The Best M&M Cookies

Over the past several years, I have shared a variety of cookie recipes with you and recently realized that I have never shared my M&M Cookie recipes. I have made this recipe numerous times, and it\’s a favorite among friends and family, and with good reason, the crisp chewy edges, soft centers, and the fact that they are loaded with colorful M&M\’s make them absolutely delicious.

M&M\’s is always releasing special holiday colors, which makes these cookies perfect for any party or event. They\’d be perfect for any porch dropoff. Memorial Day is coming up, but since I haven\’t been able to find red, white and blue M&M\’s in stores yet, I decided to use some leftover pastel-colored M&M\’s that I had from Easter so I could share this amazing recipe with you.

Tips and tricks for making M&M Cookies
These cookies came with plenty of trial and error, that\’s why I am sharing all my tips and tricks with you.

1. Butter should be softened, but still cool to the touch. Butter that is too soft will lead to your cookies spreading too much in the oven.

2. Use brown sugar that is soft and fresh. Brown sugar is the key ingredient in helping these cookies be chewy.

3. Do not over bake. The goal with these cookies is crisp edges and soft centers. You do NOT want to wait until the cookies look done to take them out of the oven. Remove them from the oven just prior to them being done and they will finish cooking as they cool on the baking sheet.

4. Mix SOME of the M&M\’s into the batter. Press the rest onto the tops of the cookies right before baking.
Pro Tip: When you are pressing the M&M\’s into the tops of your cookie dough balls, do NOT press so hard that you flatten the dough balls. When you put the cookies into the oven they should still be ball-shaped.

How to Make thick or thin M&M cookies
The amount of cookie dough you scoop will affect whether your cookies come out thicker or thinner.

Thick M&M Cookies or Thin M&M Cookies
How big you scoop your cookie dough affects whether your cookies come out thinner or thicker. Play around until you figure out the perfect cookie for you.

How to make thick cookies
Thick cookies require a generous portion of cookies dough. If I am looking to do thicker cookies I like to do about 2-2.5 tablespoons or something a little larger than a golf ball size amount. As the cookies bake they will spread, but the center will remain thicker than the edges. If you want the cookie to be thicker in general, when you remove them from the oven, gently press the edges of the cookie inward to help thicken them.
Pro Tip: If you want a thicker/puffier cookie refrigerate the dough for one hour before baking.
How to make thin cookiesThin cookies require a small portion of dough. I typically like to use about one tablespoon for my thinner cookies. As they bake they will spread a bit thinner.

Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
Ingredients
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
dash of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter; softened but still cool
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed make sure it\’s fresh and soft
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1.5 cups M&M\’s or a mixture of M&M\’s and chocolate chips divided


Directions1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat butter and both sugars for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
5. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined.
6. On low speed, add in flour mixture, mix until just combined.
7. Gently stir in M&M\’s.
8. Scoop balls of dough in your desired size onto the prepared baking sheets – leave room for spreading.
9. Press some M&M\’s into the top of each cookie.
10. Bake for 8-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are set but the center is slightly underbaked. If you want a crispier cookie you will want to bake longer.
11. Place on wire baking racks to cool.

Baking time will need to be adjusted based on the side of your cookies.