Perfect M&M Cookies: All Butter, No Shortening

One of America's favorite cookies, M&M Cookies are an adaptation of the traditional Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, topped with crayon-colored M&M candies. It's my friend Kathy's signature recipe, one she's tweaked and perfected over many years. Best of all, her cookie recipe uses butter, real butter, not shortening. Bake them crispy, bake them chewy, your choice.

Festive & Colorful for Christmas & Other Holidays. A Favorite for Kids and Kids-at-Heart.

~ Skip Straight to the Recipe ~

Do You Have a Signature Cookie?

My friend Kathy is famous for her M&M Cookies. It's not that she doesn't occasionally break the mold and bake something else, she does. But in the almost thirty years we've been friends, I can't think of another cookie she's made twice, let alone many times a year.

Kathy makes 15 – 20 batches a year and at Christmas, shares ten dozen at my friends’ annual cookie swap where new recipes may be ooo-ed and aaah-ed over but Kathy’s cookies are outright coveted.

Topped with red and green M&Ms, the cookies are just so eye-catching – the ones kids snatch up and grown-ups reach for first. Fights have been known to break out over the last cookie on the plate!

Almost Exactly the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.

Observant bakers, study the ingredient list. Yes, it’s just a nibble different than the classic Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe, America’s favorite for 75 years. But oh, the difference!

Kathy tweaked the M&M Cookies variation for a decade, achieving a perfect balance of crispy chewiness and chocolaty sweetness. If it stirs an irresistible urge to clip, bookmark, pin, share or print – now! – you’re not alone for the recipe rouses otherwise rational cooks into the kitchen at odd hours.

A Revelation: Crispy vs Chewy

Kathy makes her cookies many times a year. I'm no slacker but make "only" two or three batches a year. But over the years, I became puzzled how my cookies some times turn out so different than Kathy's. Don't get me wrong, hers are awesome and mine are always very good. But some times, they were just different.

So Kathy and I compared notes on specific ingredients, butter brands, flour brands, sugar brands, etc. We compared notes on ingredients by weight. We compared baking sheets. We compared oven temperatures.

And ... we found no differences. How could one recipe produce two such different results, especially from two careful, detail-oriented bakers? We promised ourselves that one day, we'd bake together and figure it all out.

And then late one night (doesn't everybody mix up a batch of random cookies at bedtime?!) I answered our question. It wasn't the ingredients. It wasn't the baking sheets. It was how we treated the baking sheets.

• Kathy's cookies are crisper, darker, deeper, flatter. Why? She bakes her cookies on bare baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray. Her cookies also spread more and are more fragile.
• My cookies are chewier, blonder, lighter, rounder. Why? It's an old habit of mine, baking cookies on parchment and even though my notes specify bare baking sheets, some times I forget and reflexively bake Kathy's cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment. These spread less and are less fragile, the better choice for shipping, say.

Visually, the differences are subtle but the cookies in the photo above were baked on bare baking sheets sprayed with baking spray. Do you see the "legs" around the outer edges? How they're slightly caramelized? Those are telltale signs.

Now mind you, both our cookies are good, very good. And some people like crispy cookies and some people like chewy cookies so in this case, it's easy to "have your cake and eat it too" in a single batch, just by treating the baking sheets differently. Do I have a preference? Yes!

Now that I figured it out, I can actually look at photos from over the years and tell which ones were baked on bare baking sheets and which ones on parchment.

Can you tell? I'm so glad to solve this cookie puzzle!

My Best Tips

I love this recipe! Perfect M&M Cookies are wonderful choice for spontaneous cookie baking, scratching that cookie-baking itch that hits every so often.

First, it's easy to keep a bag of M&Ms on hand. Moreover, the dough itself has no unusual ingredients. It mixes up really fast and there's little down time, even with one oven.

Now some cookie recipes can take almost anything you throw at 'em. The butter temperature doesn't really matter, you can change things up, you can cool them on a rack or not.

This is not that recipe. The only "imperfection" in Perfect M&M Cookies is that attention to detail really matters. That's why my recipe is written with tons of insider tips, the little stuff that makes a difference. Experience helps!

• Use quality ingredients, good butter (but not European butter), flour from a fresh bag, cane sugar.
• Take time to thoroughly mix the ingredients.
• Baking time is important, minutes do matter. Take notes on what works in your own kitchen.

Perfect M&M Cookies: Perfect for Holiday Occasions

Watch for seasonal M&M colors!

Seasonal M&Ms transform these favorite Christmas cookies into black and orange Halloween treats and pastel Easter goodies. For anyone courting Leprechaun Luck, for St. Patrick’s Day, consider the mythical aphrodisiac seduction of all-green M&Ms.

Fun, yes?

Baking Resources

• I keep a half dozen standard-size sheet pans, technically a "half" baking sheet but the largest baking sheet that will fit ovens in home kitchens
• This thin metal spatula is similar to mine, it's thin enough to slip beneath cookies without mangling them
• My Disclosure Promise Affiliate Link

---

Just updated! First published way back in 2007.

