M&M Christmas Cookies

Cheery and delicious, these fun cookies will add a festive feel to your next holiday party, or are perfect to package up and give as a special homemade gift.

*Today’s article is a guest post written by my 17-year daughter, Alyssa. I make the cookies, she writes the article. Sounds like a good deal to me! (Also, be prepared. Due to the gazillion books she’s read over her lifetime already, she uses way bigger words than I do. Homeschooling for the win!)

As a young child, it always felt like the Christmas season had begun when my mom started holiday baking.

I have many memories of pressing cookie cutters into spice-scented dough, of my small, clumsy fingers artfully spreading red and green icing onto a pale cookie.

Coming inside from sledding to that heavenly smell felt like a warm hug. Isn’t it funny how golden-brown edges and gooey chocolate chips have a certain unmistakable smell?

It’s that warm feeling, that nostalgia that makes something as simple as making Christmas cookies so important.

Though, in the busyness of the holiday season, the idea of concocting some elaborate holiday dessert can seem overwhelming.

That’s what’s nice about these cookies. They are really quite simple, but they are extremely delicious, and undeniably fun and festive.

Red and green M&Ms make them effortlessly holiday-themed, definitely adding a little more of a “wow” factor than just adding chocolate chips. These colorful candies really spruce up your classically delicious chocolate chip cookie.

Because really, who doesn’t love holiday-themed treats?

Part of the reason though why something as simple as a Christmas dessert can be so important is because we make it important. We get to decide whether we will focus on the joy that comes from spending time with people we love, or whether we will just focus on the task at hand.

When it comes to making the little moments count, we decide what is valuable. We decide what a moment is worth to us.

So I would encourage you in your holiday baking this year to enjoy the moment. Find joy in it all, the things that go right, and the messes and mistakes in between.

Because when you do, you’ll be surprised to find out how infinitely valuable it becomes, both to you and the people you do it with.

Because my mom let us help her with holiday baking when we were young, despite frustrations and messes and the fact that she could have done it so much faster by herself, I now have plenty of memories that, years later, I still treasure.

I hope this recipe helps you make plenty of Christmas memories, ones that are going to stick. But whether or not cookie making becomes your favorite part of your Christmas preparations, I can promise you that these cookies will taste amazing, and are sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Troubleshooting your Cookies (because, sometimes, things just don’t work out.)

Problems with your cookies? It’s always a bummer when your baking doesn’t quite turn out, but there are actually some things you can do to help make your cookie baking experience a breeze.

Are your cookie sheets very old or dark? Try some new ones. Lighter cookie sheets work really well and can make a world of difference.

Your cookies spread too much? You can either refrigerate the dough before forming the cookies or turn up the heat. Not spreading enough? Turning down the heat just might work.

Some other things that really help the baking process to run smoothly are making sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature, using a cookie scoop to form your cookies, and using a kitchen scale to weigh your flour.

This last one is actually important, because when you rely on a measuring cup, air can get trapped in your flour; meaning it actually looks like you have more flour in the cup than you do. Weighing your flour ensures a precisely exact amount of flour every time.

M&M Christmas Cookies Recipe

• 3/4 cup sugar (150 g)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (150g)
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (170 g)
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour (280 g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup Christmas M&M candies

Step 1:

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then either grease your pan, or line it with parchment paper or a baking mat.

Step 2:

Put both sugars and butter into a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy.

Step 3:

Add in egg and vanilla and stir well.

Step 4:

Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt) until fully mixed together. Do not over mix.

Step 5:

Fold the chocolate chips and M&M candy into the dough until evenly dispersed.

Step 6:

Use a standard-sized cookie scoop to scoop dough onto your cookie sheet in even rows. Alternately, you can roll into balls, using about 2 tbsp of cookie dough per ball.

Step 7:

Bake the cookies about 8-10 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. The center will be on the lighter side.

Storing the Cookies

These cookies will stay good for about a week if kept in an airtight container, but if your house has as many hungry teens as ours does, they won’t last that long. You can make them keep for longer by freezing them.