Soft and Chewy M&M’s Cookies — Super soft, chewy, buttery M&M’s cookies that totally are irresistible! Loaded with M&M’s and perfect for springtime, Easter, Mother’s Day and more!
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These easy homemade M&M’s cookies turned out so soft, moist, and tender in the interior with perfectly chewy edges. The dough is buttery, with hints of vanilla.
There’s an abundance of M&M’s in every bite and I love biting into their shells. The dichotomy of smooth, supple dough, generously flanked with candy, and hearing those little shells crack and crunch as I bite down, and feeling the crunchy coating bits between my teeth, like sweet little eggshells, it’s just something I love.
They’re the best M&M’s cookies I’ve ever had. And not just because there’s pink M&M’s baked in, but that doesn’t hurt.
Ingredients Needed
To make this M&M’s cookie recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Milk chocolate M&M’s
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make M&M’s Cookies
Now, this is some of the easiest, fastest, and least fussy cookie dough you’ll ever make! Here’s how these spring cookies are made:
- Combine the butter, egg, sugars, vanilla, and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and mix.
- Fold in the M&M’s and you’re done. So easy.
- After the dough comes together, form two tablespoon-sized mounds.
- Place all the mounds on a large plate, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days, before baking. If you bake with warm dough, your cookies will spread more and won’t stay as thick and puffy, which is why I always bake with chilled dough.
- Bake the cookies at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes, no more.
Tip for Rolling the Cookie Dough Balls
I wasn’t skimpy with the M&M’s, to the point that when you’re forming the dough mounds before baking, it may seem like you have as many M&M’s as dough in your mixing bowl. Just stuff them back into the dough if they’re trying to fall out, and later you’ll savor each and every crunchy candy-coated bite.
Recipe Variations
This is a classic chewy M&M’s cookie recipe, but there are a few ingredient swaps you can make:
- M&M’s color: To make these M&M’s cookies appropriate for any season or get-together, simply switch up the M&M’s colors you use. I used pastel M&M’s for Easter, but these cookies are easily customized!
- Chocolate chips: If you don’t have M&M’s on hand, you’re welcome to use semi-sweet chocolate chips instead.
- Bars: If you don’t feel like making individual cookies or don’t have time for the dough to chill, press the dough into an 8- or 9-inch baking dish and bake until golden around the edges and just set in the center.
Recipe FAQs
Cornstarch is the secret ingredient that helps these cookies bake up super soft. Cornstarch is why pudding cookies and cake Mix cookies bake up so soft! It worked like a champ here, keeping the cookies soft and tender, without being cakey.
Yes, you MUST chill the cookie dough for at least 2 hours. If you bake warm dough, your cookies will spread in the oven.
Yes, you can make the cookie dough and shape it into balls and then chill or freeze the dough to bake off later.
The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled for two days, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and then baked for 8 1/2 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark.
The cookie tops should be set, but barely, and will be pale, glossy and appear underdone, but they firm up as they cool. Baking any longer than 10 minutes and you run the risk of the bottoms browning too much, the M&M’s cracking, or ending up with hard, dry, rock-like hockey pucks after cooling.
Yes, you’re welcome to use any variety of M&M’s you’d like in this recipe.
Yes, you’re welcome to add chopped nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and more to these cookies. Just keep in mind that you shouldn’t add more than 1 1/2 cups mix-ins total.
Storage Instructions
Baked cookies: Store the chewy M&M’s cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Raw cookie dough: Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
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Soft and Chewy M&M’s Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 ½ cups milk chocolate M&M’s, or another variety of M&M’s, or chocolate chips may be substituted
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the M&M’s and fold in by hand.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds very slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray. and place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart; I bake 8 cookies per sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than ten minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked with dough that had been chilled for two days, allowed to come to room temp for 15 minutes, and were baked for 8 1/2 minutes, with trays rotated at the 4-minute mark. They have chewy edges with soft pillowy centers).
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cookie Recipes with M&M’s:
M&M’s Chocolate Chip Cookies — These bakery-style M&M’s cookies are soft, chewy, buttery, and LOADED with M&M’s and chocolate chips. No one can resist these cookies!
Chocolate Cake Mix M&M’s Cookies — Foolproof cookies made with just 5 ingredients!! If you’re craving chocolate and want to make super EASY cookies that are soft, FUDGY, and delicious, this is the recipe to make!!
The BEST Oatmeal Chocolate Chip M&M’s Cookies — Between the chewy oats, the gooey melted chocolate, and the slight crunch from the M&Ms, there’s wonderful texture in every bite.
