M&M Cookies

By Eric Kim

Published Dec. 8, 2021

M&M Cookies
Anna Williams for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susan Spungen. Prop Stylist: Sarah Smart.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(2,375)
Comments
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These easy one-bowl cookies make the best gifts and add nostalgia to any cookie plate. But they’re also great for when you just want a really good homemade cookie as quickly as possible. This part is essential: The butter must be soft enough to whisk by hand. Use butter that’s been sitting at room temperature for a long while, even overnight or up to 24 hours. Chopping the M&M’s into rainbow shards creates a more even distribution of chocolate and candy coating throughout the dough. When these cookies bake, they will rise slightly then fall as they cool, one of the most beautiful indicators of deep chewiness.

Featured in: 24 Days of Cookies

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Ingredients

Yield:About 16 cookies
  • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter, very soft
  • 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar
  • ¼packed cup/57 grams dark brown sugar
  • 1large egg, at room temperature
  • 1tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) or ¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • ¼teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½cups/185 grams all-purpose flour
  • ½cup/96 grams M&M’s
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 large sheet pans with parchment.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and salt by hand until smooth and fluffy, at least 1 minute. Whisk in the baking soda, then switch to a rubber spatula. Add the flour, then carefully and coarsely chop the M&M’s, and add them, too. Gently stir to combine. Place the bowl in the refrigerator while you wait for the oven to finish heating.

  3. Step 3

    Using two spoons or a cookie scoop, plop out 2-tablespoon/50-gram rounds spaced a couple of inches apart on the sheet pans. (You should get about 8 cookies per pan.) Bake until lightly golden at the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on the sheet pan; they will continue to cook as they sit.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,375 user ratings
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Comments

Marge Keller

The only modification I would make with this delicious recipe would be to use mini M&Ms instead of the regular size candy. You end up with more chocolate per bite. I also use mini chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookie recipe as well. People tend to enjoy the smaller chocolate addition.

Carlie

I just made these for the fam today. I used mini M&Ms and only 150 grams of sugar (cos I don’t love things overly sweet), but otherwise followed the recipe. They were a huge hit. We couldn’t stop eating them. :/

4Georgiapeaches

Just made these with the idea that if the NYT has 24 days of cookies, we should eat 24 days of cookies. Made as written except I doubled the M&Ms (I had chopped mine - no minis to be found). Was the easiest thing ever - butter definitely needs to be soft and they were consumed immediately. Day one: check.

Barbara O.

Wow...wow...wow...I am always in search of the "perfect" cookie and this one fits the bill. Chewy, fun and well balanced too. Maybe you could cut the sugar down a tad, but (as others have pointed out), this could change the chemistry and not for the better. Better than any cc cookie recipe I have tried. I did skip the flaky sea salt garnish as these were going to a kid friendly place, but next time I will add the salt (for me!)

S

These cookies are so delightful & nostalgic … the sweetness level is perfect - it’s meant to be a satisfying treat. This recipe is a great base, leaving a lot of room for creativity to play around with the mix-ins. Freezed the dough overnight & had the best result the next day!

Sally Zee

You can smash up the M&Ms in the bag and get pretty close to the mix of chunks and confetti colored shards. I let them mellow in the fridge overnight and baked the next day using my smaller 1 Tbs cookie scoop, but since it picked up extra dough, they were close to the suggested 2 Tbs size. Made just over 2 dozen at that size.

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