Chewy M&M Christmas Cookies

No one can resist these M&M Christmas Cookies – they are soft, chewy, and in addition to festive candies, they also have chocolate chips! With their pretty pop of color, they are perfect for holiday cookie trays. 

A MUST MAKE CHRISTMAS COOKIE!

One of my very favorite things to make is cookies, especially during the holiday season. I love giving homemade goodies to our neighbors, and these cookies are at the top of the list.

Not only are they easy to whip up, everyone who tries them LOVES them! You can’t go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie, but add M&M’s and they are even more irresistible! 

The red and green M&M’s make these cookies look so festive. And they add to the fun factor. My kids always sort through the batch looking for the cookie that has the MOST M&Ms. Every single time.

• TEXTURE– These Christmas M&M cookies are soft and chewy, just like I like them. And real butter gives them the best taste!
• ALL THE CHOCOLATE – Using half milk chocolate chips adds sweetness and chunks of chocolate you can bite into. Semi sweet chocolate chips balance out the sugar, and add that ooey gooey melted chocolate we all love. Mmmm, good!
• SECRET INGREDIENT  – lemon juice. Adding lemon juice to M&M cookies may seem strange, but trust me, you can’t actually taste it. It just reacts with the baking soda, performs some kind of chemical magic trick, and makes the cookies pretty, chewy, and puffy. Promise.

These red and green cookies are perfect for holiday gift giving, especially if you pair them with my free printable M&M Christmas tags!

HOW TO MAKE M & M CHRISTMAS COOKIES

1. PREP – Let your butter soften to room temperature. Line baking sheets with silicone liners or spray with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. WET INGREDIENTS – In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butter and sugars together until very creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat until smooth.
3. DRY INGREDIENTS – Add flour to the bowl of wet ingredients. Make a well and add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir into the flour a bit. Add the chocolate chips and M&M candies. (Make sure to reserve some candies for the tops.) Stir dough just until all the flour is incorporated.
4. FORM – Use a cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets. Roll into balls and press a few M&M’s into the tops of each cookie dough ball.
5. BAKE – Bake at 375° for 8-9 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned and middles are barely set. Let sit on pans for 3-5 minutes, then remove to wire cooling racks.

COOKIE PRO TIPS:

• It’s best to let your butter soften on the counter so that it is the same temperature all the way through. Using the microwave can leave melted and cold spots.
• For the prettiest cookies, you definitely want to reserve some M&Ms for the tops of the cookies. I like to press them into the dough balls, but you can also immediately press them into the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. 
• If your cookie dough is sticky, you need to chill the dough for a few minutes before rolling. Chilling will prevent the cookies from spreading too much. Want them really thick – roll into balls and then chill for 45-50 minutes.

VARIATIONS:

• For an even more festive look, you can stir Christmas sprinkles into the cookie dough, or just sprinkle them on top of the cookies before baking. 
• My family actually loves peanut butter M&M’s, and you can use those (or any flavor of M&M) instead. They are larger, so I like to make the cookies bigger to accommodate for the larger candies.
• We love the mix of milk and darker chocolate chips, buy you can use all milk or semi sweet if you prefer. 
• As with any chocolate chip cookie recipe, feel free to add chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts. Toast first for best flavor.
• If you are really crazy about M&M’s, you can use them in place of the 2 cups of chocolate chips. That would make for almost 4 cups of M&M’s in your cookies!

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER COOKIES

Homemade chocolate chip cookies will last for 5-6 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. If you want them warm, you can pop one in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. 

For longer storage, they also freeze well! If you plan on freezing them, definitely press the M&M’s on the dough balls before you bake them. Pressing them on after you bake them, they tend to fall off when frozen.

I recommend freezing cookies in heavy duty ziplock bags. You can remove air as you remove cookies, so they last longer without getting freezer burn. These M&M chocolate chip Christmas cookies will last for 4-5 months in the freezer.

When ready to serve, you can let them thaw at room temperature, or pop them in the microwave for a few seconds. 

Can I freeze the cookie dough?

Yes, absolutely! After you roll the dough into balls, place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them for about an hour. After they are frozen, transfer them into ziplock bags. They will last for about 3 months. 

When ready to serve your Christmas chocolate chip cookies, place the frozen dough balls on prepared pans and let them thaw for about 20 minutes while your oven preheats. They will be cold, so they will take longer to bake. They also won’t spread as much after being frozen, they will be nice and thick. 

You can’t have too many Christmas cookie recipes, right? Here’s a few more:

• Raspberry Ribbon Cookies
• Ginger Cookies Dipped in White Chocolate
• Chocolate Bon Bon Cookies
• Gingerbread Man Recipe
• White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
• Butter Shortbread Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cookies with Hershey Kiss

M & M Christmas Cookies

Everyone knows that Santa’s favorite treat is chocolate chip cookies, so if you leave a plate of these Christmas M&M cookies out, he may just leave you some extra presents!