This M&M Cookie Recipe is AMAZING. No chill time needed, these soft & chewy cookies are great for parties, potlucks, gift-giving & afternoon treats.
Friends, there are few things in life that really have the power to suck me in. Those things are absolutely irresistible to me & once I see it, it can be like a tractor-beam. I am solely focused on that thing.
In this case, it’s M&M treats. Especially treats like these M&M Cookies. I’m not sure if it is the bright colors, or the fact that they are baked into buttery goodness. But I can’t get enough.
Gina’s Recipe Rundown:
Texture: Easy No-Chill M&M Cookies usually have a soft and chewy texture with slightly crisp edges. Since they don’t require chilling, they tend to spread a bit more in the oven, resulting in a flatter cookie. The center stays tender and buttery, while the M&Ms add a delightful crunch. If baked just right, they’re soft on the inside with a perfect balance of chewiness and a slight snap around the edges.
Taste: No-Chill M&M Cookies taste rich, buttery, and sweet with a hint of vanilla. The M&Ms bring a pop of chocolatey goodness and a slight crunch, which balances the soft, chewy cookie base.
Ease: No-Chill M&M Cookies are super easy to make, which is why they’re a go-to treat! Since there’s no chilling time, you can go from mixing bowl to oven in just a few minutes.
Why I love it: With no need for chilling, you can whip them up quickly whenever the craving hits. The colorful M&Ms add a fun, playful vibe that makes them perfect for any occasion—holidays, parties, or just a sweet treat.
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- Gina’s Recipe Rundown:
- No Chill M&M Cookie FAQs
- Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
- Can I use a gluten-free flour?
- What makes these cookies “no-chill”?
- Can I use other candies or chocolate chips instead of M&Ms?
- M&M Cookie Ingredients
- How many can this serve?
- HOW DO YOU MAKE M&M Cookies?
- What is the best way to store M&M Cookies?
- How do I keep M&Ms from cracking while baking?
- How do I make them extra soft and chewy?
- Can this recipe be doubled?
- How long do they stay fresh?
- Do I need to chill the dough?
- Can I use only brown sugar?
- Why did my cookies spread too much?
- Why are my cookies cakey instead of chewy?
- Why are my cookies pale instead of golden brown?
- Can I freeze the dough or baked cookies?
- How can I make holiday-themed cookies?
- How do I properly measure the flour?
- What oven temperature is best for baking?
- How soft should my butter be?
- Can I make the dough ahead of time?
- How can I make my cookies thicker?
- How do I prevent the cookies from becoming dry?
- How can I make them dairy-free?
I mean, just look at these! A deliciously warm & soft chocolate chip cookie that is packed full of M&M’s. How could one not fall head over heels in love with these?
I have to say, I’m completely obsessed. Not really sure where the M&M obsession came from, but for as long as I can remember, I have always gravitated towards M&M’s.
These cookies have been my “go-to” cookie recipe for what seems like forever. Whenever we have some sort of event where we have to bring some sort of treat, these are the cookies we always make.
They are always a hit & the first plate to be emptied when we share them with others. But really, who can resist a warm cookie loaded with M&M’s. I know I can’t.
These are the cookies you make for bake sales at school & the ones you make for neighbors when taking over goodies on Christmas Eve. They are also the cookies that will have everyone asking you to share the recipe.
As much as I love these cookies with the traditional M&M’s, we also love making these cookies using the holiday varieties.
**Don’t miss our Mexican Wedding Cookies too!
There’s just something about those holiday M&M’s that somehow tastes just a little better. The family always asks me why I insist on picking up the M&M’s for 4th of July or Christmas or Easter or any of the other holiday colors because they are all the same on the inside.
But that doesn’t matter to me. Those holiday colors are special to me & can only be bought at that particular time of year, so I do it for my own happiness. Plus, it gives me an excuse to make more of these cookies.
No Chill M&M Cookie FAQs
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
I personally use whatever I have on hand. But if you are watching your salt intake, stick with the unsalted butter for these cookies. I wrote my original recipe using unsalted butter but then tried it with salted butter & liked them just the same.
Can I use a gluten-free flour?
I’m not sure just yet. I have been meaning to give this a try but haven’t had a chance. If you do try this, I would recommend using a 1:1 flour as I don’t believe it would require additional ingredients that are typically called for when trying to make baked recipes in a gluten-free version. Please come back & tell me how they turned out.
What makes these cookies “no-chill”?
The recipe uses the right ratio of ingredients to prevent spreading, so you can skip chilling the dough and bake it immediately. This saves time without compromising texture!
Can I use other candies or chocolate chips instead of M&Ms?
