Big, Soft Baked Peanut Butter M&M Cookies are a cookie lover’s dream! Classic soft peanut butter cookies combine with chocolate candies in a perfect, jumbo sized cookie that stays super soft with a candy crunch in every bite!
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. For my full privacy policy, click here.
It’s back-to-school time and I’m thinking a parenting best practice and back-to-school tradition is to have milk & cookies ready and waiting when my 1st grader walks in the door at the end of her first day. Particularly these big, soft baked peanut butter M&M cookies that are one of her all-time favorites. These really are the best peanut butter cookies ever!
There are so many traditions surrounding the start of a new school year that I love. Shopping for school supplies, picking out that all-important first day of school outfit, taking a picture in front of the front door, meeting the new teacher, etc. But one of my favorite memories from growing up was coming home to fresh baked cookies after school.
I’m hoping to instill in both my girls a similar love of school and all the things that go with a new academic year and fresh start.
What could be more classic than greeting your kids after school with cookies and milk? Some of our other favorites are Glazed Lemon Cookies, Monster Cookies, and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies.
That quote from the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan classic, “You’ve Got Mail” about the bouquet of newly sharpened pencils speaks to my soul, especially this time of year, and I would love for my children to feel the same as they grow up.
I’m thinking these big, soft baked peanut butter M&M cookies can only help create the positive memories that I want them to associate with a new school year.
I have to give credit for these cookies to my sister, Jennie, and Mel from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
A couple of years ago, I was at my sister’s house when she offered me a peanut butter M&M cookie from a container on her counter. Jennie loves peanut butter treats but almost never has them in her house because 2 of her 5 girls have pretty severe nut allergies. So as her older sister, it was basically my responsibility to help her finish off all of those cookies.
And then I demanded the recipe so I could make more at home. It’s a good thing we’re the kind of sisters who share. Jennie told me she saw the recipe on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, which has been one our favorite recipe blogs for years, so I wasn’t a bit surprised that I loved her peanut butter cookie recipe.
These are the best chewy peanut butter cookies ever and they are so soft and wonderful! But my sister had taken them a step further and added M&M’s to just the tops of the cookies, and it was genius.
So while I definitely can’t take credit for these big, soft baked peanut butter M&M cookies, I had to share them with you! Just remember, you definitely need a glass of milk with these ones! And speaking of milk, how cute is my little red milk pitcher?!
I have to give a shout out to my friend Kathy at Lemon Blossoms blog who sent me this darling little red pitcher last year after I commented on how much I loved it when she posted a photo with it on her blog!
Kathy & I started our blogs around the same time and are part of a small blogging mastermind group together. I remember when starting my blog hearing about the support and friendship that exists in the food blogging community and have come to realize how true it is thanks to friends like Kathy!
These big, soft peanut butter M&M cookies are also great for holidays because you can easily swap in holiday colored M&M’s for the traditional colors and have an easy Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or 4th of July treat!
To make these nice and big, I use this ice cream scoop instead of a smaller cookie scoop. Using an ice cream scoop makes forming your cookies super easy, gives consistent results, and I like the texture across the top of each cookie that they get from being scooped with a release lever onto the baking sheet. But you can also use a ¼ cup measuring cup instead (which is the same size as my ice cream scoop) or just eyeball it.
You could also roll each cookie into balls to create a smooth finish on your cookie, if you like. Or make them smaller and roll in sugar, then press down lightly with a fork to make a criss-cross grid pattern like traditional peanut butter cookies.
I’ve done them each way and included a few extra ideas that I’ve tried in the recipe notes below.
What cookies would you make for your school-aged children for the first day of school?
More of the Best Cookie Recipes Everybody Loves
- The BEST Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
- The Best Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe
- Soft & Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Best Fudgy Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookies
- Best Soft & Chewy M&M Cookies
- Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Double Lemon Glazed Cookies
- Soft Funfetti Whoopie Pies
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Big, Soft Baked Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate M&M's
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the peanut butter and softened butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes, until light.1 cup salted butter, 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- Scrape the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula and add the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat for another 1-2 minutes, until light, scraping the sides of the bowl with your spatula as needed.1 ½ cups light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well, until everything is completely combined.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then mix until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the cookie dough doesn’t have any streaks of unincorporated ingredients, but taking care not to overmix the dough.2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Scoop onto the parchment lined baking sheet using a ¼ cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop. Press a handful of M&M's into the top of each cookie – enough so that there will be M&M's in each bite of cookie after baking.1 cup milk chocolate M&M's
- Bake for 11-12 minutes, until set but be sure not to overbake. The cookies will continue to set and firm up slightly as they cool even though they may look slightly underbaked straight from the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
These cookies look ahhmazing! I would get into so much trouble with a batch of these! lol
Mmm. I can just picture what these cookies will taste like! I love peanut butter cookies and look forward to making my first batch.
they look so dense, yet so light too.
i need to make these
AND You’ve Got Mail is the best movie ever! I named one of our dogs Brinkley 🙂
I could eat a whole plate of these! Yum!
Now these look amazing! I think I’ll use the m&ms to decorate the top too that way you get one in every bite, so yummy!
These look so good. Peanut butter cookies are a favorite and they are even better with m and m’s .. I just love your little red pitcher too.. sooo cute
Thanks so much! I love that pitcher too – it was a gift from a food blogging friend!
Peanut Butter and M&M’s are two hot favorites,you have combined them together.lovely!
Well homemade cookies are always the best. I just made some no bake cookies with my grandchildren. We used M & M’s too…and I had a hard time getting them into the cookie and not their mouths as they helped.
How colorful!! My nephew, niece (and husband) would be of course all over this. So, it’s not just for kiddies, at the end we grown ups have a bigger sweet tooth, no? Thanks for sharing!
Me and my dad love them.thx