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!
Table of Contents
- Why We Love This Recipe
- What You'll Need
- Recipe FAQ's
- Tips for Success
- How To Elevate Your Cookies
- More Christmas Cookie Recipes
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 myChocolate Thumbprint Turtle Cookies,Chocolate Truffles,Chocolate Walnut Fudge, andChocolate 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 forHomemade 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
Do I need to use both white andbrown sugar?
Use both sugars for thebest 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.
Can I make these cookies gluten-free?
You can use gluten-free all-purpose flourin place of regular flour. Be mindful to check that the other ingredients, like the M&M's, are also gluten-free.
Can regular plain M&M's be used for this recipe?
Yes, you can substitute regular plain M&M's in place of the red and green Christmas M&M's.
How should these M&M cookies be stored?
M&M cookies can be stored in anairtight containeratroom temperaturefor up to 1 week. You can also place them in anairtight containerin the freezer for up to 3 months, once they have fully cooled.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes, you can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Tightly wrap the dough with plastic wrap, place it in afreezer bagor freezer-safe container, and store it in the freezer. Thaw the dough on the counter for 30 minutes before scooping. Alternatively, flash-freeze thecookie dough ballson the baking tray and then transfer these to afreezer bagor 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 thebaking time.
Tips for Success
- Make sure the butter and eggs are atroom temperaturebefore starting.Softened buttermakes the dough smoother and easier to mix.
- Mix thedry ingredientsinto 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 begolden brownwithcrisp edgesandsoft 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 yourfirst batchof cookies comes out a bit too flat, try chilling the dough before baking or adding a bit more flour to the mix.
- Reduce thebaking timeto9–11 minutesor lower your oven temperature slightly if your cookies are too crisp.
How To Elevate Your Cookies
Pressingextra 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 fewextra M&M's, chips, or holiday sprinkles to thetop of the cookiesbefore 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
Cookies
Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms
Christmas
Cookies
Easy Peanut Butter Blossoms
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.
PrintPinRate
Soft Christmas M&M Cookies Recipe
5 from 1 vote
Amy Nash
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 cookies
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!
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
Storage & Make Ahead
- Make Ahead:You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Tightly wrap the dough with plastic wrap, place in afreezer bagor freezer-safe container, and store in the freezer. Thaw the dough on the counter for 30 minutes before scooping. Alternatively, flash-freeze thecookie dough ballson the baking tray and then transfer these to afreezer bagor 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 thebaking time.
- Store:Store in anairtight containeratroom temperaturefor up to 1 week.
- Freeze:Freeze in anairtight containerin the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure the cookies have cooled completely before freezing.
Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!
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About the author
Hi, I'm Amy
I enjoy exploring the world through food, culture, and travel and sharing the adventure with mostly from-scratch, family friendly recipes that I think of as modern comfort cooking.
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