These Easter M&M cookies are soft, chewy with crisp edges and topped with colorful spring m&m's. Cookie dough is required to be chilled for at least 1 hour but 24 hours for best results.
When Easter is here, I'm usually baking everything carrot. Carrot Cakes, Carrot cupcakes, Carrot whoopie pie and carrot cheesecake. It's the break from winter that everyone needs with the most colorful colors that bring me joy and happiness like these easter m&m cookies.
If I ever blank out and am completely lost at what to bring to a party or potluck it's always these Easter M&M Cookies than can easily be subbed with regular or mini m&m's. I love the holiday m&m's as they bring an easy festive touch to these m&m cookies. These Cadbury egg cookies are also perfect for easter too!
Why you'll love this recipe:
- Easy to make with pantry staples.
- Substitute chocolate chips and Easter M&M's with any add ins
- Make dough ahead of time and scoop and freeze and bake as needed
- Everyone loves Cookies!
- Use leftover easter candy
Easter M&M Cookies Ingredients:
- Flour: All-purpose flour works best for these cookies, but I love mixing a blend of bread flour and cake flour.
- Baking Soda: Don't substitute with baking powder, it works in two different ways. Read more here about baking soda and baking powder.
- Salt: I always use sea salt, but salt helps balance the sweetness of the cookies.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Sugar/Brown Sugar: A blend of white sugar and brown sugar is needed to create the best M&M cookies. Light brown sugar and Dark brown sugar are both great. I like to use dark brown sugar for a darker cookie sometimes.
- Eggs: This recipe use 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk. The extra egg yolk is added for extra richness and fat.
- Vanilla Extract: If you notice that vanilla extract doesn't make a difference with vanilla extract it means you're not using enough, or your vanilla extract is poor quality. A good quality vanilla extract should give you a flavorful cookie.
- Chocolate chips: I used semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe but feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips
- M&MS: Use easter M&M's or any seasonal ones you've like.
See Recipe card below for full list of measurements.
How to make Easter M&M cookies:
Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
With a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Crack eggs one at a time, saving the egg white for later use and then add the vanilla extract, continue to mix until eggs are just mixed in.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just barely combined.
Add Easter M&Ms and chocolate chips if using. Mix on low speed being careful not to break the M&M's. Reserve a few M&Ms to press on top of the cookies before baking.
Use a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons of dough) and scoop cookies and refrigerate to allow the cookies to set.
You can also skip the above step and just refrigerate the dough wrapped in plastic wrap. But I like to scoop cookie dough before refrigerating as it's easier to scoop.
Once dough has chilled place on prepared cookie sheet leaving them 2 inches apart.
Press extra m&m and extra chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie dough balls before baking.
Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden, and the centers are set.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
Storage:
Scoop cookie dough balls and freeze in Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen but add an additional 2 or 3 minutes.
Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days.
Variations:
- White chocolate chips
- Mini M&M's
- Seasonal M&M's
- Dark Chocolate Chunks or chips
- Milk Chocolate chips
Tips: Easter M&M Cookies
- Use room temperature ingredients
- A kitchen scale is best when measuring flour as too much flour can cause a hard and dry cookie.
- For a thicker cookie freeze dough and bake from cold.
- Scooting: If you skipped the chilling part in the recipe and the cookie spread too much grab a small bowl just bigger than your cookie or a cookie cutter and gently swirl the cookie to reshape it into a round cookie with perfect round edges. You can also use a spoon and press the edges of the cookies in.
- Underbake cookies for soft center and crispy edges, the cookies may not look fully set on top but just allow the cookies to set before enjoying.
Looking for more Easter Desserts?
- Favorite Carrot cake
- Easy Carrot Cupcakes
- Carrot cake whoopie pies
- Coconut Cake
Chewy Easter M&M Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 8 ounces Unsalted Butter room temperature ( 2 sticks)
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 large Egg Yolk
- 12 ounce bag M&M
- ½ cup Chocolate chips Semi sweet or milk chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- With a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Crack eggs one at a time, saving the egg white for later use and then add the vanilla extract, continue to mix until eggs are just mixed in.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just barely combined.
- Add Easter M&Ms and chocolate chips if using. Mix on low speed being careful not to break the M&M's. Reserve a few M&Ms to press on top of the cookies before baking.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (2 tablespoons of dough) and scoop cookies and refrigerate to allow the cookies to set.
- You can also skip the above step and just refrigerate the dough wrapped in plastic wrap. But I like to scoop cookie dough before refrigerating as it's easier to scoop.
- Once dough has chilled place on prepared cookie sheet leaving them 2 inches apart.
- Press extra m&m and extra chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie dough balls before baking.
- Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden, and the centers are set.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
