These cookies are perfect to snack, stack, dip, dunk, and devour!
I made a few new friends while I was working nights last week. Speaking of, my night shift duties ended two weeks sooner than I was expecting! I enjoyed working nights; the office was quiet and the workmen were nice, but boy what it exhausting! When you’re working 12 hours a day, you hardly have time to eat and sleep before you have to go back! Even so, I found enough time to bake a few things for my new night shift friends. First I made a batch of my favorite Mini Caramel Apple Cheesecakes, but even doubling that recipe didn’t feed everyone I hoped to! So I promised to bring something new for the guys who didn’t get to sample the cheesecakes.
Unfortunately, I was relieved of my night shift duties before I got the opportunity to fulfill my promise. I had one day off before I went back to work, so I did some grocery shopping and baked a few batches of cookies to bring to shift change the next day. I wasn’t around to hear the opinions about my new recipes, but the next day I did get a text from the night shift manager. It was a photo of the completely empty plate, accompanied by a caption: “Shift started at 18:00, photo taken at 18:03.” So I can only assume that the cookies were tasty (of course I taste tested them too, but I always have to have a second opinion!)
I found this recipe on Picky Palate, where they are billed as “perfect” M&M cookies. I have to agree; these cookies are perfectly thick and gooey in the middle, and light and crisp around the edges. Not to mention they are chock full of gooey chocolate and crunchy M&Ms. Plus, they’re super easy to make! It’s a total win-win!
Gather your ingredients first, for quick and easy prep!
First, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with either parchment paper or silpats.
Next, in a large bowl, cream a stick of butter, ½ cup of white sugar and ½ cup of packed brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and mix enough to combine.
Egg and Vanilla, ready for duty!
Then, add the sifted flour, 3 Tablespoons of the pudding mix, baking soda, and salt. Mix until incorporated, then add in the mini chocolate chips and mini M&Ms.
Mixing in the chocolate and M&Ms
Once the mixture is well combined, use a medium cookie scoop to portion cookies. Place about 2” apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, and let cool on the sheets before moving. If you have a wire rack, move the entire sheet of parchment or the silpats to the rack for faster cooling.
I move my silpats to wire racks so the cookies will cool faster and I can use the baking sheets for round two!
This recipe makes somewhere between 2 and 3 dozen cookies, depending on how large you make them. My cookie scoop is about an inch in diameter, and I got 30 cookies (plus a little dough for snacking on!)
Try out this easy cookie recipe and let me know what you think! Is this the best M&M cookies ever? Or do you have your own secret to perfect cookies?
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 3 Tablespoons vanilla pudding mix
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 10 oz bag Mini M&Ms (find them on the baking aisle!)
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
- In a large bowl, cream together (for 3-4 minutes) the butter, white, and brown sugar.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add in the sifted flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined, about 2-3 minutes.
- Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms.
- Use your hands or a medium cookie scoop to make 1” diameter balls out of the cookie dough. Place the balls about 2” apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on their baking sheets before attempting to remove them. If you have wire racks, move the entire parchment sheet or silpat to a rack to allow for faster cooling. You may also need to use the baking sheets again for a second batch (don’t overcrowd your pans or else your cookies may bake and melt into each other!)
- Enjoy! (PS. Try one while they’re still warm, with a glass of milk for dunking!)
