These soft and chewy M&M Cookies are absolutely loaded with colorful candy pieces! Easy to make with no mixer required, this a great recipe to make with the kids!
My M&M Cookie Recipe includes a brief step-by-step video at the bottom of the post!
Do you realize how many different flavors of M&Ms there are out there?
Just curious, because until the other day when Zach came home from the grocery store with about 10 different colored M&M bags (because there’s obviously not enough sugar in my house already 😉), I had no idea.
I made these M&M Cookies with plain milk chocolate M&Ms, but now I’m looking forward to trying them with different flavors (so far, from trying them outside of a cookie, Caramel is a clear winner, White Chocolate is too sweet, and even though I was super resistant to trying Strawberry Nut it was surprisingly good).
Regardless of which variety of chocolate you choose to use, I think you’re going to love this easy, no-mixer required M&M Cookie Recipe. Let’s get started.
Why Do We Use Melted Butter Instead of Softened Butter?
Many cookie recipes call for softened butter and the ingredients direct you to cream your butter and sugars together. There’s nothing wrong with this technique, but I’ve found time and time again that creaming butter and sugar leads to cakier cookies, while using melted butter yields not only a chewier, softer cookie, but one that’s more buttery/more flavorful as well. Ever since first using this technique with my (“worst”) chocolate chip cookie recipe it’s become a default for most of the cookies that I share.
There are some drawbacks to using melted butter. Usually cookie dough made with melted butter requires chilling (as this M&M Cookie recipe does) to keep the cookies from spreading to much, but I’ve found the taste to be worth any extra time.
As I’ve also noted in this recipe and others, it’s really important that you not only melt your butter, but also let it cool back down to near room temperature. If you add your sugar while the butter is too hot, you can actually melt the sugar and end up with runny cookie dough that will never hold its shape in the oven, no matter how long you chill it.
Want to nerd-out about butter some more? Read why I use unsalted instead of salted butter here.
Treat yourself to a FREE E-BOOK!
Enjoy!
My video for these M&M Cookies is at the bottom of the recipe! If you enjoy watching my recipe videos, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.
How to Make M&M Cookies
M&M Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter melted and cooled at least 10 minutes (226g)
- 1 ¼ cup brown sugar* tightly packed (250g)
- ½ cup sugar (100g)
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature preferred*
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (350g)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups M&Ms
Instructions
- Combine your melted (and cooled) butter and sugars in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.
- Use a spatula to stir M&M candies into the cookie dough
- 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.
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! 🙂