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.
FREEZING COOKIES AND DOUGH:
- Freeze baked cookies: Store baked cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. TIP: Double wrap the cookies so they stay fresh. I place the cookies in a zip top bag and then place the bag in a freezer safe food storage container.
- Freeze cookie dough: Store portioned cookie dough balls, tightly wrapped, in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bring the dough balls to cool room temp before baking (or thaw in the fridge overnight). Depending on how cool the dough is you might need to add a minute or two to the bake time.
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!
charlotte
i was doubtful at the start but once i tried them i knew i chose that i chose the right recipe they are amazing a must try
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Brooklynn
Mine came out really thin even though I chilled them for an hour and made them taller 😿
Tegan McNeil
I make these and adjust the recipe, doing 1/2 a cup of coconut instead of the flour, and use bounty MnMs and dark chocolate chips. Delicious.Thank you!
Diana
Delicious! I’ll be making these often! Don’t skip the chill part it will make a difference.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Kitty
Very good! Slightly crispy outside, chewy inside!
Dor
Best recipe I’ve come across. Making them for years using different ones but these were amazing. Thanks 😊
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by!
Meagan
Can you freeze the dough and bake weeks later?
Allison
Yes. Thaw in the fridge overnight and add a minute or two to the bake time. Enjoy!
Kelly
These cookies were an absolute fail. I followed the recipe to a T. Even used a digital scale to weigh the flour instead of my usual measuring cup method. Refrigerated the dough for an hour and then baked at 170c. The only thing I can think of was the temp being in Fahrenheit and maybe my temp was off?
The cookies came out way undercooked, stuck together and completely spread thin on the baking tray after 9 mins?
Allison
It sounds like your oven temp should have been a bit higher. They shouldn’t have spread thin. Did you use parchment paper on the baking tray?
casianna
I love these cookies! My boyfriends brother requested i made these for thanksgiving so I tested out this recipe and it came out AMAZING! I got compliments from everyone who tried it. Then i had a potluck for psychology club at my college and made these and got compliments from total strangers who even asked for the recipe ! Would definitely recommend this to everyone ❤️
Allison
Thanks for the kind review. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Nancy Marley
These cookies are the best. Love them. Always turn out perfect.
Allison
That’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Debra Z
This recipe was just what I was looking for. The cookies are absolutely perfect! Crispy edges, chewy in the middle. I used a scale – overloaded a melon ball scooper, gently rolled into balls, weighed them to make sure they were 34 grams each. I chilled for about 20 minutes. I pressed them slightly to flatten a tiny bit. I watched them closely – 10 minutes bake time seemed perfect. I wish that I could upload a photo. They flattened out just the way I like them – made 20 cookies 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Thank you for a great recipe.
Allison
You’re welcome! Thanks for the kind review.
Claudia
These cookies turned out just right. My kiddo says they flavor your mouth with joy! 😂
Allison
Haha! I love that! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Natasha
Made these cookies using exact recipe, even weighed the flour. They turned out great!
Allison
Yay! That’s great to hear. Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah
These cookies came out flat and “oily”. I had them in the fridge for 30 minutes, and then left some for two hours and no improvement. Tried parchment paper… without parchment paper. Nothing worked. So disappointed
Allison
Sorry to hear that. Are you sure you only used one stick (1/2 cup) of butter?
Suzanne Stewart
M&M Cookies truly delicious. Made mine B I G and they went quickly. NO changes on first try and since this is my first reply I must say that all the recipe wording make things tough and costly to print. If things could be briefed up a bit and notes and explanation on a separate page that need not be printed. PLEASE
Allison
Hi, Suzanne. I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies. When you print the recipe there are three boxes at the top you can uncheck that will not print the photo, nutrition info, or notes.