M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Sep. 11, 2026
These M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies are extraordinarily chewy and soft and stay that way for days. They’re loaded with chocolate chips throughout for the ultimate M&M cookie experience.
In This Article
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Amy’s Notes
These M&M chocolate chip cookies have been a go-to cookie recipe that is always a hit and easy to make. They disappear quickly, everywhere you bring them. Here’s why this recipe works so well:
- No Shortening: We use real butter in all our baking, giving these cookies the rich, buttery flavor that we all love, like in our Chewy Soft Snickerdoodles.
- Chewy, Not Cakey: Like our Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, these cookies turn out chewy and soft.
- Maintains Thickness: The cookies maintain their thickness no matter what size you make them, just like our Thick and Chewy Triple Chocolate Cookies.
- Keeps Fresh: These M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies stay wonderfully chewy and soft. They keep fresh for days at room temperature, similar to these Chewy Soft Gingerbread Cookies.
- Extra Chocolatey: Rather than using just M&M’s, this recipe combines the goodness of M&M’s with semisweet chocolate chips, making them extra chocolatey.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Instant Vanilla Pudding – We use instant vanilla pudding mix to keep these cookies super soft and chewy.
- Eggs – Four large eggs act as a binder and help the cookies hold their shape, while adding moisture for a soft texture.
- Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract adds a warm, sweet flavor that complements the chocolate and M&M candies.
- Chocolate Chips and M&M Candies – We love the combination of semisweet chocolate chips and M&M candies. You can use minis and chunks for a variety of textures.
Substitutions And Variations
Here are some of our favorite variations and substitution ideas:
- Baking Chips: Feel free to use any kind of chocolate chips or baking chips. Try white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or even butterscotch chips.
- Add Nuts: If you like a little crunch in your cookies, add a cup of your favorite chopped nuts. Pecans, walnuts, or almonds would work great.
- Seasonal M&Ms: Have fun with the different flavors of M&Ms available. Use pastel M&Ms for Easter, red and green for Christmas, or spooky colors for Halloween.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.
- Add pudding mix. Then, add eggs and vanilla, and blend well.
- Add chocolate chips and M&M’s to the dough and chill.
- Form dough balls and and bake.
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Here are our top prep-ahead tips and strategies for this recipe:
- Make the Dough in Advance: The cookie dough for these M&M chocolate chip cookies can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freeze the Dough: Unbaked dough can be frozen. Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze the dough balls until they are solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, place the frozen dough balls on a baking sheet and bake as directed, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Pro Tips for Perfect M&M Cookies
- Spoon and Level Your Flour: Never scoop flour directly with a measuring cup, as this packs it down and leads to dense, dry cookies. Fluff your flour with a fork, spoon it lightly into the measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Press Extra M&Ms on Top Before Baking: Mixing M&Ms into the dough distributes them nicely, but many will end up hidden inside. Reserve a handful of M&Ms and gently press 3–4 onto the top of each dough ball right before sliding the baking sheet into the oven for picture-perfect, bakery-style cookies.
- Use Room-Temperature Butter (Not Melted): Softened butter allows the sugar to cream properly and traps air for a soft texture. If the butter is melted, the cookies will spread thin and lose their chewy thickness.
- Don’t Over-bake: Pull the cookies out of the oven as soon as the edges look lightly golden, even if the centers still appear slightly soft or underdone. They will continue to cook and firm up on the hot baking sheet as they cool for 10 minutes.
- Optional: Reshape Cookies Immediately: If any cookies need reshaping, while the cookies are hot and pliable, use a small rubber spatula to gently shape any cookies, as desired.
Video: Watch Me Make This Recipe
M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups salted butter, softened just to room temp, not at all melty
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
- 6.8 ounces instant vanilla pudding
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, minis chips or chocolate chunks work great as well
- 2 cups M&M candies, your choice of colors
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together well and set aside.
- In bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium high, until light and fluffy. Add packages of pudding mix and beat until incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla, blending well.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture. Using dough hook attachment, fold dry and wet ingredients together just until fully incorporated
- Add in chocolate chips and M&M’s, mixing into the dough. (If it gets too hard to mix with wooden spoon, I use clean hands instead)
- Dough will be a bit sticky. Cover tightly and chill in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Form 2-inch balls of dough and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake approximately 10-11 minutes or just until edges look golden brown. Cookies may seem slightly underdone, but they will firm up upon cooling. Don't over bake.
- Cool on baking sheet about 10 minutes, and remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- This recipe can make 36 larger cookies or 72 smaller cookies. For smaller cookies, make 1-inch dough balls.
- Actual bake time varies, depending on oven.
- Feel free to use your favorite colors or flavors of M&M candies.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix might seem like an unusual ingredient but it adds a delicious flavor and helps to keep the cookies soft and chewy.
- Chilling the dough for 30-60 minutes helps the cookies hold their shape while baking and enhances their flavor.
- These cookies keep very well at room temp in an airtight container. Raw cookie dough can be tightly wrapped up and frozen for later use.
- This recipe is part of our delicious Cookie Recipe Collection.
Nutrition (per serving)
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any type of M&M candies for this recipe. The classic milk chocolate M&Ms work great, but you can also use peanut M&Ms, almond M&Ms, or even seasonal varieties for a fun twist.
Chilling the dough is important for this recipe because it helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking. It also allows the flavors to meld and develop, resulting in a richer, more complex flavor.
The cookies are done when the edges look golden brown. They may still seem slightly underdone in the middle, but they will firm up upon cooling. Be careful not to overbake them.
These cookies can be kept in an airtightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months.
Overly warm butter or un-chilled dough causes butter to melt too quickly in the oven, leading to flat cookies. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature—not melted—and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking.
Chilling the dough is strongly recommended. It solidifies the butter, which prevents the cookies from spreading too thin, and allows the flour to absorb moisture, giving you a thicker, softer, and chewier texture.
M&M candy shells often crack when exposed to high heat inside the dough. To keep them looking whole and colorful, mix most of the M&Ms into the dough, then gently press a few fresh M&Ms onto the top of each dough ball right before baking.
Yes. Allow the baked cookies to cool completely, then place them in a single layer in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag, separated by parchment paper. Freeze for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature.
Instant pudding mix contains pre-gelatinized cornstarch, which traps moisture during baking. This prevents the cookies from drying out and guarantees a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center.
More to Bake and Eat
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- White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies – The Best White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies are ultra chewy, soft, and incredibly delicious. The addition of a secret ingredient makes them deliciously mind-blowing.
- Bakery Style Double Chocolate Cookies – These double chocolate cookies are decadent, rich, and super easy to make! We love gifting these to our chocolate-obsessed friends.
- Almond Blossoms (Kiss Cookies) – This recipe is the almond butter twist on your classic peanut butter blossoms. They’re so soft and buttery!