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    Home » Recipes » Cookies » Chocolate Chip Cookies » M&M Cookies

    M&M Cookies

    ★★★★★ from 13 reviews
    15 Comments
    By Erin Clarkson on Oct 31, 2021 (updated Jan 23, 2022) This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    These Small Batch m&m cookies are soft and chewy, and filled with m&m candy. The recipe comes together quickly and requires no chill time. This m&m cookie recipe uses melted butter and has an egg yolk chocolate chip cookie base for a perfectly chewy cookie!





    close up cookie image

    Table of contents

    • m&m cookies
    • Why I love these m&m cookies
    • How to make m&m cookies
    • The Role of Chill Time in Cookies
    • Why the ratio of brown to white sugar is important in cookies.
    • How to make cookies thinner
    • Tips for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • FAQ for m&m cookies
    • For more Small Batch Cookie recipes, check out:
    • Recipe For m&m cookies

    m&m cookies

    Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these m&m cookies- this is about as halloween as you're going to get from me. I've never really been into lots of spooky baking, but I am a massive fan of adding candy to cookies, and I LOVE m&ms.

    Halloween isn't a thing really in NZ (it was yesterday here and I think I saw two people dressed up), but any excuse to make cookies, and I am all in. These m&m chocolate chip cookies are super delicious. I made them a whole bunch this week, tweaking the recipe to get it right.

    These m&m chocolate chip cookies are a small batch chocolate chip cookie recipe. They have an egg yolk base, using two egg yolks rather than a whole egg, which gives the base of the cookie a super delicious chew and texture. They are absolutely jammed with m&ms and I popped some chopped dark chocolate in there too, just to balance things out. These disappeared very quickly in my house - I love them and I hope you do too!

    • chocolate chip cookies on pan
    • angle shot m&m cookies

    Why I love these m&m cookies

    • No mixer required. I just use a bowl, a whisk and a spatula to make these cookies (and a scale of course). I love using my stand mixer but I also love the simplicity of a recipe just made by hand in a bowl.
    • Super Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. This recipe uses two egg yolks rather than a single egg. The fat from the yolk provides amazing moisture to the recipe. It also gives the chocolate chip cookie base an incredible chewy texture. These are great to make if you have any extra egg yolks on hand!
    • Small Batch Recipe. This m&m cookie recipe only makes 12 cookies - you can bake 6 off immediately and keep the rest for later, or do them all at once!
    • No Chill Time. I know lots of cookies ask you to chill the dough (I have a few which do for a specific reason), but this recipe can be baked off straight away. I know I'm impatient sometimes and just want a quick cookie recipe - this is it!
    corner image of m&m cookies

    How to make m&m cookies

    These small batch m&m cookies are super quick to make. Here's how you do it.

    • Mix together wet ingredients. In this recipe (and lots of recipes) sugar is classed as a wet ingredient. Pop it into a mixing bowl and add the sugars and the egg yolks, and mix it all together until thickened slightly.
    • Add dry ingredients. This recipe is super simple - just uses All-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Pop those in an incorporate with a spatula. Don't over mix here. You will mix the dough more when you incorporate the mix ins, so it is ok to have a little flour remaining.
    • Add your mix-ins. Add the m&ms and chopped chocolate and stir to incorporate.
    • Scoop your cookies. I like to use a cookie scoop to portion out my dough.
    • Bake. There is no chill time in this m&m cookie recipe, so you can just pop them straight into the oven!
    scooped cookie dough

    The Role of Chill Time in Cookies

    When I was making these m&m cookies, I ended up testing a whole range of chill times with the cookies. Please excuse the phone image below (I just grabbed it from my IG stories), but I think it is so interesting to see how the chill time in a recipe affects the final outcome.

    You can see that I tested a whole bunch of chill times and sugar and butter ratios within the m&m cookies, just to get the perfect balance. The cookie in this recipe is the one that is pictured bottom right. You are welcome to tweak the recipe to your liking to achieve your favourite texture of cookie! (I just ask that if you do and you have a disaster, please don't blame my recipe! haha).