Soft M&M’s Pudding Cookies — This is my new favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They’re soft, buttery, and this version is loaded with milk chocolate M&Ms and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Monster Cookies — My recipe for classic monster cookies that are chock full of creamy peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and M&M’s makes both kids and adults reach for just one more cookie! Fast, EASY, soft, perfectly chewy, and they’ll become a family FAVORITE in no time!
Santa’s Kitchen Sink Cookies — Santa and everyone else won’t be able to resist these AMAZING cookies loaded with everything but the kitchen sink!! EASY, festive, salty-sweet treats with a FUN ingredients list!!
Originally posted March 12, 2013 and reposted with updated text April 1, 2022.
Made these yesterday and followed the recipe exactly. They are amazing!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for coming back to LMK you tried them and followed the recipe to a T and you had great success! Yay!
These look phenomenal!
My cookies turned out crumbly and dry (but still tasty ;p). I’m not blaming your recipe, only my newbie baking skills! Things that could’ve gone wrong: didn’t beat mixture for long enough, ran out of vanilla so only had 1 tsp… only things I can think of that I didn’t to exactly as you said.
It’s very hard to say but sounds like they could have been over-floured (try a few tablespoons less next time) or over-baked. Maybe your oven runs hot? This recipe is basically the same recipe as here https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/11/chocolate-chip-and-chunk-cookies.html for the dough and there are thousands of people who’ve made the recipe with success (including the links to other sites given in that post) – so I would just say keep trying since you said you’re a new baker. And take them out of the oven sooner rather than later next time would be my biggest tip!
OH MY! Just made these this morning for a church bake sale and now I’m thinking these taste SOOOO good I’m not sure they will make it to the sale. These have to be the most amazing cookies EVER ! With every bite I think these taste like they were made by a professional baker, I can’t believe I made them. Thank you for sharing this recipe. This will be my new go to recipe for cookies. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Thanks for such extremely high praise about the cookies, Natalie! If one of my recipes can make a person feel like their cookies were make by a professional baker, there is no higher compliment than that! Enjoy this cookie dough base for chocolate chip cookies or any other add-in’s you like. I love it so much, too! Thanks for coming back to LMK how happy you are with these!
These are beautiful! I’ve always loved M&M cookies; I think the peanut butter ones may be my favorite though! :)
I made these yesterday and did not find them to be chewy… they were a lot more thick, fluffy, and cakelike. I may try the recipe again and modify to make them a little more sweet (these almost tasted and felt like slightly sweet biscuits). Maybe a little less baking powder for me next time too?
If you used baking POWDER per your comment, that’s your problem.
The recipe calls for baking SODA!
Powder WILL make things cake-like and not chewy and biscuit-like as you said. So if that was what you used, that was definitely the culprit!
1. How well do these keep? If I make the dough on Thursday, bake on Saturday, will they be good for Easter baskets on Sunday?
2. I only have dark chocolate pastel m&m’s on hand. . . do you think they’ll come out just as well?
1. Reread the post and recipe section of the post because I addressed it in more detail but yes to your question; totally fine.
2. I’m sure that’ll be just fine.
Enjoy!
This came out really well – thank you! If I hadn’t had 11 guests+an entire dinner to do that day, I would have baked them “day of”. . . but they held well in the container for 24-36 hours.
Glad you and all the guests enjoyed them! Thanks for trying them & coming back to tell me you made them!
Pinned! Can’t wait to try them out!
Thank you for the pin!
My husband made these with White Chocolate M & Ms and they were “to DIE for!!” The best cookies I’ve ever eaten!!
BEST cookies you’ve ever eaten!? Well that’s awesome!!!!! I totally need those white choc M & Ms in my life (the PB ones are good in here too). Thanks for telling me your husband made them for you! Wow, he’s a keeper :)
I just adore the pastel colors. I can see myself getting into major trouble if I made these….I could eat at least half of them in one sitting!!
They’re so soft, it’s very easy to have one more, one more… :)
I love the pretty pastel m&ms and the soft, gooey, buttery insides of these cookies! Chewy outsides, and insides that look like cookie dough–that is basis for the perfect cookie!
I love it!
These cookies are adorable! I love the use of easter m &ms, they look like little eggs. While I definitely appreciate a good ol’ m &m studded cookie, I have a feeling the pretty colors make these even tastier ;)
Pastels and pretty colors DO make things taste better :)