Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

Closeup of an M&M cookie topped with chocolate chips and M&M's.

The BEST Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies. Crisp chewy edges, soft centers, and loaded with colorful M&M's. Everyone goes crazy for these.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 9

Total Time 29

Servings - 20 (recipe can be doubled)

Calories 190kcal

Author Allison Mattina

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

*FLOUR:

Flour should be weighed or measured by spooning the flour into your measuring cup and leveling it off.

I recently began making this recipe with 1⅔ cups of flour which results in slightly thicker cookies. This recipe has been published for a decade, with lots of reviews, so I'm leaving it as originally written (1½ cups flour) but feel free to bump up the flour by a couple tablespoons if your dough seems thin or you prefer thicker cookies.

CHILL TIME:

The cookie dough can be baked right away but the cookies will be on the thinner side. I find that a short chill time produces a better, slightly thicker, result.

HOW TO GET 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 (see photo below). 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. Note: This only works when the cookies are hot, straight from the oven, and still on the warm baking sheet.

Glass bowl over a chocolate chip cookie on a 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 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. You can also dip the top of each dough ball into color coordinated sprinkles.

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