m&m cookies

About My Best M&M Cookies

This is my best recipe for M&M cookies! M&M chocolate candies are a fun, whimsical way to add different textures and flavors to classic chocolate chip cookies. In my M&M cookie recipe, I used varieties like milk chocolate M&Ms, crispy M&Ms, peanut butter M&Ms,w and mini M&Ms and combined them with chopped dark chocolate.

In the oven, the chopped chocolate melts into a puddle throughout the cookie, while the M&Ms continue to hold their shape. But the best part? When the cookies are warm and fresh from the oven, the M&Ms burst with molten chocolate and crispy textures with every bite!

It’s a fun and absolutely delicious twist to regular chocolate chip cookies.

m&m cookie recipe

Why You Should Make The Recipe

Here are all the reasons to make my best M&M cookie recipe:

The recipe comes together quickly and easily—it’s almost one-bowl and does not require a stand mixer!

These M&M cookies come together shockingly quickly. If you splurge on the right ingredients, it takes only 5 minutes to prep everything needed for the cookies, another 5 to make the dough, and other 5 to assemble the cookies. That’s it! 

How does it come together so quickly? Well, I instruct you to use melted butter to make the cookie dough. Using melted butter leads to a fudgier, denser cookie—you can learn more about it in Serious Eats’ breakdown of the best chocolate chip cookies. But doing so also saves you time, too! There’s no need to wait for the butter to come to room temperature before hand.

For my M&M cookies, I used four different types of M&Ms: milk chocolate M&Ms, crispy M&Ms, peanut butter M&Ms, and mini M&Ms. The four different varieties bring different flavors and textures to each cookie! Crispy M&Ms add unexpected bursts of extra crunchiness, while peanut butter M&Ms bring little explosions of peanut butter to complement the chocolate. And although mini M&Ms are also made with milk chocolate, they have a different candy to chocolate ratio, resulting in a new and unexpected mouthfeel in the cookie. I also garnished the baked cookies with mini M&Ms for a unique, fun look!

But of course, YOU don’t have to stick to the M&M flavors I chose. You can pick and choose ones that appeal to you! In fact, in the ingredients section below, I even include ideas for different flavor combinations to appeal to peanut lovers, chocolate lovers, and more. Be sure to check it out!

My best M&M cookies keep and store well.

If you don’t want to bake the entire batch of M&M cookies all at once, you’re in luck! The M&M cookie dough freezes beautifully for future batches. In fact, if you have time, I recommended even chilling the dough in the refrigerator or freezing it overnight. Doing so allows the dough to absorb more flavors from the chocolate and M&Ms, making extra flavorful cookies. I’ve also included instructions on how to freeze the M&M cookie dough in the post below.

best m&m cookie recipe

Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make these M&M cookies, here’s your shopping list for the recipe:

Shopping List for My Best M&M Cookies

Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the exact ingredient amounts and quantities:

  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • kosher salt
  • unsalted butter
  • light OR dark brown sugar
  • granulated sugar
  • large eggs
  • pure vanilla extract
  • dark chocolate (between 60% to 70% cacao), from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar
  • M&M’s

And let’s talk about some key ingredients and potential substitutions:

All-Purpose Flour

You need 1 and ⅔ cups all-purpose flour to make my best M&M cookie recipe.

Does a 1-1 gluten-free all-purpose flour work in these M&M cookies?

I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I rarely bake with those types of flour replacements because they’re expensive and my household is fortunate not to have any gluten restrictions. However, if you replace the flour in this recipe with any gluten-free alternatives, please leave a comment so I can update this post accordingly!

Kosher Salt

You need 1 teaspoon kosher salt to make my best M&M cookie recipe.

Why You Should Use Kosher Salt When Baking

I like to use kosher salt (as opposed to table salt) when baking. Its larger crystals make it difficult to confuse with granulated sugar. However, not all kosher salts are created equal. Some kosher salts have smaller granules than others, which will result in saltier tasting baked goods.

For consistency, I recommend sticking to one brand, and one brand only:Diamond Crystal kosher saltIt’s the only brand of salt I use when I develop recipes for Hummingbird High. Why? Diamond Crystal kosher salt is one of the few 100% pure salts in the grocery store. Other brands have additives that can add unexpected flavors to your desserts.

