These delicious M&M Cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and they are packed with M&M’s and chocolate chips. This recipe comes together quickly and easily – no chill time required.
These cookies were our first “viral” recipe several years ago. It’s a recipe we have made dozens and dozens of times. These cookies are a reader favorite and a family favorite, and for good reason – because they are incredible!
If you like cookies with crisp edges and soft centers these are the cookies are for you! I have perfected this recipe (and in the process consumed an unfathomable number of cookies). I have tips for helping them come out PERFECT! Prefer a THICKER COOKIE? THINNER COOKIE? Extra chocolate? Read on, friends!
Prefer the chocolate version: Chocolate M&M Cookies.
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These cookies are
- Made with basic ingredients
- Soft and chewy
- Packed with M&M’s and chocolate chips
- Easy to assemble
- Always a crowd pleaser
- Great for holidays or parties- use colored M&M’s based on the theme
Recipe overview
*Full recipe below in the recipe card*
Make the dough by beating butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar. The brown sugar will impart moisture, sweetness, and chew.
Add egg and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Stir in M&M’s and chocolate chips.
Scoop the cookie dough into balls (big or small, see more on that below). Press some additional M&M’s on the dough balls and bake!
Remove baking sheets from the oven when the cookies are set around the edges, but still underbaked in the center.
Recipe tips
Follow these tips for making the BEST M&M Cookies EVER!
- Make sure your butter is softened but still cool to the touch. Using butter that is too soft will lead to cookies that spread too much in the oven.
- Your brown sugar should be soft and fresh. The moisture in the brown sugar helps make these cookies chewy.
- Mix some of the M&M’s into the batter and press the rest onto the top of the dough balls right before baking. This allows the M&M’s to be more visible, adding a nice pop of color to the cookies. Be generous with the M&M’s, as the cookies bake and spread out the candies will distribute over the top.
- When pressing M&M’s and chocolate chips into the tops of your dough balls, do NOT press so hard that you flatten the dough balls. When they enter the oven they should still be ball/dome shaped.
- DO NOT OVER-BAKE! For crisp edges and soft centers, do not wait until these cookies look done to pull them from the oven. Remove them from the oven just prior to being done and then they will finish cooking as they cool on the baking sheet.
- You can make these with regular M&M’s, holiday M&M’s, mini M&M’s, or a combination of M&M’s and chocolate chips.
How to make thick or thin cookies
For thin cookies:
Bake the cookies right after assembling the dough and use a slightly smaller portion of dough, about 1.5 tablespoons. Also, see my tips for getting perfectly round cookies.
For thicker cookies:
Scoop the dough balls then chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour before baking. Scoop the dough balls large, about 3 tablespoons of dough, and be sure the dough balls are mounded higher rather than wider. As these bake they will spread, but the center will stay thicker than the edges. Also, see my tips for getting perfectly round cookies.
How to get perfectly round cookies
Option 1: Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven place a round glass, bowl, or cookie cutter (larger than the cookie) upside down over the top of the cookie. Gently but quickly swirl the glass/bowl/cookie cutter in a circular motion. The edges of the cookie will bump against the inside of the glass creating a perfectly round shape. This only works when the cookies are hot, straight from the oven, and still on the warm baking sheet.
Option 2: Immediately after the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a round shape.
Holiday M&M cookies
Love M&M cookies? Try these recipes, too: Cookie Mix in a Jar and Christmas Cookies.
More cookie recipes
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Post and photos updated October 2022. Recipe remains the same.
Recipe
Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (188g) all purpose flour*, see note
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (70g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (total) M&M's and chocolate chips, I use about 1 cup M&M's and ½ cup chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour (see note), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. On low speed, add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Gently stir in M&M's/chocolate chips. Note: I usually add 1 cup (total) into the batter, the rest get pressed on top of the cookie dough balls before baking.
- Scoop 2-tablespoon portions of dough. Place the dough balls on a plate and transfer to the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour (see note about baking without chill time). The longer they chill the thicker the cookies will be. I usually chill the dough balls for 30 minutes while I clean up the kitchen.
- Using the remaining M&M's/chocolate chips, nestle several (5 or so) onto the top of each mound of dough. Keep in mind that the cookies will spread out while baking. Mound the dough balls so that they're higher rather than wider. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets leaving a couple inches for spreading.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are set but the center is still slightly underdone, this will create a soft cookie. For a crispier cookie, continue baking for another minute or two. See note about shaping the cookies to make them perfectly round.
- Place the baking sheets on wire racks and allow the cookies to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool.
Video
Notes
Option 2: Immediately after the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a round shape.
HOLIDAY VARIATIONS:
You can make these with regular M&M’s, holiday M&M’s, mini M&M’s, or a combination of M&M’s and chocolate chips. If you’re using a color theme you can also dip the top of each dough ball in colored sprinkles before baking.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Jennifer K Sharpless
This is a great recipe and is going to be used many times to come! The cookies came out soft and delicious! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Winnie Grant
What size cups do you use? I’m based in the UK so a cup here is 250 ml
Celebrating Sweets
These are US measurements, so 1 cup is 236 ml.
Tania
Super quick and easy recipe! My son and husband are requesting me to make more!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Karen Luna
Great start to my quarantine cooking! I’m trying to limit the amount of ingredients I am using while cooking/baking. I had a small bag of M & M’s so they came in perfect for this recipe. I noticed other recipes required a cup of butter, a cup of brown sugar, but this recipe was spot on. Thanks!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Brenda
Made these with my neighbors little boy, and we all loved them!! Plan to make these with my grandchildren ❤?
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Happy baking! -Allison
Jenna
Made these cookies today without the bicarbonate soda (as I didn’t have any) and with 290g of mini m&m’s and oh my goodness they came out amazing!!! ? great recipe
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Starryart
Made these with my son yesterday, with both regular and mini M&Ms, they came out awesome! Can’t wait to use this recipe with different add-ins! Thank you!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Karen Johnson
i love these cookies, great for the family. my only issue was 1/2 a cup of butter is quite hard to measure perfectly so maybe put ingredients like that into grams 🙂 . but theses cookies where amazing and taste so delicious, the center was perfectly soft and the perimeter was perfectly crunchy ,
yours truly
Karen
Karen Johnson
i meant 5 star oops but great cookies 🙂
Celebrating Sweets
Thanks for the review, Karen. Here in the US butter is sold in 1/2 cup portions (1 stick). I believe that converts to 113 grams.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kaleigh
Easy recipe to follow, and the cookies came out soft and delicious. Very happy with the result. Thank you for sharing!
Celebrating Sweets
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Sandi l
Can cookie batter be freezed for future baking at a later time
Celebrating Sweets
Yes! You can freeze the portioned dough balls in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
Miriam
Super easy and delicious recipe.? Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Puerto Rico ??
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Lana
Hi there, the cookies went out very tasty but the M&Ms has cracked. Do you know why it may happened? Thank you!
Celebrating Sweets
It’s from the heat of the oven. If the cookies are on the smaller side and they cook faster they usually won’t crack, but the larger cookies that stay in the oven a bit longer sometimes crack. You’ll see some cracks in my photos, too.