What is it about the bright colors and buttery taste of M&M cookies that takes us back to our childhood and makes us feel like a kid again, no matter our age? It’s like taking the classic chocolate chip cookie and punching it up a level with the crunchy, chocolate goodness of M&M candies. But just like chocolate chip cookies, it’s not always easy to make the perfect cookie. So, if you’re looking for the best m&m cookies, this mm cookie recipe is what you need.
The Secret to MM Cookie Recipe
The reason why I love this MM cookie recipe is because it makes chewy cookies with crisp edges. It’s a lot like my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, both in terms of texture, ingredients, and technique. There are just a few differences between the two recipes and it’s what makes these M&M cookies the best.
This recipe includes more brown sugar than white sugar and that helps give these cookies their chewy centers. So, while many people try to use the original recipe for toll house cookies and simply substitute the chocolate chips, this recipe has the perfect blend of ingredients to make the M&Ms the star of the cookie.
In addition to the ingredients, it’s how you mix the ingredients that makes a difference. When you cream butter and sugar together you add a lot of air to the wet ingredients, and this gives you taller cookies. It’s not a bad thing because they will be nice and tender, but for a chewy cookie using melted butter gives you the best results.
Ingredients for M&M Cookies
Like any good cookie recipe, using high quality ingredients ensures that you get the best cookies. For me this means starting with a good vanilla extract so that I get the most flavor. I prefer using pure vanilla extract instead of an imitation because I think it brings out the best flavor in the cookies. But I understand that pure vanilla is expensive so use whatever fits your budget. This recipe includes 2 teaspoons of vanilla for extra flavor.
Stick with unsalted butter instead of salted butter. This way you can control the sodium content in the cookie and add the right amount of salt to bring out the flavor of the other ingredients. And speaking of salt, this recipe includes 1 teaspoon of table salt. Don’t use a kosher salt as that doesn’t have as much flavor as table salt and you’d need to add extra.
I recommend using regular size M&M candies for this recipe. While you could use mini mm’s, I think that the regular size gives you a better ratio of chewy cookie, to candy crunch. This is especially true if you make big cookies like the size you’d get at a bakery. The mini M&Ms just get lost, and the regular m&m candies really stand out more.
Want extra chocolate in your cookies? You can always add chocolate chips to this MM cookie recipe. That way you get the crunch from the m&m candies, but you also get the extra chocolate that the chips add. And if you want to add chips, it’s OK to add mini chips if you want. This way you get a fun mix of large and mini chocolate pieces in each bite.
Tips for Making MM Cookie Recipe
One of the reasons why I like this recipe is because it’s easy to make. You can mix everything by hand, and you don’t have to worry about needing a stand mixer, or electric hand mixer to mix-up the cookie dough.
I like to chill the dough before baking because I think it allows the ingredients to come together as the dough rests. But the one downside to this is that I do find it harder to scoop the cookie dough when it’s chilled. So, if you prefer to work with a softer dough, you may want to bake the cookies right away. If you do want to chill the dough, another option is to scoop the cookie dough balls first. This way you can easily scoop the dough, and then you can chill them until needed.
The ideal chill time is about 30 minutes, but you can chill the dough overnight if you want to bake-off fresh cookies. This same approach applies if you want to freeze the dough. I like to freeze cookie dough balls so that I can pull them out one at a time when I want to bake fresh cookies. This way I get warm and chewy m&m cookies whenever I want.
Do not overbake the cookies. You want to pull them out of the oven when the cookie has soft centers and looks underdone. You are going to be tempted to put them in for a little longer, but DON’T. Pull them out when they look underdone, and the edges of the cookie are just starting to turn golden brown. After taking the cookies out of the oven, let them rest on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before storing the cookies in an airtight container.
What Not to Do When Making MM Cookies
When I was experimenting with this recipe, I thought it would be cool to chop up some M&Ms. I rolled the cookie dough balls in the chopped-up candies and then placed them on the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I figured that this way each cookie would be loaded with extra candies, but unfortunately the result was not what I expected.
The problem with chopping up the candies is that it causes the candies to burn. When you bake them whole the candy shell protects the chocolate, so you get a yummy, chocolate bite. After this experiment I went with my usual technique of adding extra M&Ms on top of the cookie when I take them out of the oven. This way each cookie is loaded with lots of candy, but it also makes the cookies look pretty because the M&Ms aren’t buried in the cookie. They are front and center just waiting to be gobbled up.
How to Make MM Cookie Recipe
As I mentioned above, this recipe is so easy to make because you mix it in a bowl with a whisk and a spoon. And because this recipe uses melted butter, there’s no prep time needed to soften the butter. That makes this a great last-minute recipe for when you need cookies right away.
Mix your dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the melted butter, sugars, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. When it comes time to add the flour mixture, add it to the wet ingredients in two parts. When you add the second half of the flour mixture, also add the M&Ms. This way you won’t overmix the dough.
Another key to this recipe is the temperature you bake the cookies. Where I typically using a moderate temperature of 350 degrees, for this recipe you want a hotter oven set to 425 degrees. With the hotter temperature and the higher amount of baking soda, the cookies quickly puff up and then they deflate. This helps give the cookies a great texture and the perfect crumb.
I like to bake the cookies one cookie sheet at a time. That way I can have one sheet in the oven, while the other one is cooling. And by using parchment paper I can easily bake another sheet of cookies once the cookie sheet is cool. I use a cookie scoop to get evenly sized cookies, but you can also use a measuring spoon to scoop one to two tablespoons of dough to form a ball.
MM Cookie Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Mixing Bowl
- Cookie Sheet
- Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 3/4 tsp. Baking soda
- 12 T Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large egg plus 1 large yolk
- 2 tsps. Vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 Cups M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in bowl and set aside.
- Whisk melted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in bowl until combined.
- Whisk in egg, yolk and vanilla extract until combined (about 30 seconds).
- Using a spoon or rubber spatula, mix in half of flour mixture.
- Add remaining flour and M&M's. Stir just until combined.
- Use cookie scoop or tablespoon to make balls that are approximately 2.5 tablespoons.
- Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
- Use your hand to gently flatten flatten balls.
- Bake cookies approximately 8 minutes. Cookies will look underdone.
- Cool cookies on cookie for 5 minutes and then move to wire rack to cool for an additional 10 minutes.
Variations for M&M Cookies
With this MM cookie recipe, there are lots of ways to mix it up and come up with different variations. Of course, you can always go with using different types of M&Ms. From peanut butter m&m candies, pretzel, or peanut M&M, you can make different types of cookies with this one recipe.
If you want to stick with the classic M&M candies, you can also add extra chips to create different variations. I like to add chocolate chips, but peanut butter chips and butterscotch chips are also yummy to mix in.
You can also make different variations of these cookies by swapping out the all-purpose flour. You could make a gluten-free version of the cookie by using a gluten free flour like King Arthur’s gluten free. If you don’t want to go that route, you could also use a white whole wheat flour, or an oat flour for an extra nutty flavor for the cookie.
Bake sales are always loaded with sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, so next time go with this mm cookie recipe to make sweet treats that people can’t resist. I mean who can resist chewy m&m cookies, especially if you add extra M&Ms. For extra large bakery style cookies, use a measuring cup to scoop out 1/4 cup of cookie dough and gently press down before baking.
I have no doubt that this MM cookie recipe is sure to become one of your favorite cookies. This soft cookie with a candy crunch is one that won’t last long, but it’s nice to know that it keeps well if you want them to last a while.
In addition to this MM cookie recipe, you may also like a Crispy Oatmeal Cookie recipe of the original Toll House Cookie recipe.
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