Absolutely! Swap M&Ms for chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces, mini marshmallows, or a mix of your favorite candies.
M&M Cookie Ingredients
- M&M’s
- butter
- brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
How many can this serve?
This recipe makes 48 cookies. You might get more or less depending on how large or small you make your cookies. When you think about how quickly these are consumed in our house, it seems like a lot.
But trust me, they just disappear at an alarming rate.
HOW DO YOU MAKE M&M Cookies?
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees & line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment & set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter & both sugars together until whipped & well combined.
- Mix in eggs & vanilla.
- Add in the flour, baking soda & salt & mix well.
- Fold in chocolate chips & M&M’s.
- Use a large cookie scoop & scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until the tops are just barely golden brown.
- Remove from the oven & immediately place additional M&M’s into the tops of the cookies, pressing lightly to make sure they get a bit melty.
- Allow to cool another 2-5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container & store at room temperature.
What is the best way to store M&M Cookies?
I like to place them in a large airtight bowl or zip-top bag & store at room temperature. This keeps them soft & chewy for a longer period of time. But please enjoy within 3-4 days. Ours never last longer than about 24 hours in this house.
How do I keep M&Ms from cracking while baking?
Press some M&Ms on top of the dough balls before baking. This keeps them vibrant and prevents cracks.
How do I make them extra soft and chewy?
Slightly underbake the cookies—they’ll continue to set on the baking sheet after being removed from the oven.
Can this recipe be doubled?
Absolutely. When I am making these cookies for anything other than our personal enjoyment, I always double the recipe. It is almost necessary if you are bringing them to a party or using them for a bake sale.
How long do they stay fresh?
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Add a slice of bread to the container to keep them soft.
Do I need to chill the dough?
NOPE! That is one of the things I love the most about this recipe. I have a lot of cookie recipes & many of them require that the dough be chilled for at least several hours before baking.
While those cookies are delicious & well worth the wait, most of the time I don’t want to. So that is probably why these cookies top my list of favorites.
Can I use only brown sugar?
Yes, but the cookies will be extra soft and chewy with a richer flavor. You may need to slightly reduce the butter to balance moisture.
Why did my cookies spread too much?
Possible reasons include overly softened butter or inaccurate flour measurement. Try using room-temperature butter and properly measuring flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling off.
Why are my cookies cakey instead of chewy?
Too much flour or overmixing can cause cakey cookies. Measure ingredients carefully and mix until just combined.
Why are my cookies pale instead of golden brown?
Ensure your oven is fully preheated, and bake a bit longer if needed. A touch of brown sugar also helps with browning.
Can I freeze the dough or baked cookies?
Yes! Freeze unbaked dough balls on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time. Baked cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
How can I make holiday-themed cookies?
Use seasonal M&Ms (e.g., red and green for Christmas, pastels for Easter) or add festive sprinkles!
How do I properly measure the flour?
The official way is to spoon the flour into the measuring cup & level off. However, for these cookies I usually fluff the flour with a spoon & then gently scoop it into the measuring cup & then level that off before adding to my dough mixture.
Make sure your flour isn’t packed down when scooping or packed tightly into your measuring cup. This will make your cookies too dry.
What oven temperature is best for baking?
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for even baking and a chewy texture.
How soft should my butter be?
So, when we are talking about softened butter, it is important that it not be so soft (or nearly melted) that it won’t hold the dough together.
The butter should be cool to the touch, not room temperature but also not hard as a rock & unable to be blended easily with the sugar. You should be able to press your finger in it but it should still hold shape.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes! Even though it’s a no-chill recipe, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days. Let it soften slightly before baking.
How can I make my cookies thicker?
If you want bigger, thicker cookies, make the size of the dough larger before baking. I recommend 2 tbsp or more, which should yield a ball of dough that should be larger than a golf ball.
This will make the cookies spread slower & hold their shape better, keeping them thicker overall. Also – you can chill the dough for 30-60 minutes before baking to help them stay thicker through the baking process.
How do I prevent the cookies from becoming dry?
Avoid overbaking! Remove them from the oven when the edges are set, but the centers look slightly underdone. They’ll firm up as they cool.
How can I make them dairy-free?
Use a dairy-free butter substitute and dairy-free chocolate candies.
Products I love when making these M&M Cookies…
This M&M Cookie recipe is beyond EASY and so delicious – and if you’re like me, you probably already have many of these items on hand!
OR maybe you have never made M&M Cookies before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love the how these turn out. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making these cookies.
