Christmas M&M cookies bring joy and a splash of color to the holiday season! These soft Christmas cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, and studded with festive green and red M&M's, making them a festive treat that's perfect for any holiday party without any time-consuming decorating!
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Our soft & chewy Christmas M&M cookies are a fun and festive spin on a year-round favorite. With their bright colors and candy crunch, the holiday M&Ms turn our favorite classic chocolate chip cookie into an easy holiday cookie recipe perfect for a cookie exchange.
So many Christmas cookies involve decorating with frosting, chilling doughs, or other baking techniques that make them more difficult than these easy drop cookies. But with an easy-to-follow recipe and simple ingredients, these chewy M&M Christmas cookies can be a fun baking project for the whole family during this special time of year.
For more chocolatey treats, check out my Chocolate Thumbprint Turtle Cookies, Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Walnut Fudge, and Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Perfect textures. These cookies strike the perfect balance between chewy centers and crispy edges, thanks to the right mix of ingredients like all-purpose flour, baking soda, and softened butter.
- Easy. Whether you're an experienced baker or trying your hand at baking for the first time, these cookies are straightforward and fun to make. Plus, they're a great way to involve kids in the kitchen.
- No chill dough. You can skip straight to baking with these cookies, so there's not extra waiting involved.
What You'll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- All-Purpose Flour - Provides the gluten that holds the cookies together and makes them chewy.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder - Help the cookies rise and give them a light texture.
- Salt - Balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavor of the cookies.
- Salted Butter - Unsalted butter can be used instead of salted butter; just make sure to add an extra pinch of salt to the dough.
- Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar - This combination gives the cookies sweetness and a depth of flavor, and helps achieve the perfect chewy texture.
- Large Egg & Egg Yolk - Eggs bind the ingredients together and the yolk enriches the dough for a chewier cookie.
- Pure Vanilla Extract - Adds a classic sweet warmth to the cookies. Use store-bought vanilla, or try my recipe for Homemade Vanilla Extract!
- Milk Chocolate Chips - For that classic chocolate chip cookie taste.
- Red and Green M&M's - These festive candies add color, crunch, and chocolatey goodness.
How to Make Christmas M&M Cookies
- Cream butter and sugar. Add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl or large bowl of an electric stand mixer. Cream the ingredients together until light and fluffy, using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment on a stand mixer.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, then mix until well combined. Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients get mixed evenly.
- Add dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mixing just until everything is combined.
- Stir in M&M's. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir in 1 cup of M&M's and chocolate chips so the M&M's don't get broken up by the mixer.
- Scoop dough balls and add extras. Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to scoop out the dough into balls, and place them on the cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Use the remaining M&M's to press into the tops of the dough balls.
- Bake and cool. Bake for 10–12 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
Recipe FAQ's
Use both sugars for the best results, as this combination gives the cookies their perfect texture and depth of flavor, but you can use more of one than the other if you're in a pinch or have a preference.
You can use gluten-free all-purpose flour in place of regular flour. Be mindful to check that the other ingredients, like the M&M's, are also gluten-free.
Yes, you can substitute regular plain M&M's in place of the red and green Christmas M&M's.
M&M cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also place them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months, once they have fully cooled.
Yes, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Tightly wrap the dough with plastic wrap, place it in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container, and store it in the freezer. Thaw the dough on the counter for 30 minutes before scooping. Alternatively, flash-freeze the cookie dough balls on the baking tray and then transfer these to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and store them in the freezer. There's no need to thaw the dough balls before baking them; simply bake them from the freezer, adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
Tips for Success
- Make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature before starting. Softened butter makes the dough smoother and easier to mix.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the dough until just combined. Cookies can become tough if the dough is over-mixed.
- Use a cookie scoop to make cookies that are uniform in size, which will help them bake evenly.
- Keep an eye on the cookies as they bake. They should be golden brown with crisp edges and soft centers.
- Allowing the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack helps them to set properly.
- If your first batch of cookies comes out a bit too flat, try chilling the dough before baking or adding a bit more flour to the mix.
- Reduce the baking time to 9–11 minutes or lower your oven temperature slightly if your cookies are too crisp.
How To Elevate Your Cookies
Pressing extra M&M's and chocolate chips into the tops of the dough balls before baking will make the cookies more visually appealing.
You can even add a few extra M&M's, chips, or holiday sprinkles to the top of the cookies before they've cooled after baking for more decoration!
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Chocolate Nutella Sandwich Cookies
- Peppermint Oreo Cookies
- Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
- Classic Buttery Spritz Cookies
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.
Soft Christmas M&M Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- 1½ cups red and green M&M's, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl or large bowl of an electric stand mixer. Cream the ingredients together until light and fluffy, using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment on a stand mixer.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed.
- Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mixing until just combined.
- Stir in 1 cup of M&M's and chocolate chips.
- Use a medium-sized cookie scoop, and scoop out the dough into balls, place them on the cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Use the remaining ½ cup of the M&M's and press them on top of the dough balls.
- Bake for 10-12 min. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 5 min.
Notes
- Make Ahead: You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Tightly wrap the dough with plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer. Thaw the dough on the counter for 30 minutes before scooping. Alternatively, flash-freeze the cookie dough balls on the baking tray and then transfer these to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and store in the freezer. There's no need to thaw the dough balls, just bake them from the frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
- Store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure the cookies have cooled completely before freezing.
