These M&M Cookies are soft and a little chewy – the perfect holiday cookie to share with family and friends.
This is one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes. Soft, chewy, and who can resist M&Ms? Once you try this recipe you won’t need another – they are simply the best M&M cookies.

The kids and I do a lot of holiday baking together and the season is just not complete without a batch of M&M cookies. We make them every year.
We usually have a pretty long list of holiday cookies we want to make and you can bet that these are always on the list. They’re soft, a little chewy, and studded with red and green M&Ms.
We do our best to share with friends and neighbors, but it’s tempting to keep them all to ourselves!
Easy M&M Cookie Recipe
- You only need simple ingredients for these sweet treats. I bet if you check, you already have most of what you need on hand to make them.
- The dough does not require chilling – a time saver I love. We don’t always have time to wait around for cookie dough to chill during the busy holiday season.
- Mix, scoop, and bake. You can have a batch ready to go in the oven in about 20 minutes.
- You don’t have to wait for the holidays to make them! We make them all year and just change up the M&Ms to match the occasion.

They have the most wonderful texture. Soft in the middle and a little crisp and chewy around the edges. This is achieved by creaming the butter with two types of sugar.
The brown sugar adds to the soft and chewy texture, while the granulated sugar creates a lightly crispy texture around the edges.
Ingredients
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- M&Ms

How to Make the Best M&M Cookies
Cream: In a large bowl, cream the butter with both types of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Mix: In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add it to the butter mixture and stir to combine. Once mixed, stir in the M&Ms.

Scoop: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop one tablespoon of dough and drop it on the sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Bake: Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes at 350°F or until they are a light golden brown.

How to Store Them
Allow them to cool fully before storing. For best results, store them in an airtight container with pieces of wax paper separating each layer of cookies. They will keep well for up to a week at room temperature.
You can also freeze the baked cookies. Separate the layers with wax paper and keep them in a freezer-safe container. They will keep well in the freezer for up to a month.
To thaw from frozen, leave them out at room temperature for a few hours before serving.

Perfect for the Holidays
Because these cookies keep so well at room temperature they are just perfect for cookie platters or holiday gifts for friends and family.
They’re also so easy to make. You can easily mix up and bake a batch at the last minute. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve baked these for a last-minute holiday gathering or cookie exchanges.
They get rave reviews from the kids – the M&Ms help with that! And they love that they can help make them. I can stand-by to supervise while they mix and scoop the cookies.
But, don’t feel like you need to wait to make them during the Christmas season only. Just swap out the holiday M&Ms for regular ones and they will work all year round.

I hope these M&M cookies bring as much joy to your house as they do to ours. Simple, sweet, and easy to make – just what a holiday cookie should be, right? Enjoy! XOXO San
Want More Ideas for M&Ms?
There’s no shortage of M&M desserts at our house. After you this recipe you might like to give these other recipes a try, too:
- We love to use mint M&Ms to make Frosted Mint Cookies that are perfect for Christmas.
- We’re crazy about monster cookies, too. Be sure to try my classic monster cookie recipe and monster cookies made with pumpkin, too.
- For Valentines Day, I use red and white M&Ms to make soft, frosted cookies that practically melt in your mouth.
Don’t forget to pin this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Best Ever M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing down and stir 3 times to combine, then mix into the butter &sugar batter. Once combined, stir in M&M's.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop cookie dough into tablespoon balls on the baking sheet.
- Place in oven and bake 11-12 minutes or until a light golden brown.
I just made this and it is wonderful! It is so easy. Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Who could resist a soft and chewy cookie?! I LOVE that I have all of the ingredients on hand!
Enjoy!!
Cookies! Who can resist to these M&M cookies?!
No one could, I’m sure! Enjoy!
Whipped up a batch of these this afternoon and it was exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth! Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Yum! These look so delicious! My kids are going to love this recipe! I can’t wait to give this a try!
I’m sure the kids will love them! Enjoy!
These M&M Cookies would disappear in our house!
I’m sure they will! Enjoy!
This is seriously amazing!! Everyone at my house couldn’t stop eating this!
Thank you!
These really are the best! I have them in my cookie jar right now!
So glad you like them!!
Yum! They look really cute. Must be delicious
Thank you!
Just checking: it’s salted butter & 2 tspns. salt? And how many cookies does this recipe make? Thank you!
Yes, that is correct on the salt, but you can easily adjust that to your liking. And start with unsalted butter. It makes a lot of cookies, I would half the batch if you only want a couple of dozen. With our cookie dough scooper we get about 60-72 cookies 🙂