Soft M&M’s Pudding Cookies — The softest, thickest, best M&M’s cookies ever! People love these big cookies loaded with M&M’s! Instant vanilla pudding mix keeps them super soft and pillowy!
Table of Contents
These M&M’s pudding cookies are thick enough to sink your teeth into, and they’re so very soft and moist. There’s a hint of chewiness at the base and edges, and it’s just enough to balance the softness and give me the mouthfeel I’m looking for in a perfectly baked cookie.
The texture is dense yet light, and they remind me a bit of the texture in the Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies, minus the cream cheese.
The crunchy candy coating shells of the M&M’s also breaks up the soft, buttery dough and is a perfect texture contrast to the smooth, melted semi-sweet chocolate chips.
These vanilla pudding M&M’s cookies get my vote as my new chocolate chip cookie dough base to beat, and that’s a big statement.
The Science Behind Baking with Pudding Mix
This is some of the best cookie dough I’ve ever made. The cookies are great, but the dough base itself, wow. Allow me to explain. If you don’t care about cookie science, scroll down to the recipe. But if you do, pour a cup of coffee and enjoy.
For nearly the past two years, when I make chocolate chip cookies, I use this recipe. It produces amazingly consistent chocolate chip cookies, and one reason the cookies always turn out beautifully is from the cornstarch in the dough. I’ve used cornstarch in about 20+ cookie recipes because it helps create softbatch-style cookies that are so soft, moist, and supple, without turning cakey.
However, for these chewy M&M’s cookies, rather than using cornstarch, I used 1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix. Pudding mix is mostly modified food starch (aka cornstarch) and some sugary flavorings. So it turns out pudding cookies and cornstarch cookies really aren’t that far apart!
Ingredients for the Cookies
To make these easy vanilla pudding cookies using M&M’s cookies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 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 Pudding Cookies
The dough for these cookies comes together quickly! Here are the basic recipe steps:
- Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
- Stir in the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the M&M’s and chocolate chips.
- Shape the cookie dough into balls using a 1/4 cup scoop, then press more M&M’s into the top. Chill for at least 2 hours before baking.
- Once the dough has had time to chill, bake until the edges have set and the tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center.
Tip for Making Pretty Cookies
I added 3/4 cup M&M’s into the dough, formed the mounds, and then inserted another tablespoon of M&M’s onto the tops for a nice visual pop. I want to really knowing I’m eating M&M’s cookies.
Cookie FAQs
The pudding cookie craze is nothing new, but not everyone likes or has access to pudding mix. If that’s you, rather than using pudding mix, use 2 teaspoons cornstarch, which means you’re back at my gold standard dough base (which is still great!).
Note that this recipe calls for instant vanilla pudding mix, NOT cook and serve. You also can’t use sugar-free pudding mix.
Yes! As with all my cookies, I chilled the dough before baking. It’s absolutely crucial for thick, puffy, full cookies. If you bake with warm, limp dough, your cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter. Why bother? Plan ahead and chill your dough.
Yes! I made this pudding mix M&M’s cookie recipe for Valentine’s Day, but you can make them for another holiday by using different colored M&M’s!
Go for it! I didn’t use many chocolate chips, only 3/4 cup for the whole batch, but it’s just enough to boost up the chocolate profile. Since the M&M’s are milk chocolate, a little semi-sweet is nice, but use whatever kind you like.
Storage Instructions
Baked cookies: Will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Raw 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.
Video Tutorial
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Soft M&M’s Pudding Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup instant vanilla pudding mix*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ¼ cups milk chocolate M&M’s, divided, (3/4 cup for mixing into the dough + 1/2 cup for placing on top of the dough mounds)
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large mixing bowl and electric mixer) combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, about 4 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, pudding mix (or cornstarch), baking soda, optional salt, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the chocolate chips, 3/4 cup M&M’s, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- Using a large cookie scoop, 1/4-cup measure, or your hands, form 15 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly.
- Add about 1 tablespoon M&M’s to the top of each dough mound.
- Place mounds on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days. Do not bake with unchilled dough because cookies will bake thinner, flatter, and be more prone to spreading.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place dough mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for 11 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center. Cookies firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cookies Made with Pudding Mix:
Soft Peanut Butter Pudding Cookies — These chocolate-dipped peanut butter cookies are SOFT AND CHEWY on the inside thanks to the addition of pudding mix in the cookie dough! Dipping them in dark chocolate makes for the PERFECT flavor combo!!
The Best Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies — One of my absolute favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookies thanks to a special ingredient! Just one bite and I think you’ll agree!!
Quadruple Chocolate Pudding Cookies — These pudding cookies are packed with cocoa powder, chocolate chips and chunks, and chocolate pudding mix to deliver seriously chocolatey flavor!
Double Malted Milk Cookies — Soft and chewy malted milk cookies loaded with Whoppers and chocolate chips! One of my favorite malted milk powder recipes!
Chocolate Chip Andes Mint Cookies — These quadruple chocolate Andes mint cookies are big, bakery-style cookies that are rich, not overly sweet, and loaded with chocolate and mint chips.
Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies – You won’t miss the butter in these olive oil chocolate chip cookies!! They’re soft and chewy, loaded with chocolate, and have a unique flavor from the olive oil but it’s not overpowering!
Quadruple Chocolate Rolo Cookies — Soft and chewy cookies made with four kinds of chocolate and stuffed with Rolo candies! Ooey, gooey, and addictive!
