If you’ve been reading What’s Gaby Cooking for the past few years, you know that I’m obsessed with giving homemade gifts, like Christmas cookies. And these Christmas M&M Cookies are top of the list this year.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
As someone who loves to bake, spread the love, and eat my fair share of cookies… this is my time to shine. I mean, what says Happy Holidays more than a giant plate of Christmas M&M Cookies? This time of year the What’s Gaby Cooking kitchen is fully stocked. I have all the ingredients on hand at all times so I can make a batch of these cookies or M&M cookie bars at a moments notice!
These Christmas M&M Cookies have been a long-standing Dalkin family tradition for years. As kids we’d BEG my parents for those giant cookies at the mall – do you guys remember those? Ugh, they were so good!! And these are them – but better because they are made with love and in small batches ☺ So next time you’re at the market, grab an extra bag of M&M's and get to work whipping up a batch of Christmas M&M cookies. And then send some to me because I LOVE THEM!!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter at room temperature
- Brown Sugar
- White Sugar
- Eggs at room temperature
- Vanilla Extract
- All Purpose Flour
- Kosher Salt
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Christmas Colored M&Ms
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Christmas M&M Cookies
Step 1: Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Step 3: Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated.
Step 4: Fold in 1 ¾ cups of the M&M’s.
Step 5: Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, and transfer to a baking sheet, they can be closely spaced together as this is how they will chill.
Step 6: Once chilled, place 12 of the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add a few M&M's on top of each cookie, making sure the M&M's stick into the dough.
Step 7: For cookies that are soft in the middle, bake for 11-13 minutes until just slightly golden around the edges. If you want them crisp, bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before transferring them off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack.
How to Store Christmas M&M Cookies
You can store these at room temperature in an airtight container and they will stay fresh for about a week. You can also refrigerate them to keep them fresh for longer, for about 2-3 weeks.
How to Freeze Christmas M&M Cookies
Once you've baked the cookies, let them cool and then transfer to an air tight container and store in the freezer. Then when it’s time to eat, take a few out, let them come to room temp and devour.
To freeze the cookie dough, portion the dough into 2 tablespoon scoops and freeze on a flat surface. Once the balls are frozen, you can transfer the frozen balls into a freezer bag and save for later. When ready to bake, let them sit on the counter for 15 minutes before baking at the same time and temp as listed in this recipe.
Tips & Tricks
#1 - we are REALLY going to cream together the butter and sugar. You have to let it cream together for 3 minutes to ensure the butter and sugar properly combine. The color should be a pale light yellow and look like the image featured below.
#2 - I am a scoop and level kinda girl. The weighted conversion is listed in the recipe box below. If you spoon and level, that will not result in enough flour. I scoop my measuring cup into the flour and then use a knife to level it out. When you mix everything together, just mix the dry ingredients until JUST combined. No need to overmix.
#3 - there are 2 ways to chill the dough. If you're pressed on time, scoop the dough into balls and pop them side by side on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes or chill in the fridge for about an hour. If you don't want to scoop, then you can chill the entire vessel of dough for 2 hours to really let the flavors come together. If you have time to chill the dough overnight, even better!
#4 - once the dough has chilled and you're ready to bake, pop a few M&Ms' into each cookie dough ball before transferring them to the baking sheet. That will ensure that some M&Ms stay visible while baking. Then pop them into the oven and let them bake! You can do this with any color palate to mix up the holidays!
FAQs
Can I add white chocolate or other Christmas themed candies?
Absolutely! You can add white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, candy cane pieces and other add-ins of your choice.
How do I know the cookies are done?
Time it! Cookies can be hard to tell since they are soft when they are being baked. Follow the instructions in the recipe below. Also, use the color as an indicator, they should turn golden brown on the edges. As mentioned in the recipe below, you can also bake a bit longer or shorter based on how crisp or soft you want them.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Christmas M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (DO NOT MELT)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour measured by scooping the flour and leveling with knife (366 grams or 12.9 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2¼ cups Christmas Colored M&M’s divided
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugars in a mixer for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix on low until everything is incorporated. Fold in 1 ¾ cups of the M&M’s.
- Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, and transfer to a baking sheet, they can be closely spaced together as this is how they will chill.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes if they are scooped into balls. If you’re chilling the dough in the mixing bowl, chill for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Place 12 of the cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add a few M&M's on top of each cookie, making sure the M&M's stick into the dough.
- For cookies that are soft in the middle, bake for 11-13 minutes until just slightly golden around the edges. If you want them crisp, bake for 13-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before transferring them off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What's Gaby Cooking
These taste great but my cookies came out totally flat ? What could cause this? I chilled the dough overnight so I know that cant be the reason. All my ingrediants were brand new also?? I want to try again for Valentines day.
did you read all the tips and tricks in the blog post about measuring? weights for comparison?
I also had this happen. I saw the 2.5 cups of flour and since I weigh most things when baking that comes to 300 grams- however the technique this baker would like you to us should yield closer to 3 cups of flour @ 366 grams. Good luck next time!
Changed these up for Halloween and added Reese's Pieces for the fall color scheme. I don't love chocolate/chocolate chips, so I especially loved the peanut butter flavor. Looking forward to trying them again next week for Christmas. Thanks Gaby!
Best ever!! I made these for my family. They LOVED them!
What parchment paper sheets do you use? Trying to find a good one on Amazon but seeing mixed reviews.
These were awesome! Came together quickly and easily and turned out perfect! Only changes I made were 1tsp vanilla (personal preference) and no chill time. Super easy, definitely a keeper!
I’ve made these twice and they spread like crazy. What did I do wrong? They taste amazing, just don’t want them thin like Lacey cookies help!
Hi!
What vanilla extract and brand of butter do you
Recommend?
I use Land o Lakes unsalted butter and Neilsen Massey Vanilla
Super yummy!! I usually love warm cookies out of the oven but I liked these cooked, even the next day! Not too sweet. I think my butter and eggs were not room temp enough so the cookies did spread out a little more then they should have (not as thick as the picture). Thanks for a great recipe!
Delish!!
these cookies turned out INSANELY DELICIOUS!! Gaby does it again. Will be making 3-4 more batches cause I am obsessed.
The cookies turned out well, but was a little irritated nwith the way the recipe is written. Recipe says 10 min of prep, 10 minutes cook time. Instructs you to preheat the oven, but later tells you to chill the dough for at least two hours! Glad I trained myself to read the whole recipe first. Prep time should really read 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Is it best to use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar in this recipe? Does it matter? Thank you!!!
it does not matter. My preference is light. But if you only have dark on hard - totally still perf
Do you scoop the dough into balls while dough is soft and then refrigerate (as shown in your video of the recipe) or should you refrigerate the dough before you scoop into balls (as written in the recipe)? Love all your recipes!
you can do it whichever way you prefer. The BEST results, I think, come when you scoop them into balls and then pop into the fridge and then it goes STRAIGHT into the oven after the fridge.
An all-time favorite!! Love these with the red and green colors!!!
Light brown or dark brown sugar?
either. I prefer light