Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

By srumbel

The BEST Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies. Crisp chewy edges, soft centers and loaded with colorful M&M's. Everyone goes crazy for these.
from celebratingsweets.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour see note
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened but still cool
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed make sure it's fresh and soft
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups M&M's or a mixture of M&M's and chocolate chips divided

Details

Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 29mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and both sugars for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. On low speed, add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Gently stir in M&M's/chocolate chips - I usually add about 3/4 cup into the batter, the rest get pressed on top of the cookies before baking.

Scoop balls of dough, between 1.5 and 2.5 tablespoon portions (a little smaller or a little larger than a golf ball). Drop dough onto prepared baking sheets leaving an inch or two for spreading. Using the remaining M&M's, press several (5 or so) onto the top of each mound of dough. Keep in mind that the cookies will spread out while baking, so be generous with the M&M's.

Bake for 8-11 minutes (see note), until the edges of the cookies are set but the center is still slightly underdone , this will create a soft cookie. For a crispier cookie, continue baking for another minute two.

Place the baking sheets on wire racks and allow the cookies to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool. Optional: for a slightly thicker cookie, you can gently press the edges of each cookie inward (just a bit!) while they are still warm.

Recipe Notes

TO PROPERLY MEASURE FLOUR: Fluff the flour with your measuring cup, scoop a heaping portion and level it off with the back of a knife

Servings 15 - 20 depending on size

DO NOT OVER-BAKE! We want crisp edges and soft centers, so do not wait until these cookies look done to pull them from the oven. Remove them from the oven just prior to being done and then they will finish cooking as they cool on the baking sheet.

Mix some of the M&M’s into the batter and press the rest onto the tops of the cookies right before baking. This allows the M&M’s to be more visible, adding a nice pop of color to the cookies. Be generous with the M&M’s that are going on top. As the cookies bake and spread out the candies will distribute throughout the top.

Make sure your butter is softened but still cool to the touch. Using butter that is too soft will lead to cookies that spread to much in the oven.

Your brown sugar should be soft and fresh. We’re relying on the moisture in the brown sugar to help make these cookies chewy.

You can make these with regular M&M’s, holiday M&M’s or a combination of M&M’s and chocolate chips.