PERFECT M&M COOKIES

First grabbed, first to disappear

Hands-on time: 45 minutes
Start-to-finish: 1-1/4 hours
Makes 4-1/2 dozen medium-size cookies, easily halved

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring or 280g
• 1 teaspoon table salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1-1/8 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 cup (2 sticks/8oz/225g) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) white sugar
• 1/2 cup (100) brown sugar, golden or dark
• 1 generous teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs at room temperature (or warmed in warm water for 5 minutes)

• M&Ms, 3 regular size (about 5oz) or 5 mini per cookie

Set oven to 375F/190C.

MIX THE DOUGH In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy. Add the vanilla, then one at a time, the eggs, mixing well after each. If needed, scrape the battle of butter-sugar mixture. Still on low speed, mix in 1/3 of the flour mixture at first, then the remaining flour mixture, each time mixing until well-combined but without mixing more than needed.

CHILL THE DOUGH OR NOT Kathy and I differ here. She bakes her cookies straight off. I sometimes like to chill the dough for several hours or overnight or even for 24 or 48 hours if life takes unexpected turns: the cookie dough is easier to work with and extra flavor begins to develop too, especially for the longer chill times. The chilled dough can change the baking times.

BAKE on BARE BAKING SHEETS For crispy cookies, spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (Kathy uses Pam, I use Baker’s Joy or coconut spray from Trader's Joy). Form balls a tad smaller than a golf ball (weighing about 15g) and arrange well apart on a baking sheet, just 12 cookies per sheet with a standard-size sheet; for consistency, use a small cookie scoop.

~ or ~ BAKE on PARCHMENT For chewy cookies, line baking sheets with parchment. With your hands or a small cookie scoop, form balls (smaller than a golf ball, weighing about 15 grams and arrange on a baking sheet, up to 15 cookies per sheet (these spread less).

BAKE, ADD M&Ms, BAKE AGAIN Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven. Working quickly, gently press 3 regular size or 5 mini M&Ms onto each cookie for another 2–3 minutes, checking at 2 minutes. For crispy cookies, the cookies should be on the brown side of golden, the bottoms crisp. For chewy cookies, the cookies should be more golden than brown but be sure the bottoms are fully cooked.

COOL Let cool for 2–3 minutes (no more, otherwise, they'll stick) and use a thin metal spatula to gently move the cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack.

Once cool, stack gently in cookie tins lined with wax paper; use more waxed paper to separate the layers of cookies. Perfect M&M Cookies stay fresh for a good week or more. They also freeze well.

ALANNA's TIPS This dough is so simple but it does take a little extra care to thoroughly mix the ingredients. Be sure to really whisk the dry ingredients together well. When mixing the wet ingredients, make sure to scrape the mixing bowl often so the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla really become one, no streaks. If needed, scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Be sure to fully incorporate the flour. At least with a 1970s-vintage Kitchen Aid mixer, this means wiping down the sides three or four times. Please don't use European-style higher-fat content butters, the cookies are prone to running and burning. Not good! Both Kathy and I use Land O' Lakes unsalted butter for baking although I also use Land O' Lakes salted butter with great results. When positioning the M&Ms atop the partially baked cookies, use a gentle touch and they'll settle in perfectly. If you press, even lightly, the M&M will be buried. But! If you use mini M&Ms, these need pressing! Arrrgh, the details, some times! Cookie sheets and ovens do vary in performance and these cookies are fussy about timing. Track the exact number of minutes in your own environment so your cookies neither under- nor over-bake. If you happen to under-bake a trayful, don't worry, just put it back in the oven for another few minutes, checking after each minute until the color changes. I save a perhaps-obvious tip for last: a double batch.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cookie: 86 Calories; 4g Tot Fat; 3g Sat Fat; 17mg Cholesterol; 55mg Sodium; 11g Carb; 0g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 1g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 2 & SmartPoints 4 & Freestyle 4 & myWW green 4 & blue 4 & purple 4

---

Seasonal Cooking: Holiday Baking Across the Years

Frosty Christmas Trees Homemade Microwave Caramel Corn Gourmet Mocha Cookies Graham Cracker Toffee Cranberry-Mac Morsels Butter Tart Bars Perfect M&M Cookies Sesame Candy Fresh Cranberry Drop Cookies Chocolate Ginger Crinkle Cookies Colored Roll-Out Sugar Cookies Holiday Baking Tips from a Certifiable Cookie-Baking Fiend No-Roll Christmas Sugar Cookies Bourbon Pralines Slice 'n' Bake Coffee Cookies with Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans Fresh Cranberry Cake Chocolate-Almond Shortbread Cookies Christmas Banana Bread Fresh Cranberry Bars Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookies Family Shortbread

---

Favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes

(hover with a mouse for a description; otherwise click a photo to view the recipe)

~ more cookie recipes ~
~ more Christmas recipes ~

---

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

---

© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2007, 2010 & 2019