Christmas M&M Cookies - my favorite chocolate chip cookie gets all dressed up for the holidays! The addition of bright red and green M&M's makes them Santa's favorite cookie! No chilling required, which is a bonus if you make them with kids!
These cookies need to show up on your Christmas platter. Don't forget the Rocky Road Fudge and Gingerbread Bars too!
December is here and it's time to decide what cookies will Santa find on the plate by the fireplace this year. For my kids, this is a very important decision. Reindeer - that's easy. They love carrots and oats. But Santa - he needs a special treat. After all, he spends the whole night in cold, flying all over the world, delivering presents. That needs to be appreciated. That's exactly what these Christmas M&M Cookies are. We all know that classic chocolate chip cookie is always a winner. Especially one that is soft and chewy and packed with gooey, melty chocolate. But add red and green M&M's and bam! Santa didn't expect that!
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- instant vanilla pudding mix
- baking soda
- salt
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- large egg
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- red and green M&M candy
- chocolate chips, any kind
Instructions
-
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter for 30 seconds. Add both sugars and beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
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In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour, pudding mix, soda and salt.
-
Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix with an electric mixer until almost incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, add chocolate chips and M&M's (reserving some) and stir in until well mixed.
-
Scoop the cookie dough with a medium (1 and 1/2 tablespoon) cookie scoop. Roll into balls and place on prepared cookie sheet. Press reserved chocolate chips and M&M's onto the balls.
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Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes (10 minutes was the magic number for me).
No chilling the dough
I always bake cookies with my kids. Especially during the holidays. They love to be involved! Besides what kid can resist colorful M&M's? If you ever baked cookies with kids, you know that they expect to eat the cookies as soon as they are safe to handle. For that reason (and let's be real, when I want a cookie - I want it now), I tend to avoid recipes that require chilling the dough for hours or worse, overnight. Sure, they may come out thicker. I just don't have the patience.
Can I freeze this cookie dough?
Yes! You can make the dough, scoop it out and freeze on a baking sheet. Then place in a ziploc bag and store in your freezer for up to 4 months. Take out as many as you need and bake.
Expert tips
- butter: Make sure your butter is so soft, you have to use a butter knife to scrape it off the wrapper. It will cream better.
- candy: My trick to give them pretty "faces" is to save few M&M's and chocolate chips and press them to already formed cookie balls, on the baking sheet, ready to be placed in the oven.
- pudding mix: The base dough is my very favorite. I love using vanilla pudding mix in my cookie dough as it helps to produce soft but not cakey cookies. It enhances the vanilla flavor in combination with a good pure vanilla extract.
More Christmas cookies and candy:
- Rolo Pretzel Bites
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
- Molasses Cookies
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Oreo Fudge
For more recipes like this one, feel free to browse our Cookies Category.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Christmas M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature, 1 stick
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3.5 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup red and green M&M's
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with Silpat silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter for 30 seconds. Add both sugars and beat for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour, pudding mix, soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter sugar mixture and mix with an electric mixer until almost incorporated. Switch to a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, add chocolate chips and M&M's (reserving some) and stir in until well mixed.
- Scoop the cookie dough with a medium (1 and 1/2 tablespoon) cookie scoop. Roll into balls and place on prepared cookie sheet, spacing them 2" apart.
- Press reserved chocolate chips and M&M's onto the balls.
- Bake cookies for 9 to 11 minutes (10 minutes was the magic number for me). Cool for 2 minutes on the sheet, then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- The finished dough tends to be crumbly but it should come together when rolled into balls in your hands. For less crumbly dough, use 1 and 3/4 cups of flour.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on December 4th, 2015 and updated on November 30th, 2019.
Sly says
Hi! Love these cookies, they are perfect!
Just wanted to ask, when I want to bake the frozen ones, do I need to wait for them to unfreeze or I can put them straight to the oven from the freezer?
If it's straight to the oven, do they need to be baked longer?
Thank you,
Sly
Eden says
These were SO good!! Chewy and moist and my kids LOVED the m&ms! Can't wait to make them again!
Anna says
Thank you, Eden! I am so glad they were a hit!
Cyd says
This is such a good classic cookie recipe! The addition of the pudding mix makes them so soft.
Anna says
Right? So delicious! Thanks, Cyd!
Katie says
Made these for the family and they were a hit!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Katie!
Brittany says
Great cookies! Batter stayed together even with making them a little bigger. So delicious!!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Brittany! I am so happy to know you love these cookies! Thank you for letting me know!
Susie says
Hi! I've made these cookies twice...and the first time they turned out amazing. Looked just like the pictures. I made them again, and I doubled the recipe, doubled everything correctly. And they turned out hard, and flat. The only thing I could think that I messed up was I beat the mixtures too long. Could that of made them hard and flat?
Ren says
Just made these and they look quite colorful and tasty. Hubby loves them but I found them a tad too sweet.
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you so much, Ren!
Arianna says
How many cookies does this recipe yield?
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Arianna! This recipe will make about 2 dozen cookies. 😀
Cayla says
This is the first time I looked for a monster cookie recipe. i normally just do a chocolate chip and then toss m&ms and any other candies i have on hand. So I followed the recipe word for word and it came out too crumbly for cookies, so instead I made monster cookie brownie with the dough instead. I'm excited to see what my boys thing:-)
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Cayla! The dough is definitely not sticky but it will come together when you roll it in your hands. I also make it into bars and they are thick and delicious! I hope you enjoyed them! 😀 Happy Holidays! - Anna
Desiree says
I just made these, and the dough doesn't quite come together - it stays pretty dry. What am I doing wrong?
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Hi Desiree! The dough should not be sticky at all. It may look dry but if you scoop it out and roll in your hands - it should come together nicely.Let me know if this helps!
Mary says
When I made these the first time the dough turned out to be crumbly so I added an extra egg and 1/8 cup shortening and they turned out amazing. After tweaking them my significant other said they were the best M&M cookies he has ever had. These are a regular in our house with the modification I made.
Lori @ RecipeGirl says
These are just the sort of Christmas cookie that people LOVE. So delicious and pretty. Everyone loves M&M's!
Tonia from TheGunnySack says
Why is that the holiday M&Ms are even better than the regular ones? These cookies look awesome!
Kristyn says
YUM! These sound delicious! Can't wait to try these!
Becky Hardin | The Cookie Rookie says
MMM! Doesn't get better than these! Perfection.
Roxana says
Awesome cookie roundup and these M&M cookies are so festive and tasty looking! I'm such a sucker for cookies with M&Ms in them. 😀
Katerina @ Diethood says
First. I LOVE the new look! It's beautiful!
Second. DO YOU DELIVER?!? Your cookies are always so, so gorgeous!
M says
After the cookies are baked, do they freeze ok?
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I just pinned these because I just love how they look! The M&Ms are perfect and they just look so super soft!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
These m&m cookies look incredibly pillowy and soft- obsessed ! Pinning 🙂
Melanie | Melanie Makes says
Soft AND M&Ms? Totally a no brainer - Santa would love these! 😉
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thanks, Melanie!