I can’t find Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Is Morton’s Coarse kosher salt okay?

Yes, with reservations. Morton’s Coarse kosher salt granules are much smaller, denser, and crunchier than Diamond Crystal. According to this Food52 article, the two are different shapes and sizes because of how they’re made. Morton’s is made by flattening salt granules into large thin flakes by pressing them through high-pressure rollers, whereas Diamond Crystal is formed by a patented method in which “upside-down pyramids [are] stacked one over the next to form a crystal.” You can even see a visualization of the different sizes in this Cook’s Illustrated article.

Okay, but what does that mean, exactly? 1 teaspoon of Morton’s will taste saltier than 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal. Wild, right? So if you follow my recipes exactly as they are written but use Morton’s instead of Diamond Crystal, the results will come out saltier. In fact, sometimes they will come out TOO salty. So if you’re using Morton’s instead of Diamond Crystal, reduce the salt in the recipe by half.

Want to learn more about Diamond Crystal versus Morton’s Coarse kosher salt? Definitely check out the Food52 and Cook’s Illustrated articles I linked to above, as well as this Taste article.

I can’t find Diamond Crystal OR Morton’s Coarse kosher salt. Can I just use table salt?

Yes, with reservations. If you use table salt, you’ll need to reduce the recipe’s salt quantity by half.

If you read my little essay about Diamond Crystal and Morton’s, you learned that Diamond Crystal kosher salt granules are larger than Morton’s kosher salt granules. The same principle applies to table salt versus kosher salt. Table salt granules are much smaller than kosher salt granules. As a result, 1 teaspoon of table salt tastes much saltier than 1 teaspoon of kosher salt… simply because it can hold more granules! Wild, right?

So if you follow my recipes exactly as they are written but use table salt instead of kosher salt, the results will come out saltier. If you’re using table salt instead of kosher salt, I recommend reducing the salt in the recipe by half. 

Brown Sugar

You need ¾ cup light OR dark brown sugar to make my best M&M cookie recipe.

Light versus Dark Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is granulated white sugar with a touch of molasses to give it its signature color and flavor. Because brown sugar contains molasses, it adds more moisture baked goods than granulated sugar otherwise would.

Brown sugar is available in two varieties: light or dark. Dark brown sugar is my personal preference; because it contains more molasses, I find it to be more flavorful. However, you can use either in these cookies without altering their flavor too much.

Dark Chocolate

You need 4 ounces (113 grams) dark chocolate (between 60% to 70% cacao) from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar to make my best M&M cookie recipe.

Dark Chocolate versus Bittersweet and Semisweet Chocolate

In the United States, there’s no official benchmark for the “bittersweet” and “semisweet” chocolate designations. It’s up to manufacturers to determine how much cocoa to use, and percentages will vary greatly from brand to brand. Technically, both bittersweet and semisweet chocolate are considered dark chocolate… but you never know. Because of this, I advise you to ignore these bars and stick with a dark chocolate that lists its cocoa percentage.

For these cookies, I also encourage you to use dark chocolate that has at least 60% cacao. Most M&Ms are made with milk chocolate. You need some dark chocolate to balance out their sweetness. You can use milk chocolate, but let me warn you now—the cookies might turn out too sweet!

Wait, what are chocolate fèves? Are they the same thing as chocolate baking discs and wafers?

Chocolate fèves are a fancy pastry school term for a flat, bean-shaped disc of chocolate. When baked in a cookie recipe, the fèves don’t hold their shape (similar to how chocolate chips typically do) and instead melt into puddles. These puddles give your cookies thin layers of chocolate throughout every bite. The most prominent maker of chocolate fèves is one of my favorite chocolate makers, Valrhona Chocolate

Unfortunately, as much as I love Valrhona chocolate, their chocolate fèves can be hard to find at your average grocery store. I typically buy Valrhona products online at AmazonKing Arthur Baking Company, or Valrhona’s online store. But if you don’t want to buy online, rest assured that other chocolate makers make similar products. Notably, Guittard Chocolate Company makes chocolate wafers. These wafers are similar to fèves, but more circular in shape. I’ve seen Guittard chocolate wafers at select SafewayTarget, and Whole Foods stores.

Do I really need to use fèves?

