Soft & Chewy Christmas M&M Cookies

Soft and chewy Christmas M&M cookies made with mini chocolate chips and festive red and green candies. A quick, easy holiday cookie everyone loves!

Simple Holiday Cookies for the Win!

At Out of the Box Baking, we believe the best holiday recipes are the ones that are both simple and dependable—tested in real kitchens for real gatherings. (Hey, sometimes simple really is better!)

These Christmas M&M Cookies are based on my trusted classic chocolate chip cookie dough, enhanced with a carefully adjusted flour ratio to prevent spreading and ensure soft, bakery-style centers every time.

When I say these are close to perfect, I really mean it. They turn out beautifully.

The Perfect Christmas Cookie!

Made with pantry staples and festive mini M&Ms, this recipe has been baked, tasted, and shared straight from my own kitchen to friends and family. It’s a reliable, joy-filled cookie you can confidently bake and share all season long.

Speaking of which, you can swap out red and green M&Ms with others that you prefer. They're good for holidays, birthdays, Valentine's Day, and pretty much all year long. See the end of this post for ideas galore! Trust me: You'll be buying M&Ms in every color and flavor before this is over!

What are we waiting for? Let's bake some Christmas cookies, friends!

Christmas M&M Cookies Ingredients

You will find a recipe card at the bottom of this post and it's printable, so you can keep your own copy. Here's a quick glance at what you will need, in the meantime. These are simple ingredients. You might already have them in your pantry or fridge! And remember: if you can't find the M&Ms you like at your local store, most colors and flavors are available online at Amazon.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1–1 ½ cups red & green mini M&Ms (plus extra for topping)

How to Make M&M Cookies from Scratch

These come together so easily, friends! You're going to be so happy that you made them. Here's how you're going to do it.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together: flour, baking soda, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips (if using) and most of the M&Ms.

Scoop dough into 1–2 tablespoon balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets.

Press a few extra M&Ms on top of each scoop so the color shows after baking.

Bake 9–11 minutes, until edges are lightly golden but centers look soft.

Cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before moving to a rack.

Serve and enjoy!

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. They should stay fresh for 3-4 days. You can freeze the dough balls to bake later, if you like.

Note:

• Mini M&Ms do better than full-size because they distribute evenly.

What to Expect from These Cookies

If you love the original Nestles Toll House cookie recipe, you'll love this version. These cookies are similar, with only a couple of tweaks (including a tad bit more flour, to give them more structure).

I love them because they're not too flat and not too thick. To me, they're just right--chewy and yet soft, and loaded with both chocolate chips and the crunch from the shell of the tiny M&Ms.

They have the perfect balance of chocolate to cookie, especially with the extra M&Ms pressed into the top. I was so happy to make this recipe. I delivered these cookies to my grandkids tonight and I know they loved them, too!

Variations to this Recipe

As I mentioned above, you can mix this up! Here are some fun (year 'round) ideas!

Halloween M&M Cookies (option one)

Colors: Fall colors
Flavor Twists: Peanut butter

• Add peanut butter M&Ms & peanut butter chips
• Drizzle with melted peanut butter or sprinkle with cinnamon

Halloween M&M Cookies (option two)

Colors: Lime green, orange, purple
Flavor Twists: milk chocolate

• Add Ghoul Mix M&Ms and Ghoul (with eyeballs) sprinkles
• Add more ghoul sprinkles on top

Thanksgiving / Fall M&M Cookies

Colors: Brown, orange, yellow, brown
Flavor Twists: Pumpkin

• Add pumpkin pie spice
• Add Milk Chocolate Pumpkin M&Ms and cinnamon (or chocolate) chips
• Use browned butter if you want elevated flavors

Valentine’s Day M&M Cookies

Colors: Pink, red & white
Flavor Twists:

• Strawberry extract
• Pink, red & white M&Ms with white chocolate chips
• Top with heart-shaped sprinkles

St. Patrick’s Day: Lucky Green M&M Cookies

Color: Green
Flavor Twists:

• Add Holiday Mint M&Ms + Andes bits for minty freshness!
• Drizzle with melted andes mints

Easter M&M Cookies

Colors: Pastel mix M&Ms (perfect for springtime)
Flavor Twists:

• Lemon zest in the dough
• White chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet

Springtime M&M Cookies:

Colors: Pastel M&Ms
Flavor Twists:

• White chocolate chips with pastel M&Ms
• Coconut extract and shredded coconut in the dough

Cinco de Mayo M&M Cookies

Colors: Bright colored M&Ms
Flavor Twists:

• Caramel M&Ms (in bright colors) baked into my churro cookie dough
• Roll in cinnamon/sugar before baking or frost with my churro frosting

Graduation / School Colors

Colors: Custom to match school (buy in bulk in any color you prefer)
Flavor Twists: (Graduate's choice!)

• Add edible glitter
• Dip half in chocolate
• Stack into cookie towers

Fourth of July: Red, White & Blue M&M Cookies

Colors: Red, white & blue M&Ms
Flavor Twists:

• Add white chocolate chips
• Make giant patriotic cookie sandwiches with red or white frosting

Summer / Pool Parties

Colors: Bright rainbow
Flavor Twists:

• Add mini chocolate chips and bright colored mini M&Ms to the dough
• Make ice cream cookie sandwiches
• Rolls the edges in more mini M&Ms before serving

Birthday Cake M&M Cookies

Colors: Bright rainbow or themed
Flavor Twists:

• Bright rainbow colored mini M&Ms with mini white chocolate chips
• Funfetti sprinkles on top
• Cake batter extract for that yummy birthday cake flavor!

Flavor-Based M&M Swaps (Year-Round)

M&Ms are so versatile, friends. You can mix things up just by rotating the M&M flavor. And you don't have to use the recipe in this post as a base. There are so many other options out there.

You can merge the following:

• Peanut Butter M&M Cookies(use my Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie recipe)
• Caramel M&M Cookies (use my Toffee cookie recipe)
• Pretzel M&M Cookies (use my Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookie recipe)
• Espresso M&M Cookies (use my double dark chocolate cookie recipe)
• Brownie M&M Cookies (use my brownie mix cookie recipe)

Really, the possibilities are endless!

That's it for this post, friends. Stay tuned, because I've got a plethora of other holiday-themed cookies coming up. Until then, have a blessed season!

Before you go, why not pin some photos to your Pinterest boards?