These Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies have chewy edges, super soft center and are packed with chocolatey M&M’s. They’re colorful, quick and easy – no chill time required!
I love an M&M cookie. Dare I say that I get more excited for an M&M cookie than I do a chocolate chip??
(Don’t tell Nestle…)
There’s something about that little extra *oomph* the candy shell adds to the cookie – and who doesn’t love the fun colors?
And of course, Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies are packed full of flavor – rich buttery notes with brown sugar and vanilla, and of course, chocolate in every bite!
Key Ingredients
- Butter – While I’ve used a variety of butters to make this recipe over the years, I keep coming back to Land O’Lakes for that rich buttery taste.
- Brown Sugar – Be sure to grab LIGHT brown sugar for this recipe (dark brown sugar makes them too soft). This adds a depth of flavor to the sweetness in these cookies and helps the crumb maintain that soft and chewy texture.
- Granulated Sugar – “It’s only 3 Tablespoons.” While you may be tempted to use all brown sugar, you’d be doing yourself wrong. Even this small amount of granulated sugar helps the edges of these cookies develop the slightest crispiness – texture is key.
- M&M’s – I’ve only ever used the plain M&M’s for this recipe – not Peanut M&M’s or any other flavor. I’m about 95% sure other flavors would work, but I can’t say for sure.
- Vanilla – What’s a good cookie without a splash of vanilla?! The vanilla makes “just sweet” become “oh wow, that’s good”. And while we’re on developing flavor…
- Salt – Ever had a cookie that lacked a little a flavor? Seemed a little flat? I bet it needed a pinch of salt…
The Process – How to Make Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
First you’re going to want to cream the butter and sugars together. Once those are looking light and fluffy, I like to add the egg, vanilla and salt and stir to combine.
Then I measure and add the dry ingredients right on top and stir until the flour is about 50% incorporated.
At that point, I add the M&M’s and stir until everything is combined.
“Why don’t you fully mix in the flour and then add the M&M’s?”
Mainly because this helps me keep from overmixing the dough. Overmixed cookie dough = tough cookies.
But also this might be a hold over from tossing chocolate chips in flour before adding them to cake batter so they’re less likely to sink to the bottom….
Either way.
Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- Electric Mixer (Optional)
- Baking Sheet Pans
- Parchment Paper
- Cooling Rack
- #40 (¾oz) Disher (Optional)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter (1 stick) softened
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Table Salt
- 1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 ½ cups Plain M&M's (roughly 1 – 10oz bag)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. (Yes, 300. Not 350). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy – about 30 seconds with an electric mixer, or 60-90 seconds by hand.
- Add the egg, vanilla and salt and stir until well incorporated – about 30 seconds.
- Next, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until about 50% incorporated – Add the M&M's.
- Mix the dough until all ingredients are fully incorporated but do not overmix.
- Drop balls of cookie dough, about 2 Tablespoons at a time, onto the prepared baking sheet. Optional: Use a cookie scoop. I prefer a #40 Disher (¾oz) to scoop dough into equally sized portions.
- Bake in a preheated oven, at 300°F for 12-15min.**Allow cookies to cool for about 10min on the sheet pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Looking for more idea?
Eggless Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Spicy White Chocolate and Lime Cookies
