Don’t these M&M cookies just look delectable? I can never eat just one… and the dough? Yummy! Plus, every time I share these soft, chewy M&M cookies with friends, everyone comments on how great looking they are.
Throughout childhood, my mom always made sure we had fresh, homemade cookies in the house. I have so many fond memories of baking M&M cookies with her — and of my dad sneaking dough balls right off the cookie sheets waiting to go in the oven!
When my sisters and I were really little, my mom did all the baking and we helped by sorting all of the M&Ms by color — that’s the key to ensuring these cookies turn out beautiful.
You sort all of the M&Ms by color, mixing only the brown M&Ms into the dough. Then you arrange the sorted M&Ms on top of the dough balls. My control freak self shines through here because ideally, I try to make sure two M&Ms of the same color aren’t right next to each other — but I’m overcoming that by letting the kids decorate the cookies anyway they want, even if one cookie has all blue M&Ms with one orange and one red. The struggle is real.
Looking back I suspect sorting the M&Ms was simply an easy way for my mom to let us feel special and helpful without ruining the cookies đ Whatever the reason, it made making M&M cookies extra special and now the tradition has been passed onto my kids.
As we got older, we also helped with measuring the ingredients and stirring the cookie dough. Then, eventually Mom turned the baking duties over to us kids, and we made them while chatting with her about our day or activities.
My mom’s original M&M cookie recipe called for only one cup of butter flavored shortening (no butter), which produced crunchier cookies. But my husband Brian and the kids prefer soft, chewy cookies.
I tried replacing the shortening with butter, but then the cookies were too flat. Cutting the butter and shortening 50/50 was the perfect mix, resulting in plump, soft, chewy M&M cookies that tasted great and looked awesome.
Mmmm… Just looking at these photos and writing about this M&M cookie recipe makes me want to head to the kitchen and make some right now… see ya!
Soft And Chewy M&M Cookies
Covered in colorful M&M Candies, these soft and chewy M&M Cookies are a great looking favorite with adults and kids alike.
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter flavor shortening
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars, vanilla, eggs, shortening, and butter. Mix thoroughly.
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Stir in brown M&Ms.
- Place dough blobs onto cookie sheets approximately 1 inch apart. Top with colored M&Ms.
- Bake for 11 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Notes:
Yields approximately 5 dozen cookies. Also delicious with chocolate chips instead of M&Ms — or use both, adding chocolate chips to the dough and then top with M&Ms. For a more festive holiday cookie, use the Holiday M&Ms in Valentine's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, and Christmas color schemes.