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from my blog, it’s this: don’t skimp on chocolate! Most grocery store brands—even the ones that offer products specifically made for baking—contain all sorts of additives like paraffin wax and palm oil. These ingredients compromise the flavor and texture of your results. I’ve stopped using chocolate chips in 90 percent of my recipes, and my baked goods have tasted so much better as a result. 

What dark chocolate did you use to make these M&M cookies?

For the dark chocolate component in these cookies, I used Valrhona Caraïbe fèves, which 66% cacao. In general, for this recipe, I recommend using a dark chocolate that is between 62% and 73% cacao (though I simplified that to 60% and 70% in the ingredients list).

What other chocolate do you recommend besides fèves?

If you can’t find fèves, I also recommend Guittard Chocolate Wafers (which are more readily available in most major supermarkets). If you’re on a budget, I recommend chopping up a Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar or Ghirradelli baking chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips. Chop up the chocolate into fairly large ½- to 1-inch chunks. Doing so helps give you big chocolate puddles throughout the cookie!

M&Ms

You need ½ cup M&Ms of all different flavors and varieties to make my best M&M cookie recipe.

What are M&Ms?

M&Ms are little milk chocolate drops, each covered in its own little colorful candy shell. The candy shell gives the chocolate a unique, crunchy texture. According to Wikipedia, this method of candy making first came about during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. The candy coating allowed soldiers to carry chocolate in warm climates without it melting. And indeed, M&M’s slogan states that M&Ms “melt in your mouth, not in your hand.”

These days, M&Ms come in a variety of different flavors. While original M&Ms were made with milk chocolate, you can now get dark chocolate and white chocolate varieties. You can also get M&Ms filled with ingredients like almonds, caramel, peanuts, peanut butter, pretzels, and more. So in this M&M cookie recipe, I encourage you to use a variety of M&M flavors to get a ton of different flavors and textures in your cookies!

For my M&M cookies, I used four different types of M&Ms: milk chocolate M&Ms, crispy M&Ms (the M&Ms have toasted rice inside, giving it a crispy interior), peanut butter M&Ms, and mini M&Ms. The different varieties bring different textures and flavors to the M&M cookies.

But feel free to get creative and combine the different flavors that appeal to YOU. Below are other combinations that I considered before settling on the ones I chose above:

My country doesn’t sell M&Ms. What can I use instead?

If you live in Canada, Europe, or the United Kingdom, you can use Smarties instead! According to Wikipedia, the “inventor” of M&Ms was inspired after seeing Spanish soldiers eat British-made Smarties. And between you and me, I actually think Smarties taste better than M&Ms. So it’s a win-win-win situation for you.

As for the rest of the world, I’m pretty sure you can get either M&Ms and/or Smarties. If not, look for a similar chocolate candy! If you really can’t find anything similar, might I suggest just a regular ol’ chocolate chip cookie recipe instead?

hands reaching for m&m cookies

How To Make The Recipe

Here are the basic steps to make my best M&M cookie recipe from scratch:

  1. First, prep your ingredients. (Prep Time: 5 to 10 minutes)
    Prep for this M&M cookie recipe is easy! All you need to do is measure out the ingredients beforehand. That’s it! If you’re using whole fèves like I recommended, there’s no need to chop them up beforehand. As a result, your prep time will only be about 5 minutes. However, if you’re chopping up chocolate for the recipe, your prep time will be 10 minutes.

  2. Then, make the M&M cookie dough. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    The M&M cookie dough comes together really quickly. First, mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Then, mix the melted butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients to this mixture, then the chocolate and M&Ms. That’s it!

  3. Next, assemble the M&M cookies. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
    The fastest and easiest way to make picture-perfect cookies is to invest in a cookie dough scoop. These handy tools scoop the dough into dough balls that bake into perfect cookie circles every time. In general, I use a 3-Tablespoon or 4-Tablespoon sized cookie dough scoops to make my cookie recipes. Doing so makes perfect 3- to 3.5-inch wide cookies.

    After scooping the cookies, I press around 6 to 8 M&Ms on the top of each cookie dough ball. Doing so creates picture-perfect M&M cookies with the M&Ms front and center. 6 to 8 M&Ms will seem like too much, especially when you see the candies on the dough balls. But don’t worry! The dough balls spread a LOT when baked in the oven. The M&Ms will be distributed evenly throughout the surface of each cookie, I promise.

