Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
Tips and tricks for making the perfect soft M & M cookies.
This is without a doubt the best soft and chewy M & M cookie recipe.
I have been working for months and months to perfect this cookie recipe. Actually, creating the perfect M & M cookie recipe may be harder than you ever thought. M & M's have a tendency to weigh down a cookie which flattens it. They are also sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate chips so the sugar to butter to flour ratio had to be spot on. After months of tweaking, the perfect M & M cookie recipe was born!
This is adapted slightly from my BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE because it is just so darn good.
If you know me well, you know that I am an M & M fanatic. It has and always will be hands down my favorite candy. It all started at a neighborhood carnival. They were giving away a huge glass jar full of plain chocolate M & M's. You had to buy a ticket in order to guess how many M & M's filled the jar. I was determined to make it mine and I could envision myself, watching my favorite shows while devouring the entire jar.
You better believe I WON that jar of M & M's and if you can believe it, I never tired of them.
Fast forward to years later when my high school boyfriend was leaving on a two-year church mission. Since my Mom knew how much I loved M & M's, she filled a big jar with 730 M & M's, with the instruction that I was to eat one a day and when the jar was empty, he would be home. It started off really well...until one night when my friends got a hold of it.
This is pretty ironic, actually. My friends and I were upstairs in the loft watching a movie when the phone rang. I ran downstairs to answer it and it happened to be Dean, a guy I had recently met at a dance. It was the first time he had called and I laid on the family room floor for hours talking to him.
Meanwhile, my friends had unbeknownst to me, confiscated the M & M jar and began eating them. I will never forget my friend Susan yelling at me, while I was still on the phone, "We just ate all your M & M's." The jar was finished. I guess you could say that my relationship with my missionary boyfriend was finished too because the guy on the phone became my future husband. 🙂 Thanks, Susan, for finishing off all of those M & M's!
How to make the best M & M Cookies:
- Start with Butter, cut into cubes. I prefer to use barely softened butter. I take the butter out of the refrigerator, cut into cubes, place it in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for about 8 seconds.
- Cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4-5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through to ensure even creaming.
- Add eggs and vanilla and cream for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Avoid overmixing as it develops gluten in the cookies which creates a tough cookie. We want a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture!
- Stir in M & M's, reserving some to strategically place on the top of the cookie dough balls. Roll into balls and place on parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet.
- Bake just until the edges begin to be a golden color. The cookies will set up as they sit so avoid overbaking.
Here are my favorite baking tools:
Light-Colored Baking Sheets
Parchment Paper Liners
Silpat Silicone Baking Sheets
Cookie Scoop
KitchenAid Mixer
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Soft M & M Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter (cut into cubes and microwave on high for 8 seconds)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 2 ¾ cups Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 cups Plain M & M's (plus more for placing on top of cookie dough balls)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined. Fold in M & M's.
- Scoop cookie dough onto baking sheets. I suggest using parchment paper or Silpat silicone baking sheets on light-colored baking sheets. Place extra M & M's on top of cookie dough balls so the M & M's show up after baking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn a light golden color. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.
I hope you love these homemade M & M cookies! Happy Baking!
gail
what size scoop?
Valerie
Made them for my grandkids the dough was a bit sticky but cookies came out great, they enjoyed them.
karen
these came out to gooodddd! my mom and girlfriends family love them????.
Ali
Recipe makes a deliciously sweet, soft & chewy cookie - just as described. Only request would be for some more specific information. Such as reasoning behind cornstarch, measures by weight, scoop size and on what speed (low, med, high) you put your mixer when mixing. This way everyone can make this cookie perfectly every time - a "no fail" cookie.
Rachel S
Absolutely amazing! Made them with my boys as a treat. The dough was a bit sticky but I didn't need to chill it I just scooped it with a spoon and they baked perfectly. 10/10 can't wait to try some more of your recipes!
Donna
Amazing cookies. They aren’t too sweet but just right. It’s hard to have just one!
Kara
This is my go-to quarantine stress bake. This recipe is delightful, and I can tell it was made by someone who loves M&Ms as much as I do!
I don't have a microwave, so I set up a double boiler and stir the cold cubes until barely softened instead. Hope this helps my fellow microwave-less bakers.
Ally
How big should the cookie dough balls be? Excited to make these. Love all your recipes!
S
These definitely needed chilling before baking and also more flour. The dough was really sticky, and the cookies spread so much. And I thought the ratio of m&ms to cookie dough was a bit off, but that's just personal preference.
emily
great cookies! I did chill the dough for a bit before portioning, as the dough was very sticky.
Paula
Made these yesterday, as during this time we are truly working to limit interactions outside of our family. They are delicious. We didn't have enough m & m's, so we added some chopped up chocolate. Worked wonderfully!
brandi
Well went by recipe and cookies didn't spread out. Probably turn hard after
Aimee
Made these twice both times the dough was really sticky ,. After we chilled it for a bit it was not as bad . Cookies still turned out great!!
Kristie
Made with my grandson and we loved them! Will become a go-to recipe for cookies.
Laura
Fluffiest, best 🍪 cookie! My favorite recipe!
Chris
As always your recipes are 5 stars!!!!
Teri
I’m wondering if I should refrigerate the dough before baking?