Soft M&M Cookies

Soft M&M Cookies are deliciously tender and loaded with M&M Candies. They taste just like the soft-baked cookies from the mall’s cookie kiosk!

I hope you’re not tired of cookies! Since the holidays are over, I decided to work on some recipes that are more evergreen. And these soft M&M cookies are good for any occasion! I’ve tested them a few times now, adjusting the M&M candy to batter ratio. I think these are just about perfect. In fact, tasting them made me feel a little nostalgic. They remind me so much of the cookies I’d get at our local mall, from a popular patriotic-sounding cookie kiosk (you might know the one).

The hallmarks of those kiosk cookies were their large size and soft texture. They were golden brown underneath with pale tops, and cakey – almost underdone – centers. The M&M chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies were favorites of mine. This cookie recipe is like a combination of the two!

Make the Brown Sugar Dough

Combine butter, white sugar, and light brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream them together well. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again. I made these on a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, but you could also use a hand mixer and an extra-large mixing bowl.

The Secret Ingredient

Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt. To this mixture add a 3.4 oz. package of dry instant vanilla pudding mix. While it’s true that I don’t often use convenience foods as ingredients in my baking, I do make exceptions. It wasn’t until I made with dry pudding mix in the batter, that my opinion of this ingredient changed completely. I was skeptical. But it gives baked goods a soft, tender texture, and I’d never received so many compliments and recipe requests for a bundt cake before!

In these cookies, the pudding mix imparts noticeable vanilla flavor, and keeps the middles soft during baking. It really gives them the flavor and texture of my once beloved mall cookies.

M&M Minis

Combine the dry mixture with the creamed butter, and mix well until a pale golden-hued dough is formed. Then, add the M&M candies and fold together. I used here, because I was gifted a huge container. I like how they disperse well throughout the dough. However, regular M&M’s work just fine, too.

Portion by the Level 1/4 Cup

These cookies are large. So use a standard size trigger ice cream scoop or portion dough by the level 1/4 cups. Place some extra M&Ms on top of the dough balls for a bakery-made appearance, if you’re into that (I am!)

Chill the portioned cookies on the pan in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or you can even speed the process by putting them in the freezer for 7-10 minutes.

Bake for about 13 minutes, or until they’ve spread significantly. The tops should be quite pale and look a little under-done in their centers.

As I mentioned, these cookies will spread. So bake no more than 4 to 6 to a 9×13-inch baking sheet. If you want to make them perfectly round, grab your largest round cookie cutter. Encircle the cookies’ edges with the cutter while the cookies are still hot. Move the cutter in a circular motion. (See for the technique in action!) The cutter will push the edges into a perfect circle. The cookies are quite pliable and will need to stand on the baking sheet until they are firm enough to move to a wire cooling rack.

These Soft M&M Cookies were fun and uncomplicated to make. If bake sales are still a thing, I could see these selling out first! I can’t help but compare them to the mall’s cookie kiosk cookies – big, soft, and filled with candy. Kids will love them. And kids at heart (like me!) may love them even more!

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