Christmas M&M cookies are soft baked cookie that is studded with red and green M&Ms and chocolate chips. Each bite is a buttery and sweet pairing. These M&M Christmas cookies make an incredible homemade gift to give to loved ones, and neighbors, take to a cookie exchange, and more.
Serve up these cookies as a Santa Claus cookie with a tall glass of milk, serve up at holiday parties, or even make and gift to friends and family. No matter how you serve up these Christmas cookies, they are an absolute delight.
Make sure to check out more of our popular holiday desserts for more ideas! Try my easy sugar cookie bites, peanut butter kiss cookies, or these vintage pinwheel cookies.
Reasons You Will Love These Cookies
- Made from scratch cookie recipe that will win everyone over.
- I used Christmas M&Ms for a festive twist for the Christmas season.
- These M&M cookies make your home smell incredible!
- Great to give gifts to friends, serve up at holiday parties, bake sales, and more.
- Want a larger batch? This cookie recipe doubles nicely.
These are just a few of the reasons we love these cookies! Feel free to whip up these cookies and see for yourselves how yummy and addictive they are. I guarantee you can’t eat just one!
Variations to Recipe
- Use white chocolate chips for a sweeter twist.
- Use peanut M&Ms for an extra crunch.
- Add in some dried cranberries for added flavor.
- Leave out the chocolate chips to make just a classic M&M cookie.
- Swap flour with a gluten-free flour blend to make a gluten-free cookie.
- If it isn’t the holiday season use any couple of M&Ms to change up the look of the cookies.
- Add in some crushed pretzels or even chopped peanuts for a salty and crunchy component.
Tips for Making Christmas M&M Cookies
Preheat Oven
Making sure you allow the oven to fully preheat is key for the right texture of the cookies. I recommend letting the oven reach the temperature and then heat for 5-10 minutes before you place the cookies in to bake.
Prep Baking Sheet
Lining your cookie baking sheet with parchment paper, cooking spray or a silicone baking mat helps prevent the cookies from sticking. I recommend not skipping this step.
Hand mixer or Stand mixer
I love using a mixer, as it creams the butter and sugar together perfectly, and quickly. If you don’t own one you can mix by hand. But I find it is the best end result using a mixer.
Cookie Scoop
Reach for a cookie scoop as it is going to provide uniform-shaped and sized cookies. This is key as when the cookies go to bake up they all finish baking at the same time.
Cooling Rack
Cooling racks are great as it ensures the cookies cool from the top and bottom sides. This is good so when your cookies are cooled you can place them in a container for storing.
If cookies don’t cool fully it can create condensation in the container and spoil the cookies.
Let Cookies Cool On the Cookie Sheet
Letting cookies cool on a cookie sheet is going to help in ensuring that your cookies hold shape. If you ever tried to move a cookie off the pan right away you know the spatula can cause the cookie to misshape.
So allowing the M&M cookies to cool for 5 minutes helps to keep those round cookies.
Storing
Make Dough and Freeze As Cookie Dough
Whip up the cookie dough and then scoop up and place on a lined baking tray. Flash-freeze the raw cookie dough for 1 hour. Then transfer to a bag or container and freeze for up to 4-5 months. Then bake straight from the freezer when you get a craving! Just add a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
Baked Cookies
Any cookies you bake are stored in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Make sure the cookies are cooled completely before you add them to the container.
Freeze Cookies
Want to freeze any cookies that you baked and don’t plan to eat right away? Place in a freezer-friendly container and freeze for up to 6 months.
FAQs
Why do my M&M cookies bleed?
Make sure once you add candies to the cookie dough you gently mix. Overmixing causes the coating to bleed. Also baking the cookies can cause the color of candies to bleed a bit.
Can I double this recipe?
Yes, these Christmas cookies can be doubled. Just batch-cook the cookies. Just ensure you have a large enough bowl for mixing up all the cookie dough.
How to make soft M&M cookies?
This is a soft-baked cookie recipe. Don’t overmix the cookie dough and the other tip is don’t overbake the cookies. If you cook the cookies too long they will get harder.
Why are my cookies flat?
Two things could have happened here. If your butter is too warm, like if you melted it vs using room temperature it can cause cookies to alter in texture. The other thing is if you don’t have enough flour in the dough.
You can refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes to 2 hours before baking. If they are still flat I suggest adding more flour and making sure your baking soda and baking powder are not expired.
How to give cookies for the holidays?
Grab a cookie tin, container, or even a Christmas plate to display cookies. Stack or pair with other holiday baked goods. You can also buy clear plastic bags and tie a ribbon on top for a budget-friendly way to decorate and dress up the cookies. Add a gift tag and you have a homemade treat to hand out.
More Holiday Recipes
Christmas M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup 1 stick of butter, softened
- 1 cup of brown sugar packed
- ½ cup of granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla
- ½ cup of chocolate chips
- 1 ¼ cups of red and green M&M’s divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer, or a hand mixer, cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar, until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Scrap down the side of the bowl as needed.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to cookie batter, and mix until just combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, or a wooden spoon, stir in 1 cup of M&Ms 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 ¼ cup of the M&Ms 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.
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