We're so excited to share our most famous cookie recipe with you!
We "debuted" these cookies last fall at a wedding shower. My friend and I were tasked with baking cookies for the party, and we had the over-the-top idea to bake five different types of cookies. Since the party was fiesta themed, we decided to create Mexican wedding cookies and iced sugar cookies in cactus, chili, sombrero, and pinata shapes. We also thought that classics like oatmeal cookies and snickerdoodles would be a hit! The problem with the oatmeal and snickerdoodle cookies...they were BROWN. We needed some color! The idea of adding colorful M&M cookies to the cookie menu was genius!
We've combined the best tips and tricks from several recipes to create these incredible M&M cookies. The cookies are chewy and filled with the perfect amount of chocolate! Since the party last fall, the cookies have been requested over and over. We just had to share the recipe with you. You're going to love them!
Helpful Tip: Interested in freezing these cookies? Check out our M&M Cookie: Freezer Version post!
Tutorial
Step 1: Preheat oven (375° F) and gather all of the ingredients.
You'll need:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup of white (granulated) sugar
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (We highly recommend Ghirardelli 60% Cacao baking chips!)
- 1 cup of M&Ms plus extras for the top of the cookies (We typically buy the Sharing Size bag - 10.70oz. There might be a few leftover pieces that you can snack on!)
- 2 baking pans lined with parchment paper or your favorite baking mats
- Cookie/ice cream scoop (We prefer a medium-sized scoop. We use the Farberware Ice Cream Scoop to portion these cookies.)
- Large bowl and mixer (You can use a fancy mixing machine or a hand mixer...they both work perfectly!)
Step 2: Create the cookie dough!
- In case you missed it in step 1, preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Put the 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, 3/4 cup white (granulated) sugar, and 1 cup brown sugar into your mixing bowl. Make sure your butter is softened a little (either leave it out on the counter for 30 minutes before creating the dough OR place the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds).
- Mix the butter and sugars together for 1 to 2 minutes. Don't cheat here. Set a timer for at least a minute and mix away!
- Add 2 eggs to your creamed butter/sugar mixture. Mix together until combined.
- Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Mix again until combined.
- Add 3 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix everything together until combined. Don't over mix at this point! Just make sure your dry ingredients have "disappeared" into the dough.
- Add the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and the 1 cup of M&Ms to the dough. You can stir these into the dough with a spoon or you can "cheat" like me and run the mixer a few times to combine the chocolate goodies with the dough.
Step 3: Prep cookies for the oven
- Make sure you have at least 2 baking pans ready and lined with parchment paper or baking mats.
- Scoop dough using a cookie/ice cream scoop and place dough balls onto prepared baking pans at least 1.5 inches apart. (Remember, we're using a medium-sized scoop in this tutorial.)
- Don't miss this important step! Place several M&M pieces on the top of the dough. Be sure to spread them out, even adding them to the sides of the cookie dough ball. We add at least 4-5 M&M pieces per cookie. Add more if you want the top of your cookie covered with M&M goodness!
Step 4: Bake cookies
- Place baking pans in a preheated 375° F oven.
- Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until the cookie edges have slightly browned. Important Note: We recommend rotating pans from top/bottom racks at the 4-5 minute mark. This will ensure that both pans of cookies brown evenly.
- Remove pans from the oven. Allow cookies to rest on the pans for 2 to 3 minutes before placing cookies on cooling rack or parchment-lined countertop.