    I often find that in terms of spread, there is a big difference between no chill and a 30 minute chill, especially when the recipe uses melted butter like this one. The time in the fridge gives the dough a chance to firm up a little. This means that the rate of spread is much slower than a cookie which is still at room temperature.

    The difference between a 30 minute chill and an hour chill is not as significant. However I did notice a few differences - mainly that the cookie remained slightly thicker, whereas with the 30 minute chill time the mix ins stuck out a little on the top of the cookie.

    I then tweaked again to see if I could eliminate the chill time in the recipe all together by reducing the quantity of butter by 30g and having quite a large brown:white sugar ratio within the mix.

    I know some people swear by chilling their cookie dough, but I am impatient. Often I decide that I want cookies, and that they need to happen immediately. For this reason, I like to have a few recipes up my sleeve for instant cookies. A few of my other recipes do use a chill time. I find that the best way to make those and still have instant cookies is to freeze some of the dough so you always have it on hand.

    Why the ratio of brown to white sugar is important in cookies.

    You will see from the image above that I was also playing around with the ratio of brown to white sugar in the recipe. The most important thing that this highlights is how important it is to use a scale when you are baking. I was only altering the quantity of butter and sugar by 10 or 20g, and it was enough to make a huge difference.

    Typically when I am testing, I tweak the quantity of brown and white sugar in recipes to control the spread of the cookie. In general, brown sugar gives a thicker, chewier cookie, while white sugar gives spread and the crunchy edges. Combined with the quantity of butter, these are the factors that I usually change.

    The advantage of testing both chill time and the butter / sugar ratio within the same batch is that it saves you making a whole new batch each time. I just mix up one batch of dough, bake some off straight away, and leave some to chill and then bake those too. You can also play around with different oven temperatures for bake time here too, meaning you can get up to 6 tests just from the same batch of cookies (for example no chill, 350°f bake temp, no chill, 375°f bake temp, 30 min chill, 350°f bake temp, 30 min chill 375°f bake temp etc).

    • stacked cookies
    • side image of m&m cookies

    How to make cookies thinner

    I wanted to include this as I am often asked what my recipe process is / how to change the texture of a cookie etc and because I tested all the variations, I can confidently tell you how these m&m cookies will turn out if you change the factors. Here's what you can tweak for your very own recipe testing if you like:

    • Super thin and crispy. Increase the butter quantity to 120g, and use 55g of white sugar and 110g brown sugar. Bake immediately. They will spread loads on the pan. Check after 10 minutes bake time.
    • Still thin but with a little thickness in the centre. Same as above, but chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour before baking.
    • Slightly chewier, slightly thinner than the recipe as written: Use the same sugar quantities as the recipe in this post (45g white and 120g brown), but increase butter quantity to 120g. Bake straight away for thinner cookies, and chill dough for 30 minutes to an hour for slightly thicker.
    • Slightly Thicker cookies with no chill. Make the recipe as written. I found this was fairly similar to the 120g butter with a 30 minute chill time recipe, but spread just a touch less. For me this is perfect, although it is good to know if I want it just a tiny bit thinner, that increasing the butter quantity and chilling the dough works great too.
    mm-cookies-on-pan

    Tips for Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

    There are a few tips that I use every time for perfect chocolate chip cookies. These tips can be applied to every cookie recipe. They are completely optional (aside from using a scale of course!) but make a big difference if you're looking for perfect chocolate chip cookies!

    • Chop your chocolate. Chopped chocolate gives you pockets of chocolate and perfect chocolate shards distributed throughout the cookie. I prefer chopped chocolate over chocolate chips in cookies forever. Chocolate also melts much better than chips. It's the best ever.
    • Use a cookie scoop. You can weigh out your cookie dough balls if you don't have a cookie scoop, but they are a great investment. They help to get the dough all relatively the same size and make things super quick and easy. I use this one.
    • Add chocolate puddles. If you would like to get puddles on the top of cookies, press the dough into a disc and press additional chocolate on the top, then squish it back up into a ball of dough. This encases all the chocolate inside and as it bakes you get perfect puddles. I didn't do this step for this recipe as I wanted the m&ms to show up but if you like chocolate puddles, go for it.
    • Scoot your cookies. The "Cookie Scoot" is my secret weapon to perfectly round cookies. It's a totally optional step, but one that I really love. All you do is take a round object slightly larger than the cookie. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, while they are still hot, put the cutter over the cookie and 'scoot' it into a perfectly round shape. The best. I do it basically every time now.
    edge of pan with cookies

    FAQ for m&m cookies

    • What tools and equipment do you use?

