun additions or substitutions:
- Chocolate chunks (or mini chocolate chips)
- Reese’s pieces
- Chopped pretzels
- Chopped candy bar
- Oatmeal cookies – swap out 1 cup of flour for 1 cup quick oats
- Chocolate M&M Cookies – swap out ¼ cup flour for ⅓ cup cocoa powder
Basic M&M Cookies
If you want a more basic M&M cookie recipe that makes smaller cookies, we recommend using our classic chocolate chip cookies recipe as a base recipe, then adding (or substituting) M&Ms. These types of cookies are better for birthday parties or crowds because you will get more quantity. The cookies are smaller and will better fill in a serving tray.
How to Freeze M&M Cookies
You can either freeze the cookies after baking or freeze the dough. Keep in mind, if you freeze the dough, ice crystals may form on the cookies and cause the color from the candy coating to bleed. If you want crisp, clean colors, it is probably best to freeze AFTER baking.
More Cookie Recipes
How to Make Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
Video
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup cold butter cubed
- 1 cup dark brown sugar firmly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain m&m candies
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine flours, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. Whisk lightly until well mixed. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, cream together cold butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined and smooth. About 3-4 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
- Switch to paddle attachment and mix in flour mixture until smooth.
- Add in M&Ms and chocolate chips and mix until just combined (or you can stir them in with a spoon by hand).
- Using an ICE CREAM scoop (not a cookie scoop), scoop cookies into large balls (about 6-8 ounces each) and press extra M&Ms into the cookie dough balls (this makes it so the pretty M&Ms will show after baking).
- Place dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Note: If you don't have room to put a baking sheet in your refrigerator, just portion out the balls and place them on a plate, then transfer to baking sheet after refrigerating.
- Heat oven to 425-degrees F. Bake in batches of 6 cookies (you can refrigerate them all on one baking sheet but don't bake them all at once). Place cookies in the oven and bake for 9-11 minutes (do not over bake).
- Place cookies on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- To make smaller cookies (traditional size), reduce oven heat to 375-degrees and bake 8-10 minutes.
- These cookies get better the longer they rest. You will find that they are even BETTER the next day!
These mm cookies are truly the BEST! From the soft and chewy batter to the chocolate chips and m&ms, SO GOOD!
These cookies are SO good! I love the mix of crispy and chewy, this recipe is a home run!
These are the best ever M&M cookies! So soft and chewy and loaded with chocolate. Everyone always raves about them!