Crispy m&m Cookies
on Jul 11, 2019, Updated Nov 15, 2023
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Crispy to match the bite of their candy shells, these m&m cookies are super easy to make. It doesn’t take long to mix the dough. Then you can portion them out and bake them immediately. There’s no waiting for the dough to chill because these cookies are supposed to be thin.
You can also try baking these peanut butter m&m cookies.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
They are a different take on the classic m&m cookie recipe. There isn’t a wrong way to enjoy these cookies whether that’s the m&m party cookie recipe on the back of the bag or something else. This version is all about a crisp texture to match the snap of the candy shells.
You don’t have to refrigerate the dough before you bake the cookies. Because you want the cookies to turn out thin, there’s no need to let the dough chill. That makes this recipe faster than the approach for other kinds of cookies.
Go ahead and switch up the colors of your m&ms depending on the holiday. The usual multicolors always look great, but you could do black and orange for Halloween, red and green for Christmas and pastels for Easter. These specialty colors are easy to find at the grocery during certain times of the year.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Flour: Like most cookies, this recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
- Baking soda and baking powder are the leavening agents that help the cookies rise. You don’t want them to turn out completely flat.
- Salt is important even in dessert recipes. Just a little but activates the flavors of all the ingredients.
- Butter: My preference is to use unsalted butter for baking. Make sure to leave it out at room temperature to soften. If you forget to do this, you can use the large holes of a box grater to cut the butter into smaller pieces that will soften faster.
- Granulated sugar & brown sugar: The cookies have twice the amount of granulated sugar as brown sugar, so they bake up crisp. Use light brown sugar.
- Eggs: The recipe has two large eggs.
- Pure vanilla extract is subtle in the cookies, but you do need 2 teaspoons.
- m&ms: I stir 1-1/2 cups of these chocolate candies into the dough. Then I press the rest of them into the hot cookies when they finish baking.
How Do You Bake Thin Cookies?
Thick and chewy cookies might be nice, but that’s not always what you want. There are a couple things you can do to get your cookies to spread more and turn out thin and crispy.
Use more granulated sugar than brown sugar. White sugar makes cookies spread. Brown sugar makes cookies more moist and adds deeper, more molasses-like flavor.
Do not refrigerate the cookie dough before you bake it. The opposite is true for thick cookies, which do better when you bake chilled dough.
How To Make m&m Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
1. Combine the dry ingredients. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl. It’s best to do this with a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer. Give them a full 4 minutes to become pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. They should be fully combined before you move to the next step.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. You can do this with the mixer on low or by hand with a wooden spoon. Stop when you just see a few flour steaks in the dough.
5. Stir in the m&ms.
6. Scoop the dough onto the sheet pan. Space them 3 inches apart because the cookies will spread as they bake.
7. Bake the cookies until they are golden brown on the edges, about 12-14 minutes. Immediately after you take them out of the oven, press additional m&ms into the tops. Let them cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Serving
These cookies are great for sharing including potlucks or cookie exchanges. There is something so familiar about m&m cookies that I find people always get excited when they see them. You can enjoy them warm or at room temperature.
Storage & Freezing
Keep these homemade cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. You can save them for 2-3 days. They will soften more the longer you store them.
You can freeze baked or unbaked cookies. Frozen baked cookies thaw pretty quickly at room temperature. Before you freeze unbaked cookies, portion out the dough onto a pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Then put them in the freezer. Once they are solid, you can put them in the same container. Frozen dough will take 2-3 minutes extra time to bake.
Recipe Tips
The butter that you bake with should be soft at room temperature. You should be able to put your finger on it and easily make a dent, but it should still feel somewhat cold to the touch. If your butter is to the point of being warm and sticky, your cookies will end up too flat.
When you measure the flour, use the scoop and sweep method. Take a fork or spoon in the flour container to stir it around. It tends to pack down as it sits. Then take your measuring cup and scoop the flour. Use a knife to sweep across, so it is even with the top.
Do not use the mini m&m size. Because these cookies turn out more thin, having all those tiny candies distributed throughout the dough will not give you enough areas that are just cookie. You are better off with the regular m&m size.
It helps to have two baking sheets. Then you won’t scoop cookie dough onto warm pans by alternating between batches.
Using a cookie scoop makes portioning out the dough quick and easy. Also, you will be more consistent with the size of the cookie dough balls.
Make sure to press m&ms into the tops of warm cookies right when they come out of the oven. This is the only way you will be guaranteed to see them on top. Also, exposed m&ms will crack in the heat of oven. They are still perfectly edible, but if you push them into warm cookies, you won’t have any issues.
Recipe FAQs
If you want to make thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies, then you can make this substitution. Unlike the m&ms, you don’t need to press chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookies. Also, depending how much chocolate you like, you can stir 1 cup to 1-1/2 cups chips into the dough.
Yes. I suggest stirring 1 cup m&ms and 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the dough. Then only press m&ms into the tops of the warm cookies.
More Cookie Recipes
Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Blood Orange Icebox Cookies
Cinnamon Owl Shortbread Cookies
Brookies (Brownie Cookies)
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Cornflake Cookies
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies
Crispy m&m Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups m&ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Either on low speed or by hand with a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stop when only can see a few streaks of the flour mixture.
- Stir in 1-1/2 cup m&ms.
- Drop the dough by the scant 1/4-cup spacing 3-inches apart on the sheet pans.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown. Press the remaining m&ms into the tops of the warm cookies immediately after you take them out of the oven.
- Cool on the cookies on the sheet pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2-3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You have eggs on the recipe twice. Does the recipe call for 2 eggs or 4?
Thanks for catching that. The recipe calls for 2 eggs.