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These Oatmeal Coconut M&M Cookies are soft, chewy, and loaded with sweet M&Ms, toasted coconut, and salty pretzel pieces. The ultimate sweet and salty cookie recipe.
My friend Tiff and I share an insane love for cookies. She actually despises cake (which I can’t understand for the life of me) and requests a large cookie cake for her birthday. Several months ago she called me to let me know that she discovered a fabulous cookie at a local bakery. Since she is a cookie connoisseur, I knew that I must investigate. I drove over to the bakery and ordered the Overachiever Cookie.
It was a chewy oatmeal cookie with crunchy pretzels, sweet coconut, and M & M’s. The cookie had crisp buttery edges but had a melt-in-your-mouth center. I knew that it was time to make a similar version at home.
What makes these cookies special?
Cold Butter. Most cookie recipes call for softened or melted butter, but this recipe starts with cold butter cut into small cubes. This is what I use for my famous Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cold butter takes longer to melt in the oven, which means the cookie holds its shape and bakes up thick and sturdy before it has a chance to spread flat. The result is a cookie with real height and substance. If you’ve ever made cookies that spread too thin and too flat, cold butter is one of the most effective fixes you can make.
Oats. Oats bring a natural chewiness to cookies that flour alone simply can’t replicate. They absorb moisture during baking and create a denser, more substantial texture that stays soft for days rather than drying out overnight. In this recipe, the oats are the backbone of everything — they’re what makes these cookies feel hearty and satisfying rather than just sweet.
Cornstarch. Half a teaspoon of cornstarch might seem like a minor addition, but it plays an important role in this recipe. Cornstarch inhibits gluten development in the dough, which keeps the cookie tender and pillowy rather than tough. It’s the ingredient that makes you wonder why your cookies are softer than everyone else’s — and now you know. This is what I use in my Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies.
Oatmeal Coconut M&M Cookies Ingredients (Soft, Chewy & Loaded):
The Overachiever Cookie made with a sweet oatmeal cookie dough with shredded coconut, salty pretzels, and chocolate m&m’s.
- Butter (cold and cut into small cubes)
- Brown Sugar
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- All-Purpose Flour
- Oats
- Baking Soda
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Pretzels
- Sweetened Flaked Coconut
- Plain Chocolate M & M’s
What type of oats should I use?
This is one of the most common questions in oatmeal cookie baking, and the answer matters more than most people realize. Here are some options:
Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats — This is what this recipe calls for and what you should use. Old-fashioned rolled oats are whole oat groats that have been steamed and rolled flat. They keep their shape during baking, giving the cookies visible texture, a satisfying chew, and that classic oatmeal cookie look. They bake up with distinct texture rather than disappearing into the dough.
Quick-Cook Oats (Instant Oats) — Quick oats are rolled oats that have been cut into smaller pieces and rolled thinner so they cook faster. You can use them in this recipe in a pinch and the cookies will still taste great, but they will have a smoother, less textured crumb. The cookies will be slightly less chewy and the oats will be less visible. They work, but old-fashioned rolled oats give a better final result.
Baking Tips:
Use cold butter as directed. This recipe specifically calls for cold butter cut into small cubes — not softened, not melted. This is intentional and important. Cold butter is what gives these cookies their thick, sturdy structure.
Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. After you add the flour, oats, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt, mix only until the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing develops gluten, which makes cookies tough rather than tender. A few streaks of flour are fine — they’ll incorporate when you fold in the mix-ins.
Chill the dough if you have time. This recipe doesn’t require chilling, but even 30 minutes in the refrigerator will improve the cookies. Chilled dough spreads less in the oven, which means thicker, more compact cookies. A 24-hour chill develops deeper flavor as the sugars and flour have time to meld together.
Press extra M&Ms on top before baking. After scooping the dough balls, press several M&Ms onto the outside of each one. This ensures every cookie comes out of the oven with beautifully visible, colorful M&Ms on top — the difference between a bakery-style cookie and a homemade-looking one is often just this small step.
Don’t overbake. Pull the cookies when the edges are just set and the centers still look slightly underdone — they will continue to bake on the hot pan after you remove them from the oven. Overbaked oatmeal cookies lose their chew and become dry and crumbly very quickly.
Use parchment paper and a light colored baking sheet. Parchment paper prevents sticking and promote even browning on the bottom of the cookies. Avoid dark-colored baking sheets, which absorb more heat and can cause over-browning on the bottoms before the tops are set.
More Cookie Recipes:
If you love cookies, some of my most popular cookie recipes are my Best Snickerdoodle Cookies and Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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Oatmeal M&M Pretzel Cookies
Equipment
- kitchenaid mixer
- baking sheet
- parchment paper baking sheets
- measuring cups and spoons
- spatula set
- turner
- cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter cold and cut into small cubes
- 1 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 3/4 cup Oats
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Pretzels broken up
- 1 cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups M & M’s
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 360 degrees.
- In large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix together.
- Stir in flour, oats, baking soda, cornstarch and salt.
- Add pretzels and mix for 1 minute to break up pretzels.
- Add coconut and M & M’s.
- Chill dough for 20-30 minutes.
- Drop cookie dough on baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown on outside and chewy on inside.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I hope you love this Oatmeal M & M Pretzel Cookie. Happy Baking, my friends!
Awesome recipe for a loaded cookie. Disclaimer: I am smell and taste compromised due to Covid, but my husband gave these 2 thumbs up. And I’ve frozen some to try when my taste returns 🙂 Secondly, I am THAT person who always makes healthy modifications. So I’ll let you know what I did, and found that it did not affect the deliciousness of the cookie. ~used softened butter because that’s what I had, used only 1 cup brown sugar, used one flax egg and one regular, used one cup w.w. flour and one cup a.p, used unsweetened coconut, and only 1 cup chocolate chips (definitely will try m&m’s next time!) I like smaller cookies so I got 47 and baked them for 9 minutes. Keeper recipe and I’m sure extra decadent as written. Thank you.
Rise Up Bakery doesn’t use m and m s in their cookies. Never have.
How would this work with brown butter ? Any thoughts
Hi Teresa! If you’re wanting to use browned butter I recommend melting it on the stove, letting it cool and then creaming it together with the sugars. I hope you love this recipe!