I’ve been looking for a recipe that is similar to these gourmet cookies we have found at a local grocery store. The dough is thick (almost seems like we are eating cookie dough) but very tasty. I wonder if they use cornstarch in their cookies. I’ve been trying to figure out how they achieve such a thick doughy cookie. Would like to try this recipe and see if it’s similar.
Thick doughy cookies…it can be so many things. Over-flouring, under-baking, cornstarch, pudding mix, extra egg yolks, packing the dough with shortening. So many variables.
Made these last night and they turned out perfectly. Soft, moist, and chewy. Love them! Great recipe…I will for sure be using it again and again!
I’m glad you loved them, Veronica, and that they turned out perfectly for you and you’ll be using the recipe again and again!
I will definitely be making these! I really want them right now, but I think I’ll make them for the Super Bowl with M&M colors to match the team I’m cheering for :-)
How long would you recommend baking the cookies if I reduced the size to 1 1/2 Tablespoons of dough?
When people change the recipe from what I wrote, it’s impossible for me to ‘guess’ accurately. Purely a guess, but I would start with 7-8 mins.
I would love to make this cookies for valentinesday!
May I ask you where you got these coloured m&ms? I looked everywhere but I cant find them.
Target!
Oh that’s a pity! We don’t have Target in the Netherlands.. Thanks, anyway!
Well you can use any kind of M&Ms you want. These were just Valentine’s colors but all colors taste the same :)
Love those festive M&Ms and how soft these cookies look. So perfect for Valentine’s Day!
baking a double batch right now! perfect for a snow day! they are awesome!!! thanks for the recipe…
Thanks for trying a double batch & glad you love them, Lindsay! Stay warm during the snow day :)
Pudding mix? Say what?! A recent convert to the cornstarch craze, I’ll have to give pudding mix a try. Love your Valentine’s Day themed M&Ms. Too cute!
You’re going to love love the results!
Hi Averie,
These look scrumptious so, of course, I needed to try them…my cookie dough came out really crumbly. Not sure why…any suggestions?
Hmm not sure. My dough was very moist. Are you sure you measured everything correctly and didn’t accidentally over-add flour or other dry ingredients? The only change to this dough and literally 25 other recipes identical to it was adding the 1/4 c pudding mix instead of 2 tsp cornstarch which isn’t enough to make a noticeable difference in the dough crumble factor. So many thousands of people have tried all those other recipes and I don’t usually hear about crumblyness. Not sure what to say. Maybe add less flour next time if you’re 100% sure you measured everything correctly.
I’m 99.9% sure I didn’t over-add any dry ingredients. I did wonder if it was the 1/4 c. of pudding mix myself… I’ll do another batch later in the week and see what happens. But, right now, the dough is in the refrigerator, I’ll see how it turns out. Thanks for the quick reply!
Ok when you measured the flour, you didn’t pack it down into the cup. You need to measure flour with a light hand. Sounds like you may know that but just pointing it out. Also initial creaming step, the butter was set out to soften, creaming wasn’t shortcut..the brown sugar was nice and moist and not dried out. Those are all other things that come to mind. You used a large egg rather than medium. Keep me posted.
lol that’s funny I thought the same thing about the egg, ran to the fridge to make sure I had bought large eggs.
Those are really good tips! The brown sugar wasn’t as moist as it could have been and my hand may have been heavy with the flour. When I red0 the recipe I’ll keep those things in mind. Moistening up that sugar as we speak.
Thanks Avery!
It’s the SUGAR! Brown sugar that’s not moist can kill dough. Plus, then using anything other than a light hand with flour, that’s a double whammy. I think the little tweaks will work and start with 1 1/2 c flour next time and as necessary, work your way up to 2c, just to be safe. LMK how it goes!
Averie!
I re-did them, and even though I was super careful with everything, I ended up using 1.5cups of flour only (strange huh?). But OMG, they are amazing! I took the first batch to work, but these, these babies I kept for myself! Thank you for all the tips. mwah!
Well I’m so glad you got them to work and they are JUST what you needed! And yes, keep these all for yourself :) And 1.5 is lower than I’d expect but hey, whatever works, works!
Yep. Whatever works, works is what I thought too…I probably could have done another 1/4 cup of flour but I was afraid to dry it out again.
These are so pretty and they do look really good, I’ve never made cookies with pudding mix before I shall definitely have to give these a go.
Pudding mix in cookies is really something new for me, but I have to admit the cookies look just awesome! So I’ll try this recipe asap.
Made these last night and baked the first ones this morning. I realized I forgot the egg after I put the chocolate chips in. Gave it a try anyway and they came out great! They are nice and puffy too. Who knew! I used dark chocolate chips.
That’s amazing that even without an egg they still worked! God bless the pudding mix! Thanks for trying them!
I must say, I never thought there were so may ways to make M&M’s/chocolate chip cookies! Great job, Averie, I think everyone must have been drooling at this post :) I love how you describe each and every thing- the texture, flavors, softness…it was *almost* like I’ve already tasted these!
I never thought there was so many ways to bake a cookie either, until baking cookies has become my FT job :) Now I can talk about it for days, the little nuances and details that truly do effect results!
I’m such a baking nerd, because I loved reading about your cookie trials :)
Well thanks for reading it! And baking nerds unite :)
I must say I was drooling looking at these pics and reading your post!!! LOVE the pics!! Cannot wait to make them!! :)
Thanks Joan & enjoy them!
You know how I feel about pudding cookies :-) They still top my list of favorites! These are absolutely stunning looking girl! I love how crisp and clear they are, and how the M&M’s just pop! Amazing!!! Pinning for sure!
I know you have a jillion pudding cookies and I am finally in on the action :) Thanks for pinning!