You’ve officially found the BEST M&M cookie recipe! My soft and chewy M&M cookies are easy (NO mixer!) and have the prettiest cookie tops. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Best M&M Cookie Recipe
I’ve got a fun and colorful M&M cookie recipe for you today! These M&M cookies are so easy to make and are great for baking with kids. You’ll love the simple and flavorful cookie base (it’s very similar to my best chocolate chip cookie recipe!) and how well it works with the crunchy M&M candies. This one definitely deserves a place in your recipe book!
This recipe would be perfect any holiday; just switch up the classic colored M&Ms with the holiday version for simple and crowd-pleasing Christmas cookies or Easter cookies. It doesn’t get much easier than that 😊
What you’ll love about my recipe:
- No mixer required: these can be made by hand, thanks to melted butter.
- Bakery-style finish: I’m sharing my favorite tip for the prettiest cookie tops!
- Can be made in advance: Chill for a few days, or freeze for months.
- Simple: Just 11 ingredients!
What You Need
My M&M cookie recipe uses staple ingredients you should already have in your pantry. Here are a few of the important ones:
- Melted butter. Many cookie recipes call for you to cream softened butter into sugar. There’s nothing wrong with this technique, but I’ve found that creaming butter and sugar leads to cakier cookies, while using melted butter yields chewier, softer cookies that are more buttery and flavorful. Ever since first using this technique with my chocolate chip cookie recipe, it’s become a default for most of the cookie recipes I share, including today’s M&M cookie recipe!
- Brown sugar. I use light brown sugar, but you can use dark brown or even a blend of the two.
- Cornstarch. I love using cornstarch in cookies to keep them soft and prevent them from spreading too much in the oven. While you could leave it out, I highly recommend including it.
- Egg + egg yolk. That extra egg yolk also helps with softness and chewiness–don’t skip it!
SAM’S TIP: Set aside a handful of M&Ms to press into to the tops of your cookies when they come out of the oven. This will give them that bakery-style M&M cookie appearance!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make M&M Cookies
- Combine the melted butter and sugars, then stir in the eggs and vanilla.
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Stir in the M&Ms until evenly incorporated.
- Cover the dough and let it chill for at least 45 minutes.
- Scoop and roll the dough into balls before placing them onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, then let the cookies cool completely on their sheet before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: Your cookies should look slightly underdone when you pull them out of the oven; this is intentional! We’ll let them finish cooking outside the oven on the cookie sheet. This guarantees our M&M cookies will stay soft after long they’ve cooled.
Frequently Asked Questions
While they should spread some, your cookies shouldn’t be super flat. This can happen if you add your butter while it’s still too hot. Melted butter that’s too hot can actually melt the sugar and will give you a greasy, runny cookie dough that will never hold its shape in the oven, no matter how long you chill it.
On the other hand, if your cookies aren’t spreading enough, it could be that you’ve over-measured your flour. Read my post on how to measure flour so this doesn’t happen in the future!
Yes! Just make sure to cover it with plastic wrap.
You can also freeze this M&M cookie recipe. Simply wrap each cookie (raw or baked) in plastic wrap and freeze in a ziploc bag or airtight container.
Absolutely. These would be delicious with peanut butter M&Ms or even mint M&Ms–yum!
Candy and cookies–whats not to like?!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
M&M Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until no longer warm to the touch
- 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar* tightly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred*
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (340 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (315 g) M&Ms
Instructions
- Combine melted butter and sugars in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until no longer warm to the touch, 1 ¼ cup (250 g) brown sugar* tightly packed, ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir well.1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred*, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.2 ¾ cups (340 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.
- Use a spatula to stir M&M candies into the cookie dough1 ½ cups (315 g) M&Ms
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Once oven has preheated, remove your chilled cookie dough from the fridge and roll dough into approximately 2 Tablespoon-sized scoops. Roll gently to form a ball and place on prepared cookie sheet (space cookies at least 2" apart).
- Bake on 350F (175C) for 10-11 minutes, centers of the cookies may still seem slightly underbaked — allow cookies to cool completely on cookie sheet to finish cooking there, this will help keep them nice and soft.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Stephanie Keethler
Hi Sam!
We love this recipe so much! Our new favorite M&M cookie recipe! I have a quick question, I was comparing it to your second best chocolate chip cookie recipe and they are almost identical. I was going to just make this M&M cookie recipe when I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies or should I follow that separate recipe instead? Just curious if the chocolate chips did better in the other recipe? Thank you for your time!
Sam
Hi Stephanie! They are very similar, one has a little more cornstarch. When you find a good cookie base why change it too much right? You would be safe to use either recipe. 🙂
Ella
What could you use instead of eggs or could you leave the eggs out
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Ella! Unfortunately, the eggs are needed in this recipe and there is not a good substitute. If you are looking for cookies that are egg-free I would reccomend my Chocolate Snowball Cookies.
