YOLO Chewy M&M Cookie Recipe

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Dear friends,

In uncertain times like these, perhaps a batch of warm, just-from-the-oven M & M cookies can help.

People of all ages enjoy these colorful, chewy cookies studded with M&Ms candies.

Why They’re Worth Making

  • Comforting – M & M cookies are like pure Mom-style comfort food in a handy, portable size. 
  • Rich Flavor – These cookies taste buttery and chocolatey, with a hint of vanilla and a dash of sea salt.
  • Great Texture – The edges are crisp, and the centers are soft and chewy.
  • Easy Recipe – You can whip up the dough in about 15 minutes.
  • Satisfying to Eat – Warm from the oven, they’re melty but not messy. Hey, that could be a new m&ms slogan!

A Retro M&Ms Cookie Color Mix

m&m cookie recipe

Take a careful look at the photo above. … Do you notice anything different about the M & M candies in these cookies?

That’s right, the blue M & Ms have been removed from the mix. Why, you ask?

It’s confession time: I loathe blue M & Ms.

These unnaturally blue interlopers were added to the mix in 1995.

Before that, M & Ms came in a classic assortment of red, yellow, orange, green, brown and tan candy-coated chocolates. I loved those tan M & Ms, and am still somewhat bitter that Mars decided to replace them with blue.

I’ve secretly dreamed that someday I would write something so profound my words would be immortalized in an internet meme. Since this gets more unlikely with each passing year, I’ve gone ahead and made my own meme:

Blue M & Ms are an abomination

Feel free to share! Together we can spread the word that blue M & Ms are just plain WRONG.

Also, blue M & Ms taste weird.

Hear me out. My children used to laugh at me and say this was a ridiculous claim, prompting my son to do a blind taste test for me last year. But three times in a row I was able to discern the difference between blue and non-blue M & Ms. Who’s laughing now?

Of course, you don’t have to remove the yucky blue candies when you make this recipe. But if you do, you’ll have a more attractive (and delicious) assortment of colors that’s pure O.G. happiness.

M & Ms with blue removed

I like to use a mix of mini and regular M & Ms in the dough, and press extras on top for evenly-distributed deliciousness. (At this point you may be thinking that “Neurotic M & M Cookies” would be a better title for this recipe.)

Neurotic or not, shall we make some cookies?

Baking the M&M Cookies

The dough is based on Pinch of Yum’s heavenly soft chocolate chip cookie recipe, which calls for melted butter. Melting the butter makes for a chewier cookie. Since the butter is pre-melted, the dough spreads more quickly while baking which leads to that luscious chewiness.

The recipe is fairly straightforward. Lindsay at Pinch of Yum suggests using exactly 6.75 ounces of all-purpose flour for best results, which I weigh on the postal scale from my office. If you don’t have a scale, measure 1 1/2 cups by lightly scooping the flour in the cup and using a knife to level the top.

weighing flour for m&m cookie recipe

Here’s a trick for easier weighing: Put your bowl on the scale, and then turn the machine on. That way the weight showing for the flour you add won’t include the weight of your bowl.

Mix the melted butter with regular and brown sugar, add an egg and vanilla, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt, and combine the ingredients with an electric mixer until the dough comes together. It’s not especially stiff, making it easy to shape the cookies.

mixing m&m cookie recipe dough

Stir in your regular and M&Ms minis by hand.

stirring m&ms in cookie dough recipe

Scoop the cookies on the baking sheet. I use an ice cream scoop that measures exactly 2 tablespoons. Leave the bottom half flat, or gently flatten with the palm of your hand.

Shape cookie dough with ice cream scoop

Now press some of the larger M & Ms into the tops of the dough.

m&m cookie recipe dough balls

Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes, just until the edges of the cookies are barely beginning to brown and the centers are still a little soft.

Remove from the oven, cool on the pan for a minute or two, and use a sharp spatula to transfer to a wire rack so they can finish cooling.

M & M Cookies

Enjoy! This recipe makes about 20 larger cookies, and you can easily double it.

Let’s Get Baking

Here’s the printable recipe for m&m cookies:

Yield: 20 cookies

YOLO Chewy M & M Cookies

YOLO Chewy M & M Cookies
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 33 minutes
Additional Time 2 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter,* melted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6.75 ounces or 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup mini M & Ms
  • 1/4 cup regular M & Ms, plus extra for cookie tops

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    2. In a stand mixer or a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the regular and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed just until combined; do not overmix.
    3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix just until combined. (For tender cookies, don't overmix.) Stir in the mini and regular m&ms.
    4. Roll the dough in balls that are about 2 level tablespoons each. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet with plenty of room for spreading. (I bake 6 cookies on a large baking sheet.) Bake just until the cookies are puffed and barely starting to brown around the edges, about 9 to 11 minutes
    5. Cool the pan on a wire rack and remove cookies with a spatula after cooling for 2 minutes. Makes about 20 cookies.

Notes

*If you only have unsalted butter, you can simply add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt after melting the butter.

This recipe can easily be doubled.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 156Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 1gSugar: 21gProtein: 2g
If you enjoy these YOLO M & M Cookies, I’d be thrilled if you clicked the 5 little stars above and gave the recipe a 5-star rating.

How to Save and Share this M&Ms Cookie Recipe

Are you on Pinterest? You can save or share the recipe with this handy pin:

Let’s keep this party going! I’d love to connect with you on social media:

I love sharing your culinary creations. If you prepare this recipe and post a photo, tag me on Instagram or Twitter at @theyoloblog or use #TheYOLOBlog hashtag.

How About You?

Are you a fan or foe of blue M & Ms? If you don’t care for them, what do you do with the blue candies after you pick them out of the mix? (I mail mine to Congress.)

What’s your favorite cookie right now? How are you faring during this crazy year? If you have any comments or recipes you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you.

Best always,

Signature for Eliza Cross

P.S. If you’re a cookie lover like me, you might also enjoy Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies and Soft, Chewy Ginger Cookies.

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10 thoughts on “YOLO Chewy M&M Cookie Recipe”

    • Your address is at the top of my list for the next time I make these cookies. And glad you like the meme! Do you think it might go viral and inspire Mars to replace the blue m&ms with those nice tan ones? A girl can always hope… xxoo

      Reply
  1. This is so much fun! I love M&Ms but I’ve never tried making M&Ms cookies before. That being said, I’ve been baking more than ever as of late with all the extra time at home. What does that mean? I feel like I HAVE TO try out the M&Ms cookies! Lol

    Reply
    • I hear you, Britt. I’ve been spending a little too much time in the kitchen since March. 2020 has been crazy and somehow cooking and baking has helped take the edge off – can you relate?

      Also, as the owner of a dog and cat I’ve I been enjoying your blog so much. Readers, check out Britt’s pet blog, Shed Happens. You will love it!

      https://shedhappens.net/

      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! xo

      Reply
  2. These look amazing- and the colours are brilliant! I’m not sure if I’m just being stupid, but I always thought all M&Ms tasted the same haha… But I love how you’ve removed the ones you don’t like! Thanks for sharing this recipe :)

    Reply
    • Thank you, Eleanor! You’re probably right about the blue M&Ms flavor being exactly the same, and I’m just stubbornly clinging to the past. But maybe, just for fun, you should try a blind taste test and see if you can pick them out. My kids think I’m nutty, but I swear they taste different. Cheers! xxoo

      Reply

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