    I also like to make sure that there’s a fève or a large chocolate piece on top of each cookie, too. That’s how you get those luscious pools of melted chocolate across the surface of each cookie!

  4. Finally, bake the M&M cookies. (Bake Time: 10 minutes)
    The M&M cookies need 10 minutes in the oven. When done, the edges should be set. However, the centers will still look a little soft. That’s normal! In fact, that’s the secret to a perfect M&M cookie with a chewy, gooey center. And don’t forget to garnish the M&M cookies with flaky salt and mini M&Ms right when they come out of the oven!
m&m chocolate chip cookies

Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

Help! My M&M cookies came out too puffy. They didn’t sink after baking and don’t look flat like yours. What did I do wrong?

Okay, there are several things that could be responsible for overly puffy cookies:

You didn’t measure the ingredients properly.

If you used cup measures as opposed to weight measures, there’s a larger chance your cookies will come out puffy. 

There’s a LOT of variation in how people use measuring cups. Somebody who scoops ingredients into a measuring cup and packs it down as they go will have a cup that has way more ingredients than somebody who simply scoops the flour into a cup and levels it off as its filled. This is why bakers love measuring by weight with a digital scale instead—it’s much more reliable and completely eliminates any inconsistencies!

While these variations aren’t a big deal for many recipes, they can be a big deal for cookies. Specifically: if you pack a heavy cup of flour, your cookies will come out too puffy. They won’t fall and sink in the same way as mine did.

So to fill a measuring cup properly, you need to first set the measuring cup on a flat, level surface like your kitchen counter. Spoon the ingredient into the measuring cup until it forms a small mound within the cup. Use a butter knife or bench scraper to level off the mound so that the ingredient is flush with the top edges of the measuring cup.

Finally, if you’re measuring a dry ingredient that has a tendency to clump or get packed down (like flour, confectioners’ sugar, or cocoa powder), give it a quick whisk in its container first. Then, scoop the ingredient into the measuring cup as I described.

You deliberately (or accidentally!) reduced the sugar in the recipe.

Many people often deliberately reduce the sugar in baking recipes for health reasons, or for fear of the recipe being “too sweet.” But the fact is that sugar is in baking recipes for reasons beyond flavor and sweetness! In baking, sugar helps baked good spread evenly and consistently. It also adds moisture and color to the baked goods. If you went this route, it’s likely that your cookies will stay puffy and taste drier than mine.

But how do you accidentally reduce the sugar in the recipe? Similar to how you accidentally use too much flour in a recipe—by failing to use measuring cups and spoons properly. Read my instructions in the question above on how to scoop and fill a measuring cup the right way.

You used chocolate chips instead of fèves or chopped chocolate.

Chocolate chips are made with stabilizers like more cocoa solids and paraffin wax (yes, the kind of wax candles are made out of) to ensure that they keep their shape when baked. They tend to stay 3-dimensional, leading to a puffy cookie that doesn’t fall flat.

In the FAQ section below, I give you options to freeze your cookie dough for baking later. However, note that you’ll need to thaw the cookie dough slightly when baking from frozen.

What does that mean? Simply set the cookie dough out on a lined sheet pan (the same one you’re planning on baking the cookies on!) as the oven preheats. It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes for most ovens to preheat. The 10 to 15 minutes out at room temperature will allow the cookie dough to thaw slightly and bake up nicely in the oven. If you skip this thaw, your cookies will come out puffy!

Help! I made these M&M cookies but they don’t look like your cookies. My chocolate stayed mostly in tact. They didn’t melt and pool throughout the cookie like yours did. What did I do wrong?

First things first: did you use chocolate chips? If you did, they’re the likely culprit.

I mentioned earlier that chocolate chips are made with stabilizers like more cocoa solids and paraffin wax to ensure that they keep their shape when baked. They won’t melt and pool into puddles like chopped chocolate bars. That’s why I always recommend using chopped chocolate if you’re looking for a picture-perfect, Instagram-ready cookie!

However, if you did use chopped chocolate, it’s likely that you chopped your chocolate up too finely. You want to keep the pieces fairly big—think: ½ inch to 1 inch pieces. Bigger pieces will get more melty and molten!

