These M&M Christmas Cookies are my favourite quick and easy Christmas cookie recipe. No chilling and no electric mixer required!
Ingredients in M&M Christmas Cookies
You'll need a couple of pantry staples plus special red and green M&Ms to make these easy Christmas cookies.
- Unsalted butter (melted): if using salted butter, remove added salt.
- Brown sugar: helps make the cookie chewier and gives it that yummy rich cookie flavour.
- White sugar: I like caster or superfine sugar because it dissolves easily in the butter and makes the cookies chewier. Otherwise, regular white sugar is fine.
- Egg: use large eggs.
- Vanilla: essence or extract is fine.
- Plain / all-purpose flour
- Baking soda: Also known as bicarb soda or bicarbonate of soda. Check that it’s in date or your cookies will fall flat. Note that this is NOT baking powder.
- Salt: I use finely ground table salt. Avoid big flakes of salt - unless that's the flavour you're after!
- Chocolate chips: Choc chips help balance out the sweetness and give you a more chocolatey flavour. I like semi-sweet or dark choc but you can use milk chocolate too.
- Red and green M&Ms: A festive twist! These special Christmas M&Ms are usually sold in major supermarkets in the months leading up to Christmas. You can also get them on Amazon.
How to Make M&M Christmas Cookies
For these super simple cookies, you'll need:
- A medium bowl
- A large bowl
- A whisk
- A mixing spoon
- Two large baking trays
For easy DIY gifts, you can also grab cellophane bags and festive coloured twine to package your cookies up!
1. Combine your melted butter and sugars in a large bowl. I like using a heatproof bowl and just melting my butter in the microwave to save extra dishes.
2. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds until well combined.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and whisk vigorously for another 30 seconds or so. The mixture should be thicker, pale and creamy.
4. Add your dry ingredients (whisked together in a separate bowl).
5. Stir until NEARLY combined. You should still see some flour at this stage.
6. Add your choc chips and Christmas M&Ms. Now you can mix the dough until combined with no more floury streaks. Don't overmix or you'll have crisp cookies.
7. Roll out into balls and allow for spreading. You can press extra M&Ms into the top of the dough balls for even more chocolate goodness.
8. Bake until JUST golden around the edges. Over-baking = crispy cookies not chewy!
How do I make my M&M cookies soft?
Don't overbake your cookies! It only takes a couple of minutes too long in the oven and you'll have crispy, crumbly cookies instead of soft and chewy. I like to rotate my pan 180 degrees about half way through cooking, and I always aim for the cookies to be JUST lightly brown around the edges. Remember - they will keep cooking and firm up as they cool.
Don't overmix your cookies! Cookie dough is very forgiving but it's still best to only mix your cookie batter until JUST combined. You'll know it is mixed when you can't see any more floury streaks and all the ingredients and incorporated.
Measure your flour correctly: using too much flour is a common reason your cookies will be cakey instead of soft and chewy. Use a spoon to fluff your flour then scoop your flour into a measuring cup and level it off with the back of a butter knife.
Storing M&M Christmas Cookies
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Making and freezing Christmas cookies ahead of time: Roll the cookie dough into a log. Wrap well in glad wrap, place in an airtight container or zip-loc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight then slice, roll into balls, and bake as usual.
M&M Christmas Cookies
These M&M Christmas cookies are so quick and easy to make! No chill time, no electric mixer.
Ingredients
- 125 g (½ cup / 4.4 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (120 g) white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon (10 mL) vanilla
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tablespoon (250 g) plain / all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- ½ cup (100 g) chocolate chips
- 1 cup (180 g / 6.3 oz) red and green M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan-forced/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Grease and line two large cookie trays with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and sugars vigorously for 30 seconds.
- Add egg and vanilla. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds until pale and creamy.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and stir together until nearly combined (the dough should still be a bit floury).
- Add M&Ms and chocolate chips. Fold in until evenly mixed in and there's no more streaks of flour. Don’t overmix. The dough will be soft (if too soft to roll — leave on the bench for 10 mins to firm up).
- Roll tablespoons of dough into balls and place on prepared trays, allowing 3 cm (1 inch) between cookies for spreading.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until just lightly golden on the edges. Allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storage
- You can keep cookies un-refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
- To freeze the uncooked cookie dough, wrap tightly in clingwrap and place in a zip-loc or freezer bag. Keep for up to 6 months frozen. To thaw, allow to defrost at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight and bake as normal.
Substitutions
- Baking soda: replace with 1 teaspoon baking powder.
- Chocolate chips: use milk, white, or dark. I like to use dark chocolate chips. You can also use chopped chocolate blocks.
- M&Ms: can sub with smarties or similar, or any chocolate coated candy. Can also use original M&Ms!
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 8.6gSaturated Fat: 4.5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 10,3mgSodium: 111mgCarbohydrates: 30.8gFiber: 0.9gSugar: 20.3gProtein: 2.6g
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