These are the ultimate soft M&M cookies. Jumbo-sized, loaded with M&M candies, soft and thick. Use your favorite seasonal candies; we used red, white, and blue!
Looking for more red, white, and blue desserts? Try our red, white, and blue mini fruit pizzas, our patriotic berry trifle, or our red, white, and blue Oreo truffles!
Watch our step-by-step video!
Soft M&M Cookies (Red, White, and Blue)
Thick, jumbo, gooey, and loaded with chocolate candy. I’ve finally perfected the perfect M&M cookie and am thrilled to share! My soft M&M cookies are the size of two cookies. I like purchasing seasonal M&Ms so when I saw the patriotic pack I knew I needed to pick it up for some 4th of July cookies.
Note: If you want a crispier cookie (that also works great for making ice cream sandwiches) try my bakery-style M&M cookies.
This recipe makes 2 dozen jumbo cookies, perfect to share with friends. They are delicious warm or at room temperature, although I think I prefer them served warm with a glass of cold milk. You can easily reheat the cookies for a few seconds in the microwave!
Soft M&M Cookies Ingredients
- Butter: I always bake with salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you’d like. I use softened butter (which can still be slightly chilled) for this recipe.
- Sugar: I use a combination of brown sugar and white sugar (with a bigger ratio of brown sugar).
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 eggs to add enough moisture to this big batch of cookie dough.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavoring. Try our homemade vanilla extract!
- Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Kosher Salt: For leavening and flavor. You can use regular table salt if you’d like, but I use kosher salt for my baking and cooking.
- All-Purpose Flour: I use bread and all-purpose flour interchangeably and don’t typically notice a difference. So use what you have on hand.
- M&Ms: I used 2 (10 oz.) bags, but if you don’t plan on adding extra candy to the tops of the cookies you can get away with 1 (10 oz.) bag which is a little over 1 1/2 cups of candy.
Tips for Making Large M&M Cookies
- Use lots of M&Ms. Not only do I mix the candy into the dough, but I also save extra candy to add before and after baking, making sure the cookie is evenly covered with colored M&Ms. Some bakers suggest chopping the M&Ms up before adding them to the cookie dough, but I don’t like doing that. I pour them in whole and mix them with my kitchenmaid. This will break up some of them but leaves most of them intact.
- Cook at 375 degrees. The higher heat will cook the outside quickly, preventing the cookie from spreading too much.
- Let cookies stand on cookie sheets to cool for at least 10 minutes. Instead of quickly removing the cookies after baking, let them sit on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes to allow the soft centers to finish baking.
- Bake cookies on LIGHT baking sheets. These bake more evenly than dark cookie sheets.
How To Make Soft M&M Cookies
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cream softened butter and sugars using an electric hand or stand mixer.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Stir in M&Ms.
- Scoop cookies in 1/4 cup portions onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. I bake 6 cookies on a sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes*. Let cookies stand on a baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
*9-10 minutes for a SLIGHTLY underdone cookie, 11-12 minutes for a soft cookie with browned bottoms.
Ultimate Soft M&M Cookies Recipe
(printable version)
Ultimate Soft M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs chilled eggs are fine
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2-3 cups M&M candies (1 1/2-2 cups for dough and 1 cup to add to the top of the cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cream softened butter and sugars using an electric hand or stand mixer.
- Mix in eggs and vanilla thoroughly.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Stir in M&Ms.
- Scoop cookies in 1/4 cup portions onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. I typically bake 6 cookies on each baking sheet.Note: if you have a medium cookie scoop (2 Tbsp sized) you can scoop two cookie dough balls and then roll them together for a large 1/4 cup-sized ball.
- Bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes*. Let cookies stand on a baking sheet for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.Note: *Bake cookie for 9-10 minutes for a SLIGHTLY underdone cookie, and 11-12 minutes for a soft cookie with light brown bottoms.
Notes
Tips for Making Large M&M Cookies
- Use lots of M&Ms. Not only do I mix the candy into the dough, but I also save extra candy to add before and after baking, making sure the cookie is evenly covered with colored M&Ms. Some bakers suggest chopping the M&Ms up before adding them to the cookie dough, but I don't like doing that. I pour them in whole and mix them with my kitchenmaid. This will break up some of them but leaves most of them intact.Â
- Cook at 375 degrees. The higher heat will cook the outside quickly, preventing the cookie from spreading too much.
- Let cookies stand on cookie sheets to cool for at least 10 minutes. Instead of quickly removing the cookies after baking, let them sit on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes to allow the soft centers to finish baking.
- Bake cookies on LIGHT baking sheets. These bake more evenly than dark cookie sheets.
Nutrition
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
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