M&M Christmas Cookies

M&M Christmas cookies are just like my classic chocolate chip cookie just replaced with M&M’s to make them festive! These are a kid favorite! My son actually requested these so I figured it’d be fun to make and share. You could totally replace the M&M’s with whatever holiday it is: Easter, Valentine’s Day, you name it. Such a delicious and easy cookie that is a classic yet extra fun to make for Christmas!

What you need to make M&M Christmas cookies:

Unsalted butter- You can use salted as well but I always go for unsalted in baking. If you use salted, just decrease the salt in the recipe to 1/2 tsp instead of 1 tsp. Make sure the butter is at room temperature, it makes a huge difference in these cookies.
Granulated sugar- A classic in any recipe. You can use white sugar, cane sugar, whatever you prefer. I haven’t tested coconut sugar.
Brown sugar- Brown sugar gives it that caramel note and adds the perfect sweetness as well as giving these cookies that deep rich brown color.
Eggs- The eggs help bind the recipe and really help give it taste and texture. Make sure these are room temperature as well (on the counter for at least an hour) to help the recipe bind together better.
Vanilla extract- No baked good recipe is complete without vanilla extract in my opinion. It’s key!
All-purpose flour- I typically bake with all-purpose flour. Almond and coconut flour do not have the same measurements so they will not work for this. However, gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose flour should work just fine. Make sure to find one with xantham gum, I love Bob’s Red Mill, but any should do.
Baking soda- Helps to produce a light and fluffy and perfectly cooked M&M Christmas cookie.
Sea salt- Salt is key in a baked good, because it really helps to bring out the flavor!
Christmas M&M’s- I used these M&M’s to make these cookies fun and festive for Christmas! You could use any holiday M&M or regular M&M to make these in any season!

Tips for making them:

Refrigerating the dough will help the flavors really come together! It also makes all the difference in baking to get that caramelization and perfectly cooked M&M Christmas cookie.
Topping with sea salt will help bring out the flavor of the cookie without making it salty. It just basically enhances the flavor in your mouth!
Making giant cookies will really give you those bakery style cookies! It’ll also make it so that the cookies are perfectly soft in the middle and crispy on the outside.

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Alright, let’s get to making the recipe! Enjoy friends!

Print Recipe

3.67 from 15 votes

M&M Christmas Cookies

M&M Christmas cookies are just like my classic chocolate chip cookie just replaced with M&M's to make them festive! These are a kid favorite! My son actually requested these so I figured it'd be fun to make and share. You could totally replace the M&M's with whatever holiday it is: Easter, Valentine's Day, you name it. Such a delicious and easy cookie that is a classic yet extra fun to make for Christmas!

Course: Dessert

Keyword: christmas, cookies, dessert, holiday food, M&M, party food

Servings:

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (required)
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar light or dark
2 eggs room temperature (required)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups Christmas M&M's

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter & sugars with a hand mixer until smooth & incorporated.
Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Add in the flour, sea salt, and baking soda. If your baking soda is clumpy, feel free to sift your dry ingredients through a strainer when adding it in to get rid of those clumps! Mix until everything is well combined.
Sprinkle in about 1 cup of M&M's and mix in with a spatula (use can reserve half for topping if you want to make the M&M's shine)!The batter should be thick and sticky. Refrigerate the dough 1-2 hours or overnight!
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
Form the dough into 16-18 large balls or you can make them a little smaller and make 20-24, just adjust the baking time!
Roll each dough ball in the remaining 1 cup of M&M's (you may need a little more) and make sure they stick to the cookie. You may have to press some in. You can also just press some in to the outside of the top of the cookie too! Up to you!
Place your cookies on a lined baking sheet. You will have to do 2 batches. I do about 6 large cookies per sheet.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes until the outsides are crisp and the insides are still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack. Enjoy!

Notes

For Storing: Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container on the counter for 3-5 days.

For Freezing: As I shared above, freeze in individual dough balls. That way you can pull them out to bake anytime! OR you can also freeze them once they’re freshly baked and completely cooled. Just pull out of the freezer and thaw on the counter until room temperature and enjoy!