Chewy M&M Cookies - Celebrating Sweets

These delicious M&M Cookies have chewy edges, soft centers, and they are packed with M&M’s and chocolate chips. This recipe comes together quickly and easily – no chill time required.

These cookies were our first “viral” recipe several years ago. It’s a recipe we have made dozens and dozens of times. These cookies are a reader favorite and a family favorite, and for good reason – because they are incredible!

Closeup of an M&M cookie topped with chocolate chips and M&M's.

If you like cookies with crisp edges and soft centers these are the cookies are for you! I have perfected this recipe (and in the process consumed an unfathomable number of cookies). I have tips for helping them come out PERFECT! Prefer a THICKER COOKIE? THINNER COOKIE? Extra chocolate? Read on, friends!

Prefer the chocolate version: Chocolate M&M Cookies.

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These cookies are

Made with basic ingredients
Soft and chewy
Packed with M&M’s and chocolate chips
Easy to assemble
Always a crowd pleaser
Great for holidays or parties- use colored M&M’s based on the theme

Recipe tips

Follow these tips for making the BEST M&M Cookies EVER!

Make sure your butter is softened but still cool to the touch. Using butter that is too soft will lead to cookies that spread too much in the oven.
Your brown sugar should be soft and fresh. The moisture in the brown sugar helps make these cookies chewy.
Mix some of the M&M’s into the batter and press the rest onto the top of the dough balls right before baking. This allows the M&M’s to be more visible, adding a nice pop of color to the cookies. Be generous with the M&M’s, as the cookies bake and spread out the candies will distribute over the top.
When pressing M&M’s and chocolate chips into the tops of your dough balls, do NOT press so hard that you flatten the dough balls. When they enter the oven they should still be ball/dome shaped.
DO NOT OVER-BAKE! For crisp edges and soft centers, do not wait until these cookies look done to pull them from the oven. Remove them from the oven just prior to being done and then they will finish cooking as they cool on the baking sheet.
You can make these with regular M&M’s, holiday M&M’s, mini M&M’s, or a combination of M&M’s and chocolate chips.

How to make thick or thin cookies

For thin cookies:

Bake the cookies right after assembling the dough and use a slightly smaller portion of dough, about 1.5 tablespoons. Also, see my tips for getting perfectly round cookies.

For thicker cookies:

Scoop the dough balls then chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to one hour before baking. Scoop the dough balls large, about 3 tablespoons of dough, and be sure the dough balls are mounded higher rather than wider. As these bake they will spread, but the center will stay thicker than the edges. Also, see my tips for getting perfectly round cookies.

How to get perfectly round cookies

Option 1: Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven place a round glass, bowl, or cookie cutter (larger than the cookie) upside down over the top of the cookie. Gently but quickly swirl the glass/bowl/cookie cutter in a circular motion. The edges of the cookie will bump against the inside of the glass creating a perfectly round shape. This only works when the cookies are hot, straight from the oven, and still on the warm baking sheet.

Glass bowl over a chocolate chip cookie on a baking sheet,

Option 2: Immediately after the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a round shape.

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Post and photos updated October 2022. Recipe remains the same.

Recipe

Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

The BEST Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies. Crisp chewy edges, soft centers and loaded with colorful M&M’s. Everyone goes crazy for these.

4.92 from 527 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes

Total Time: 29 minutes

Servings: 10 – 20 depending on size

Calories: 190kcal

Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together flour (see note), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and both sugars for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. On low speed, add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Gently stir in M&M's/chocolate chips. Note: I usually add 1 cup (total) into the batter, the rest get pressed on top of the cookie dough balls before baking.
Scoop 2-tablespoon portions of dough. Place the dough balls on a plate and transfer to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to one hour (see note about baking without chill time). The longer they chill the thicker the cookies will be. I usually chill the dough balls for 20-30 minutes while I clean up the kitchen.
Using the remaining M&M's/chocolate chips, nestle several (5 or so) onto the top of each mound of dough. Keep in mind that the cookies will spread out while baking. Mound the dough balls so that they're higher rather than wider. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets leaving a couple inches for spreading.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are set but the center is still slightly underdone, this will create a soft cookie. For a crispier cookie, continue baking for another minute or two. See note about shaping the cookies to make them perfectly round.
Place the baking sheets on wire racks and allow the cookies to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool.

Notes

*FLOUR:Flour should be weighed or measured by spooning the flour into your measuring cup and leveling it off.I recently began making this recipe with 1⅔ cups of flour which results in slightly thicker cookies. This recipe has been published for a decade, with lots of reviews, so I’m leaving it as originally written (1½ cups flour) but feel free to bump up the flour a bit if your dough seems thin or you prefer thicker cookies.CHILL TIME:The cookie dough can be baked right away but the cookies will be on the thinner side. I find that a short chill (even as little as 20 minutes) produces a better, slightly thicker, result. HOW TO GET ROUND COOKIES:Option 1: Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven place a round glass, bowl, or cookie cutter (larger than the cookie) upside down over the top of the cookie (see photo below). Gently but quickly swirl the glass/bowl/cookie cutter in a circular motion. The edges of the cookie will bump against the inside of the glass creating a perfectly round shape. Note: This only works when the cookies are hot, straight from the oven, and still on the warm baking sheet.

Option 2: Immediately after the cookies come out the oven use the back of a spoon to gently push the edges inward to create clean edges and a round shape.HOLIDAY VARIATIONS:You can make these with regular M&M’s, holiday M&M’s, mini M&M’s, or a combination of M&M’s and chocolate chips. If you’re using a color theme you can also dip the top of each dough ball in colored sprinkles before baking.