Lisa
this is an amazing recipe. My family says these are the best cookies they’ve ever had. Easy recipe and perfect soft, chewy cookie
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Lisa! I am so happy to hear that the cookies have been such a hit! Thank you for commenting. Enjoy! 🙂
Caroline
Hi Sam
I would really like to attempt your fabulous cookie recipe to keep me busy but unfortunately I don’t have any corn starch. Is there a way to substitute?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Caroline! If you don’t have cornstarch on hand you can leave it out, the cookies just won’t be as chewy, however, they will still taste delicious. Happy Baking. 🙂
Yael
Amazing
Again!
Thank you …
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the M&M cookies, Yael! Thank you for trying my recipes, I appreciate the feedback.
Ava
Hi!
I made these cookies and they were delicious! The only problem was that the cookies become hard really fast…how could I stop this from happening?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Ava! I am sorry that you experienced issues. They should be soft and chewy. If they are hard, it could be that they were baked too long. Also, you want to be sure to store them in an airtight container to keep them fresh. I hope that helps. Regardless, I am glad that they taste delicious.
Sue
Can this recipe be safely doubled? 16 cookies don’t go very far in a cookie exchange!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Sue! Yes, you can easily double this recipe. I hope that the M&M Cookies are a hit at your cookie exchange. 🙂
Melissa
Hi Sam. I love these cookies so much as do my kids. But I am curious what I’m doing wrong. I follow the recipe to a T but my cookies don’t stay soft at all – I fact they are much rounder than yours on top too ! Any suggestions would be helpful. Despite them getting a bit harder we still love them so much 😀
Sam
Hi Melissa! Are they not spreading much in the oven? I am wondering if it might be an issue with the flour. Are you weighing your flour or measuring it with a measuring cup? I would check out my guide on how to measure flour properly, that might be helpful if they are too crisp and aren’t spreading. Another problem could be if your oven temperature is running hotter than it is letting on, the cookies may be cooking faster than they should and this could make them too crisp.
When baking them, pull them out of the oven when the centers still look slightly under-done and the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown (this may mean shaving a minute or two off of the indicated bake time if your oven is running hot). Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet and the centers will cook up all the way without becoming over-done, this is a great way to keep them nice and soft.
I hope that helps!
James Taylor
Hello Sam,
Thank you for the easy recipe and video. The only cookies I have ever baked are the pre-made Toll House cookies. I used your M & M Cookie recipe for my holiday cookie exchange at work and they were a huge hit! However, instead of regular M & M’s I used peanut butter M & M’s and they turned out yummy too! I can’t wait to try your other recipes, such as the no-bake peanut butter cookie.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, James. I love the switch to peanut butter M&M’s. I bet they tasted delicious. I can’t wait to hear what recipe you try next! 🙂
Shivma
Is there anyway to make this eggless? The original recipe is awesome but have some egg allergy people that I want to make for and not really to sure how to keep the same texture and taste. Thanks!
Sam
I’m sorry, Shivma, unfortunately I’m not sure how I would make this eggless and keep the texture the same. I’m sorry! 🙁
Pat
Excellent recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and the cookies turned out great. The best part was that they stayed soft for days which most recipes they get dry and crumbly. A keeper! I’m going to try the brownie recipe next.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Pat! I am so happy that you enjoyed the M&M Cookies. I hope that you enjoy my brownie recipe just as much. Happy Baking! 🙂
Selah Howard
Hi there!
So, I really cannot understand why I haven’t commented on this cookie recipe yet since I have made it over and over again! Needless to say, they so good! Wonderful taste and so fun and cheery! Love these cookies to death, and am ready to make another batch (as I’m writing this in fact ;P)! Great job, Sam!
Sweetly, Selah
Sugar Spun Run
Selah, Thank you! I am so happy that you enjoyed the M&M Cookie Recipe. Such a fun cookie, one of my favorites too. Happy baking! 🙂
Christina
Hi! If I make the dough the night before and let chill overnight, should I let the dough stand on my counter for a little bit before baking? I’ve made these cookies twice before and have LOVED them!!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Sam
Hi Christina! If you refrigerate the dough overnight, make sure you keep it covered tightly. It may need to sit out for about 10 minutes before you can scoop the cookies. 🙂
Emilee
Hi! I melted my butter and then realized I didnt have any cornstarch. Can I refrigerate the melted room temperature butter and melt it again tomorrow? I dont want to waste the butter but I dont want to make cookies that wont turn out either. Any advice?
Sam
Hi Emilee! I hate when that happens! You shouldn’t have any issues refrigerating the melted butter and reusing it the next day. I hope you love the cookies! 🙂
Roberta
Do you end up putting on some extra m&ms on top of each ball just before baking? I find if you just rely on the ones mixed in the batter, it’s too easy to end up not really seeing them. In your pictures, the m&ms are so prominent and “pretty”.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Roberta! As the cookies come out of the oven, I nestle a few m&ms on top of the warm cookie. This makes them look “pretty”. I hope that you enjoy them! 🙂
Roberta
Thanks for the quick reply! Bake sale season at the schools …
Sugar Spun Run
No problem! A couple of other school bake sale favorites are my Brownies and Rice Krispie Treats. Good Luck at the Bake Sale! 🙂