Finally, when assembling the cookies, you want to make sure that there’s an even ratio of chopped chocolate and M&Ms per cookie. The chopped chocolate is what gives the cookies their signature “pools of melted chocolate” look, and M&Ms won’t melt in the oven like chopped chocolate. I usually stick 1 to 2 big chunks on top of each cookie (in addition to extra M&Ms) to make sure each cookie will have a pool of melted chocolate on top!

FAQ: Storing M&M Cookies

How To Store M&M Cookies

After baking, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze M&M cookies?

You can freeze M&M cookies in the following ways:

  1. Freeze the UNBAKED M&M cookie dough.
    Follow the recipe instructions to make the cookie dough and scoop them out into cookie dough balls. Place the cookie dough balls in a small sheet pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour, or until the cookie dough balls are frozen solid. Transfer the cookie dough balls to a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 1 year.

    To bake the frozen cookie dough balls, follow the recipe instructions to preheat the oven. As the oven is preheating, arrange the cookie dough balls on a sheet pan to allow them to thaw slightly for 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges have set but the centers are still gooey.
  2. Freeze the BAKED M&M cookies.
    Individually wrap any leftover M&M cookies in two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. The aluminum foil will prevent the cookies from absorbing any other flavors or odors in the freezer. When ready to serve, transfer to the refrigerator to chill overnight. Rewarm in the microwave or in the oven at 350°F for 5 minutes before serving.

Best M&M Cookie Recipe Tips

Ingredient Tips

  • If you don’t have a digital scale, note that 4 ounces (113 grams) of dark chocolate fèves or chopped chocolate is about ⅔ cup.

  • For my M&M cookies, I used four different types of M&Ms: milk chocolate M&Ms, crispy M&Ms (the M&Ms have toasted rice inside, giving it a crispy interior), peanut butter M&Ms, and mini M&Ms. The different varieties bring different textures and flavors to the M&M cookies. Crispy M&Ms add unexpected bursts of extra crunchiness, while peanut butter M&Ms bring little explosions of peanut butter to complement the chocolate. And although mini M&Ms are also made with milk chocolate, they have a different candy to chocolate ratio, resulting in a new and unexpected mouthfeel in the cookie. I also like to garnish the cookies with the mini M&Ms right when they come out of the oven!

    I used 2 Tablespoons of each variety, resulting in a ½ cup of different M&M varieties. Check out the Ingredients section above for more ideas for different flavor combinations.

Technique Tips

  • To save myself some clean up, I melt the butter in the bowl I’m planning to make the cookie dough in. Specifically: I use a small bowl to mix the dry ingredients. Then, I use the microwave to melt the butter in a medium bowl big enough to mix the dough in, add the sugars, egg, and extract, then the dry ingredients and chocolate. As a result, I only need two bowls for this recipe!

  • When prepping ingredients, I also melt the butter first. That way, it has time to cool while I prep the rest of the ingredients. Doing so ensures your butter isn’t too hot and won’t scramble the egg when you add it to the dough!

  • I like to bake the cookies one pan at a time. I find that doing so makes the best cookies, ensuring that none of them have overly burnt bottoms or raw centers. However, to save time, you can bake two sheet pans at a time. Position a rack in the upper-third position of the oven, and a second one in the lower-third position of the oven. Bake a pan on each rack, swapping their positions half way through the Bake Time.

Best Styling Tips

  • Want your cookies to look *EXACTLY* like mine, with a signature puddle of melted chocolate skimmed across each surface? Easy! Simply reserve a fève or a ½- to 1-inch piece of chopped chocolate for each cookie. Place on top of each cookie dough ball before baking. The chocolate will melt into the puddles you see on top of each cookie!

  • In the recipe, I instruct you to assemble the cookies by scooping the dough with a cookie dough scoop and pressing chocolate and M&Ms on top of each cookie dough ball. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of M&Ms during this step! I used around 5 to 6 extra M&Ms per cookie. It will seem like a lot on the dough ball, but when baked, the dough ball melt into a fairly large cookie and spread the M&Ms out.

Get the Recipe: My Best M&M Cookies Recipe (No Stand Mixer Required & Easily Customizable!)