- all-purpose flour
- mixer
- light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- vanilla extract
- table salt
- baking soda
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- M&M’s
- 3/4 sheet pans
- parchment paper
- large cookie scoop
- metal spatula
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
If you love this M&M Cookie recipe, you’re going to love these other AWESOME cookie recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookie Dippers
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Molasses Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Quarter Pound Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
If you love this recipe for AWESOME M&M Cookies as much as I do, please write a five-star review, and be sure to help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!
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M&M Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup M&M’s + more for the tops of the cookies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees & line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment & set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter & both sugars together until whipped & well combined.
- Mix in eggs & vanilla.
- Add in the flour, baking soda & salt & mix well.
- Fold in chocolate chips & M&M’s.
- Use a large cookie scoop & scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes or until the tops are just barely golden brown.
- Remove from the oven & immediately place additional M&M’s into the tops of the cookies, pressing lightly to make sure they get a bit melty.
- Allow to cool another 2-5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container & store at room temperature.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
My cookie dough was very sticky, when rolling into a ball was fine. never had dough that sticky before, could not get it out of the scooper. Ha!! wonder why?
That’s strange. I have never had that problem with this dough. It could be how the flour was measured.
This recipe was easy to make. How do I keep my cookies soft? They taste amazing.
Just keep them in an airtight container.
So Delicious 😋 and easy to make. I even doubled the recipe to take to a 🥳 party 🥳
It was an ok recipe. I believe there was to much floor. Made them more cake like not cookie
This sounds like an issue with measuring. Did you scoop the FLOUR from the bag? Was it compacted? Did you use margarine instead of real butter? All these things can drastically change the texture of the cookies. They should have been buttery and soft – not at all “cake-like”.
These are delicious!!! I follow all the steps except adding M&M’s. I split the dough and add M&M’s for my son to half, and add chopped walnuts to the other half for myself. Both the chocolate chip/walnut and chocolate chip/M&M’s are fantastic. I’ve made them many times since finding your recipe a couple of months ago
Just put the 1st batch on the oven. They were so easy to make. Can’t wait till they are done!
My 12yo daughter made these and they were amazing! Easy to follow and came out perfect!
These cookies are amazing. Best M&M cookie recipe I’ve found. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Thank you for sharing your recipe, just finished following to the T and they came out perfect!! Best cookie recipe by far !!
This is a keeper ! Thanks again
Can you o
It the white sugar and just use brown?
No- we use granulated AND brown sugar to create the perfect texture, crumble, and chewiness. The brown sugar alone will increase the moisture content of the dough causing it to bake and hold together differently. Using all granulated sugar creates a dryer, more crumbly cookie texture – which is why we use a balance of the two.
Can I freeze this dough in balls and bake later?
Yes – but that does yield a dryer cookie.
Does it really make 48 cookies?
Depends on how large or small you portion out the dough. So I have had it make 48, sometimes 36 if I get too generous with my scooping.
Theses cookies are very good. Would make again
Have you put oats in these if so what kind ? Thank you ! Getting ready to put these in the oven now!
I have not added oats to this dough as they would absorb too much moisture and the cookies would be dry and crumbly. I do have an couple of oatmeal cookie recipes that you could swap ingredients with and add the M&M’s. https://www.kleinworthco.com/chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies/ https://www.kleinworthco.com/monster-cookie-recipe/
This is a great recipe!
Just don’t be alone with a tupperware of these cookies! so good!
These cookies are very good, but I’ve had some problems while baking. Do you know why the cookies spread out when baked? They get very thin and are not thick. I thought it might be too big a scoop; do you have a specific measure for scooping them?
It sounds like your butter was too soft. You can remedy this by chilling before baking. This isn’t always necessary with this recipe, but sometimes if the room is too warm when preparing them, or if the butter is too soft they will spread more. You could also add a tablespoon or two more flour to thicken the dough just a little bit. But that can sometimes make the dough too dry if you add too much.
My grandchildren love and requests these constantly. I see comments about to dry or sticky. I converted this to grams. If you want perfect baked goods you really must weigh by grams.
Ohh these were fantastic! I made them in a cooking class I hosted, and they were delicious. The M&M’s have a wonderful candy crunch. I would say that we did not get 48 cookies, but ours were about 3 inches. Everyone wanted a copy of the recipe. This one is a keeper! Add in some pecans for another level of goodness.
Quick question, would you use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar. I’ve made the cookies and they are delicious I just can’t remember which to use.
Please use light brown sugar. Dark has too much molasses and will alter the final result.
These cookies are requested for every family get together. And all you have to do is change the m&m color to fit the holiday. I’ll be making these for Christmas with red & green. Thank you for this great recipe!
These are the best! I will never use any other recipe!