    You can see a full list of all the tools I use here

    • Can these cookies be made ahead?

    I haven't tried freezing the dough but this dough formula is incredibly similar to other recipes which freeze great. To freeze cookie dough, freeze it on a lined sheet pan until solid then transfer to a ziploc bag. You can also freeze in a container with the lid off and pop a lid onto the container once frozen.

    • Can these be made without the m&ms?

    Yes, if you like you can just sub the m&ms for chopped chocolate, for an amazing egg yolk chocolate chip cookie!

    • Why do you say to re-weigh the butter?

    When you melt butter, a little evaporates. This rate of evaporation may vary from butter brand to butter brand, so the only accurate way is to weigh it once it has melted. 100g of butter, melted is not the same thing as 100g melted butter. Try it for yourself if you're curious - measure out 100g butter, melt it, then re-weigh. It may be a tiny bit off and we are all about accuracy here at Cloudy Kitchen!

    For more Small Batch Cookie recipes, check out:

    • Malted Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Small Batch Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Small Batch Double Chocolate Cookies

    Made this recipe and love it?

    If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!

    A note on salt and oven temperature

    It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.

    All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.

    Using the double / triple function in the recipe card

    You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!

    Tools and equipment

    For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.

    Why is this recipe in grams?

    I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!

    Recipe For m&m cookies

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    m&m chocolate chip cookies

    M&M Cookies

    ★★★★★ 5 from 13 reviews
    • Author: Erin Clarkson
    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 15 minutes
    • Total Time: 45 minutes
    • Yield: 12 cookies 1x
    • Category: Cookies
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: American
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    These Small Batch m&m cookies are soft and chewy, and filled with m&m candy. The recipe comes together quickly and requires no chill time. This m&m cookie recipe uses melted butter and has an egg yolk chocolate chip cookie base for a perfectly chewy cookie!


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 100g unsalted butter, melted and cooled (re-weigh after melting and add a little extra butter if needed)
    • 120g light or dark brown sugar
    • 45g granulated sugar
    • 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature (about 45g egg yolk)
    • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
    • 135g all-purpose flour
    • ¼ tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp baking soda
    • 2g salt (½ tsp kosher salt)
    • 180g m&ms plus a few more for the tops, optional
    • 85g dark chocolate, chopped. 

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. 
    2. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Whip well with a whisk or a handheld electric mixer until the mixture has thickened and lightened in colour slightly. 
    3. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix to combine with a spatula until just a few streaks remain. 
    4. Add in the m&ms and chopped chocolate and mix to incorporate with a spatula. 
    5. Using a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. If you do not have a cookie scoop, the balls of dough should weigh approximately 60g each. I do 6 per sheet and bake one tray at a time. You are welcome to do both at once if you trust your oven.
    6. Gently roll the dough into balls and space apart on the baking sheet. 
    7. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, until they are set around the edges and lightly golden brown. If you like them a little more done, bake them for closer to 12 minutes, if you like them still quite soft, start checking after 10 minutes. 
    8. Remove the pan from the oven and, if desired, take a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie and use it to 'scoot' the cookies into a perfect circle. Bang the pan lightly on the counter to help the cookies deflate.
    9. Repeat the baking process with the remainder of the cookies.
    10. Leave the cookies to cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 
    11. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

    Keywords: Cookies, m&m cookies, small batch cookies, egg yolk chocolate chip cookies

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @cloudykitchen on Instagram and use the hashtag #cloudykitchen

    Key Ingredients

    • Chocolate
    • Egg Yolk
    « Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
    Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls »
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    Reader Interactions

      Leave a comment & rating, or ask a question Cancel reply

      If you made this recipe then I would love for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! If you have recipe questions please feel free to leave them below too!

      Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

      Comments

    1. caribou

      October 31, 2021 at 8:38 pm

      can't wait to try these!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. stacy

      October 31, 2021 at 8:39 pm

      perfect for halloween leftovers!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Aili

      October 31, 2021 at 11:34 pm

      The best!! These turned out perfect- I didn’t have dark chocolate so I just left that out but it didn’t affect them at all 🙂 definitely recommend

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    4. Maria

      November 01, 2021 at 1:31 pm

      Thank you so much for the recipe, they’re perfect.
      I made without M&ms and instead added chocolate chips and they are great!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    5. Ellie

      November 02, 2021 at 5:21 pm

      Delicious! Made them with a mixture of peanut and regular m&ms just to mix it up.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    6. Kelly

      November 06, 2021 at 12:28 am

      Super decadent cookies, easy and delicious. Learnt that cookies should not be baked on silpat haha...

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    7. Lisa P

      November 16, 2021 at 8:00 am

      I didn’t have any m&ms, but I had a bunch of leftover Reese’s Cups from Halloween. I put them in instead, and followed the rest of the recipe as written. Wow! They might be my favorite cookie ever! (I might say that every time I make one of your recipes.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    8. Maggie

      December 14, 2021 at 6:12 pm

      These were really good! Making another batch with holiday M&Ms for Christmas tins. Thinking about browning the butter this time...

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    9. Melissa

      December 24, 2021 at 8:57 am

      Seriously delicious cookie! Perfectly chewy with just the right about of crunch around the edge. My new go to cookie recipe.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    10. Michelle

      April 13, 2022 at 6:18 pm

      This recipe is a keeper! I made these for my friends and they kept coming back for 2nds and 3rds! I used mini M&Ms and I love the crunch throughout each bite of the cookie. Make it ASAP!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    11. Dee

      April 13, 2022 at 6:45 pm

      Funnily, I don't normally by regular M&Ms. peanut ones are my fav, but ever since I made these the first time, I've had regular M&Ms in the pantry and a batch in the freezer for a cookie emergency! I have also tried these with peanut and peanut butter M&Ms. Recommend!

      Reply
      • Erin Clarkson

        April 13, 2022 at 8:38 pm

        Ooooh I keep meaning to try with either the peanut or the crispy m&ms! So happy you loved xx

        Reply
    12. Elizabeth

      April 13, 2022 at 7:49 pm

      These cookies are amazing! I’ve made them at least three times to rave results every time. The first time I made them exactly as directed; second and third times I doubled the recipe using the x2 function and only used M&Ms (no chopped chocolate) because they were for spring/Easter (I used the pastel M&Ms). And I love that I can make them without getting my big mixer out - they are so easy to mix up by hand. Great recipe, Erin. Thank you for sharing!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    13. Emily

      April 25, 2022 at 10:22 pm

      I love these cookies!! They are a game changer for those last minute cookie needs. They’re so easy and extremely delicious! I love having a recipe that doesn’t need chill time. I’ve made them several times and the x2 and x3 function works great!! Next time I want to try with peanut butter M&Ms. Would absolutely recommend.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    14. KindredCottons

      May 04, 2022 at 9:54 pm

      I made these with Peanut Butter M&M’s and 76% cocoa chocolate chips….. I also somehow messed up the consistency of the dough (looked like shortbread more so than chocolate chip cookies)……….. and they turned out…… INCREDIBLE. Honestly a revelation. I really don’t think I baked what was intended to be baked (because of my own shortcomings and also perhaps because my questionable-date-baking power + soda…..) and they were STILL INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I would highly recommend making these or messing up trying to make them because they ROCKED MY WORLD!!!!!!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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    Erin Clarkson Cloudy Kitchen

    HI, I'M ERIN

    My recipes range from quick & easy all the way to complex & impressive. I love the science and process of recipe development almost as much as baking itself. I specialize in rigorously tested recipes that are fun, reliable, and accurate.

    More about me →

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