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The best Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies are always homemade and loaded with plenty of milk chocolate chips and candy-coated M&M's!
We love baking cookies! Some of our other favorites are Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies, Monster Cookies, and Andes Mint Cookies.
Longtime readers of House of Nash Eats already know that I love sharing cookie recipes that are seasonal without requiring hardcore decorating abilities.
Like these Dark Chocolate Halloween Chip Cookies, which incidentally, could be easily made seasonally appropriate by swapping out the colored chips for the Valentine M&M's that I used in the cookies that I'm sharing today.
And I've already posted about Peanut Butter M&M Cookies on here, which is another great cookie recipe that you really have got to try, if you haven't already.
But I realized I haven't shared one of the cookie recipes that gets made most often at our house - these Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies that really are the best ever!
I add extra milk chocolate chips for an even bigger chocolate boost and it definitely makes a difference compared to just using M&M's or even adding semi-sweet chocolate chips in these cookies.
You can make the cookies big (I love a gigundo sized cookie) or small, although you might need to increase or decrease the baking time.
But if you are making what I would consider regular-sized cookies, you should get about 2 dozen from this recipe and they should be done right around the 9 to 11 minute mark.
If you really want "perfect" looking round cookies, I would suggest using a cookie scoop or even rolling the cookie dough into balls before baking so they spread out perfect even and circular.
Tips for Making Chewy M&M Cookies that Stay Soft
- Do not overbake! The middles won't even be completely set when pulling the cookies out of the oven and the cookies probably won't even look done. That's okay because the cookies will finish cooking while they set on the baking sheet. This is how you get chewy edges and soft centers!
- Don't mix all the M&M's into the batter. Reserve about ¾ cup of them to press into the tops of the cookies before baking. It's a total vanity move but M&M cookies ought to be pretty and showy and colorful!
- M&M's are awesome because they always have seasonal blends (or custom blends even for showers, parties, and receptions!) so you have a perfectly cute and yummy holiday-coordinated treat without the hassle of complicated "decorating". Which I'm terrible at anyway! These ones just happen to be Valentine's Day-themed with the red, white, and pinks, but I've done this with regular M&M's, Christmas, 4th of July, Easter, etc.
I don't think I know anyone who can resist a warm, soft M&M cookie with a glass of milk. I know I sure can't!
More Cookie Recipes that You'll Love
- Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
- The Best Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe
- Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Fudgy Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookies
- Big, Soft Baked Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Double Lemon Glazed Cookies
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Best Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk chocolate M&M's divided
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla and beat on medium-speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt, then mix until just combined.
- Gently stir in 1 ¼ cups of the M&M's and all of the milk chocolate chips, reserving the remaining chocolate chips to place on top of the cookies before baking.
- Scoop dough into balls and roll between the palms of your hands if you want very uniform-looking "perfect" cookies (or just drop onto the parchment-lined baking sheet in mounds, which is what I usually do). Press some of the reserved M&M's into the top of each cookie, then bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges have set and the tops are just beginning to set, even if the cookies look slightly glossy and underbaked in the center.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Jordan says
OMG - These are so adorable with the pink M&Ms! I'm going to surprise my bestie with a batch for V Day. She loves M&Ms.
Kiki Johnson says
These look so cute and I love the little red cake stand! ADORABLE!
Amy says
Thank you! The cake stand was from the Target dollar section!
Val - Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids says
Yummy! The kids and I were talking about making cookies tonight and these look perfect for this week 🙂
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
Well I know couple of grandkids that would love these for Valentine's Day. I still have enough time to make them too. Homemade cookies are the best. Especially when they are full of M7M's.
Jolina says
Soft and chewy are the only way I like my cookies and these look perfect! I'm not a very good cookie baker or decorator so yay for M&Ms. Seasonal M&Ms are hard to come by here though so when I see them I hoard them for when the need arises lol! (Or eat them, whichever comes first).
Patti @Patty Cake's Pantry says
I love m&m cookies because it's so easy to change them to almost every holiday. I love that you gave tips for people who may not have a lot of baking experience. One of the hardest concepts for my children (and hubby) to understand is that the cookies continue to cook from the residual heat once they're removed from the oven. I appreciate the tip about sticking a few m&m's on top just before baking. These cookies are beautiful.
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
These cookies look so delicious and beautiful! I love M & M's in cookies! I also have a fondness for soft cookies! I will be certainly making these cookies soon!
Kate says
What a perfect Valentine's Day treat! These look amazing. I can't wait to try them and eat a bunch with a tall glass of milk!
Elena says
They look so chewy and pretty! Perfect for Valentine's Day
Jenni LeBaron says
Yum! I was just telling the fella that we need to make some cookies tonight. This looks like a super tasty option!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
Those cookies look so cute! I really like the addition of the M&M's to the dough -- it makes them festive. And I do love a soft chocolatey cookie. I wish I had one now.
Leslie Haasch says
You can't go wrong with M&M cookies - and the lovey dovey Valentine's Day colors make it even better!
Stacey says
These cookies look irresistible! My kids would really enjoy these!
Veronika says
Yes, Please!!! These cookies look so scrumptious! What a great idea to add M&M in them)
Linda Mcnany says
I just made a batch of these for the first time and they are the best M&M cookies I have ever made thank you so much for this recipe
Amy says
You are welcome! I'm glad you love them!
Jeanee Shin says
Should I use unsalted butter or salted?
Amy says
I know most bakers use unsalted butter, but I always use salted. The difference is really tiny anyway. I think it's 1/4 teaspoon of salt per stick of butter.
Jessica says
Made these last night. SO tasty and VERY soft and chewy...they totally live up to their description :). The best M&M cookie recipe I've found! I didn't add any chocolate chips though, and I'm glad I didn't. For me, the M&M's were plenty, especially with adding extra on top. In the future, I will skip that step, but will definitely make them again. It would be fun to try them with different flavors of M&M's!
whitney says
I doubled the recipe for my husband’s frisbee league team, and the cookies are delicious. I used a light cookie sheet without parchment paper, and had no issues getting the cookies off. Thank you!
Kelly Chocolate Junkie says
I made these with M&M's and I took 1/3 C choc chips in a nut grinder and blended that in for more of a chocolate taste - it was a pleasant surprise almost nutty in a way and the texture and look of the cookie was awesome. Crispy, chewy, Delicious! My oven did its best at 12 min. it was a little too doughy even after the cool off for my taste! Either way it is a good recipe!
Kailee says
Cookies were good although did not come out looking like the picture on the website. Very disappointed.