M&M chocolate candies are a fun, whimsical way to add different textures and flavors to classic chocolate chip cookies. When the M&M cookies are warm and fresh from the oven, the M&Ms burst with molten chocolate and crispy textures with every bite!
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Ingredients

  • 1 ⅔ cup (7.5 ounces or 213 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick or 4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • ¾ cup tightly packed (5.65 ounces or 160 grams) light OR dark brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (1.75 ounces or 50 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate (between 60% and 70% cacao), from whole fèves or a high-quality chocolate bar roughly chopped into 1- to 1 ½-inch pieces
  • ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) different M&M varieties (see baker's notes for recommendations), plus more for garnish
  • flaky salt, for garnish

Equipment

  • a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop

Instructions
 

For the M&M Cookies

  • Prep the oven and baking pan. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 to 3 half sheet pans with parchment paper.
  • Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • Mix the butter, sugars, egg, and extract. In a medium bowl, use a rubber spatula to mix together the butter and sugars until moistened, about 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients, chocolate and M&Ms. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Add the chocolate and M&Ms all at once and mix until the chocolate and candy are evenly distributed throughout, about 1 minute.
  • Assemble the cookies. Use a 3-Tablespoon cookie dough scoop to portion the cookie dough into balls, placing them at least 3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans as you go. Gently press 5 to 6 more M&Ms on top of each cookie dough ball.
  • Bake the cookies. Bake one pan at a time for 10 minutes, or until the edges have set but the centers are still gooey. Garnish immediately with flaky salt and mini M&Ms, if using. Cool the cookies on the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, or until the edges and bottoms of the cookies have set and feel firm to the touch. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
  • Serve and store. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • If you don’t have a digital scale, note that 4 ounces (113 grams) of dark chocolate fèves or chopped chocolate is about ⅔ cup.
  • For my M&M cookies, I used four different types of M&Ms: milk chocolate M&Mscrispy M&Ms (the M&Ms have toasted rice inside, giving it a crispy interior), peanut butter M&Ms, and mini M&Ms. The different varieties bring different textures and flavors to the M&M cookies. Crispy M&Ms add unexpected bursts of extra crunchiness, while peanut butter M&Ms bring little explosions of peanut butter to complement the chocolate. And although mini M&Ms are also made with milk chocolate, they have a different candy to chocolate ratio, resulting in a new and unexpected mouthfeel in the cookie. I also like to garnish the cookies with the mini M&Ms right when they come out of the oven! I used 2 Tablespoons of each variety, resulting in a ½ cup of different M&M varieties. Check out the Ingredients section above for more ideas for different flavor combinations.
  • To save myself some clean up, I melt the butter in the bowl I’m planning to make the cookie dough in. Specifically: I use a small bowl to mix the dry ingredients. Then, I use the microwave to melt the butter in a medium bowl big enough to mix the dough in, add the sugars, egg, and extract, then the dry ingredients and chocolate. As a result, I only need two bowls for this recipe!
  • When prepping ingredients, I also melt the butter first. That way, it has time to cool while I prep the rest of the ingredients. Doing so ensures your butter isn’t too hot and won’t scramble the egg when you add it to the dough!
  • I like to bake the cookies one pan at a time. I find that doing so makes the best cookies, ensuring that none of them have overly burnt bottoms or raw centers. However, to save time, you can bake two sheet pans at a time. Position a rack in the upper-third position of the oven, and a second one in the lower-third position of the oven. Bake a pan on each rack, swapping their positions half way through the Bake Time.
  • Want your cookies to look *EXACTLY* like mine, with a signature puddle of melted chocolate skimmed across each surface? Easy! Simply reserve a fève or a ½- to 1-inch piece of chopped chocolate for each cookie. Place on top of each cookie dough ball before baking. The chocolate will melt into the puddles you see on top of each cookie!
  • In the recipe, I instruct you to assemble the cookies by scooping the dough with a cookie dough scoop and pressing chocolate and M&Ms on top of each cookie dough ball. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of M&Ms during this step! I used around 5 to 6 extra M&Ms per cookie. It will seem like a lot on the dough ball, but when baked, the dough ball melt into a fairly large cookie and spread the M&Ms out.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule

Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.