Looking for an easy, simple cookie with festive charm? These Chewy M&M Christmas Cookies are brown-sugar-based cookies with green and red candies with chocolate centers that just melt in your mouth.
The chewy cookies have slightly crispy edges and a wonderfully soft and buttery interior, and the M&M’s are such an easy way to instantly make these merry! (See also: Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies!).
Plus, this easy Christmas cookie recipe requires just one bowl, no chilling time, and only 8 ingredients to execute. As a busy mom and joyful baker, I find these 25-minute cookies are the perfect way to bring Christmas cheer during the busy Holiday season.
M&M Christmas Cookies Ingredient Highlights
Unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt you are adding to your cookies. Make sure your butter is softened (not melted!) in order to get the perfect consistency in your dough. More info in my article on How to Quickly and Easily Soften Butter.
This cookie recipe uses just brown sugar to give it more of that caramelly flavor that you look for in a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe.
You’ll need only red and green M&M’s! You can usually find a bag of red and green around Christmastime, but you can also buy a family size bag and sort them out.
Christmas Cookies with M&M’s Tips and Tricks
How I Make a Simple One Bowl Cookie Dough
Usually around the Holidays, you can find bags of M&M’s that contain just red and green (and sometimes white!) M&M’s. Otherwise, you can grab a family size bag of M&M’s and sort out the red and green ones!
I know it’s a little tedious but make it fun! Grab a friend or a little one and make it into a sorting race (my toddler absolutely loves this “game”!)
Like almost all of my cookie recipes, this one can be whipped up in just one bowl. So, the order in which you add your ingredients to the bowl will impact the overall success of your dough.
The key to perfectly textured cookies is creaming the sugar with the butter to kickstart the dough. As the sugar cuts into the butter, it adds little air bubbles that ultimately make for a softer and chewier cookie.
Use your hand mixer on high to whip the softened butter and brown sugar together until it’s smooth and airy. This usually takes about 2-3 minutes.
Then, add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix on low, just enough to integrate the egg. It’s best not to over-beat your dough once the egg is in there.
Add the flour, salt, and baking soda to the mix and grab your trusty hand mixer. Use the hand mixer to combine the dry ingredients into your dough, making sure no clumps are left behind.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape down any dry ingredients clinging to the sides of the bowl. Make sure everything is well-combined and no ingredients are left behind.
I like to conserve a handful of green and red M&M’s to place on top of the cookie dough once it’s shaped into cookies. This just ensures you get those fun festive Christmas colors in each and every cookie.
Pour the rest of the M&M’s into the cookie dough and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them in, until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
How I Perfectly Bake My Christmas M&M Cookies Every Time
These Christmas cookies with M&M’s are pretty much foolproof, even for beginner bakers! They hold their shape even without any chilling time, but you can still expect a little bit of spreading.
Keep this in mind as you line your cookies up on your lined baking sheet. But here’s the key to perfectly baking these cookies: always bake them on the top rack of your oven!
Heat rises, so the top rack of your oven is often hotter than the bottom rack. If you place one cookie sheet on the top and one on the bottom rack, there will be a noticeable difference in their baking time.
If both sheets don’t fit on the top rack simultaneously, I recommend baking the cookies in two separate rounds. This way, they can all bake on the top rack.
These cookies with M&M’s will bake beautifully in just 10-12 minutes at 350°F.
When the cookies are ready, the tops and edges are a little bit crispy to touch and will start to turn golden brown. It’s okay if the center is slightly underdone. The cookies will continue to bake as they cool.
If you want perfectly round cookies, do the “cookie scoot”! Grab a round cookie cutter that’s just a little bit larger than your cookie. While they’re still hot, scoot the cookie cutter around it, and you’ll be left with perfect circles!
How I Store Christmas Cookies
At room temperature, these chewy chocolatey cookies will last for 5-7 days when stored in an airtight container. In the fridge, they will last up to three weeks.
Quick tip: Storing your cookies with a piece of bread will keep them softer and chewier. This is the perfect use for the end piece!
These cookies do tend to harden within the first few days of storing them. If you want a hack to keep them softer and chewier, store a piece of bread in the container with them. Moisture from the bread actually stops the cookies from drying out.
You can also freeze these cookies for up to a year, but I recommend freezing the unbaked dough instead. More on that below.
I Love to Freeze Cookie Dough!
Freezing some or all of your Christmas cookie dough is a great way to have freshly baked cookies within minutes all year long.
Shape the dough into cookie dough balls and store them in a freezer safe storage bag (I use these reusable storage bags for a more sustainable option!). They can be stored this way for up to 12 months.
You can bake them straight out of the freezer! Give them 12 minutes and then check them. They may need an extra minute or two.
25-Minute Chewy M&M Christmas Cookies
SAVE RECIPE TO COLLECTION PIN PRINT RATEEquipment
- Cookie Scoop optional
Ingredients
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter (½ cup butter = 1 stick)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup M&M's (green and red only)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat. If need be, sort through your M&M's, separating out 1 cup of red and green M&M's
- To a large mixing bowl, add softened butter and brown sugar. Use a hand mixer on high to cream together until light and smooth (about 2-3 minutes).½ cup softened unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and use your hand mixer on low to combine.1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix to combine, careful not to overbeat. Use a spatula to scrape any flour off the sides of the bowl and integrate it into your dough.1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Add the M&M's to your dough and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine. I like to keep a small handful of each out to place on top of the cookie dough once it's formed into cookies.1 cup M&M's
- Use a large cookie scoop or 2 heaping tablespoons of dough to form your cookies, adding them to the prepped baking sheets. Leave at least an inch of space in between each cookie for minor spreading. Add the conserved M&M's on top.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes on the top rack. It's okay if they are slightly underdone. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet so they continue to bake as they cool. If you want perfectly round cookies, use a round cookie cutter, scooting it around the cookie while they are still hot. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- You can freeze excess cookie dough before baking it to give you fresh baked cookies every time when the craving hits! Just bake them as normal straight out of the freezer.
Video
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