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M&M Peanut Butter Cookies are thick, soft, and stuffed with mini M&Ms and chocolate chips in a rich peanut butter dough, the kind of cookie that vanishes off the plate in minutes. I baked a double batch on a snowy Sunday when Maddie and Lizzie wanted to help decorate, and pressing extra candies on top became the best part of the whole afternoon. If you love a fun, colorful treat, our chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels are another easy crowd pleaser.
A quick chill is the secret to thick, bakery style cookies that hold their shape in the oven.
M&M Peanut Butter Cookies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 10 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 60 cookies
- ⚡ Calories: 109kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Rich peanut butter, sweet chocolate, and colorful candy crunch
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, a fun drop cookie like our monster cookie cupcakes
Quick Answer
Cream softened butter and peanut butter, then beat in the brown and white sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk, then mix in the dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in the mini M&Ms and chocolate chips, scoop the dough into balls, and chill for at least an hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until just set.
Jump to:
- M&M Peanut Butter Cookies Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make M&M Peanut Butter Cookies
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- M&M Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Cookie Recipes
- Soft M&M Peanut Butter Cookies
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Creaming builds a soft texture. Beating the butter and peanut butter with the sugars until fluffy whips in air, giving you tender, soft centered cookies.
- Chilling stops the spread. An hour in the fridge firms up the dough so the cookies bake up thick and chewy instead of thin and flat.
- Two sugars add chew. Brown sugar brings moisture and chew while white sugar helps the edges set, for the perfect cookie texture.
- Mini M&Ms distribute evenly. Mini candies fold through the dough so every bite gets that signature crunch and pop of color.
- A short bake keeps them soft. Pulling the cookies while the centers still look slightly underdone keeps them soft as they cool on the sheet.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are thick, soft, and packed with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and colorful M&Ms in every single bite.
- The dough is freezer friendly, so you can stash balls of it and bake fresh cookies whenever a craving hits.
- Kids love helping press the candies on top, just like with our monster cookie cupcakes.
Key Ingredients
A handful of baking staples plus candy and chips are all you need. Here is what each one does.
- Peanut butter: The flavor base, giving these cookies their rich, nutty taste and soft, tender crumb. A standard creamy peanut butter works best.
- Mini M&Ms: Mini candies fold evenly through the dough and add that signature crunch and color. Save a few to press on top.
- Chocolate chips: Semi sweet chips add pockets of melty chocolate alongside the candy.
- Brown and white sugar: Brown sugar keeps the cookies chewy and moist while white sugar crisps the edges.
- Butter: Softened butter creams with the peanut butter for that classic soft cookie texture, like in our peanut butter pretzels.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Make these cookies your own with a few easy swaps.
- Seasonal colors: Use holiday colored M&Ms for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or Halloween cookies.
- Peanut butter M&Ms: Swap in peanut butter M&Ms for a double peanut butter punch.
- Extra chocolate: Add white chocolate or dark chocolate chips along with the semi sweet.
- Nutty crunch: Fold in a half cup of chopped peanuts for extra texture.
- Make them big: Scoop larger dough balls for bakery style cookies, like our soft Lofthouse cookies, and add a couple minutes to the bake.
How to Make M&M Peanut Butter Cookies
- Cream the softened butter and peanut butter, then beat in the brown and white sugars until fluffy and light. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk, then mix in the sifted dry ingredients just until combined.
- Fold in the mini M&Ms and chocolate chips until just distributed through the dough.
- Scoop heaping tablespoon dollops, roll into balls, and gently flatten the tops on a lined baking sheet.
- Cover and chill at least 1 hour, then bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes until just barely set. Press extra candies on top if you like.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not skip the chill. At least an hour in the fridge keeps the cookies thick, an overnight chill is even better.
- Do not overmix the flour. Mix just until the flour disappears, overmixing makes dense, tough cookies.
- Press candies on top. Adding a few extra M&Ms and chips right before baking makes them look bakery perfect.
- Underbake slightly. Pull the cookies when the centers still look soft, they finish setting on the hot sheet.
- Use a cookie scoop. A scoop keeps the cookies uniform so they bake evenly and look great.
- Cool on the sheet. Let them rest a few minutes on the pan before moving so they do not fall apart.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These M&M peanut butter cookies are made for sharing, and they shine on any cookie platter. Pile them next to our meltaway lemon cookies and maple bacon cookies for a colorful, crowd pleasing cookie tray.
They are the ultimate cookies and milk treat, so serve them slightly warm with a tall cold glass. For a fun dessert table, set them out with a bowl of our puppy chow muddy buddies and let everyone graze.
Wrap a stack in cellophane for the cutest homemade gift or bake sale offering. These cookies travel well and stay soft for days, making them perfect for lunchboxes and care packages.
M&M Peanut Butter Cookies FAQs
Flat cookies usually mean the dough was not chilled long enough or the butter was too warm. Chill the dough balls for at least an hour so the cookies hold their shape and bake up thick.
Yes. Scoop the dough into balls and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for up to three months. Bake straight from chilled, adding a minute or two for frozen dough.
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Add a slice of bread to the container to help keep them soft.
Absolutely. Freeze the baked cookies or the dough balls for up to three months. Thaw baked cookies at room temperature, or bake frozen dough with a couple extra minutes.
Mini M&Ms are ideal because they fold evenly through the dough and add more color per bite. Regular or peanut butter M&Ms work too, just chop larger ones if needed.
Peanut butter is what gives these cookies their signature flavor and soft texture. For a nut free version, swap in a sunflower seed butter and use nut free candies.
Craving more cookies? Bake a batch of our soft frosted Lofthouse cookies next.
Prefer fruit over candy? Our oatmeal blueberry cookies are soft and chewy.
Double up on peanut butter with our baked peanut butter donuts.
Soft M&M Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ½ cup mini M&M’s candies you can use the peanut butter ones
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.2 2/3 cup all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon fine salt
- Cream butter and peanut butter together for 3 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed.½ cup unsalted butter softened, ½ cup peanut butter
- Add sugars with the mixer running on low. Turn speed up to medium high and beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and light in color.1 cup light brown sugar packed, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Add eggs one at a time, incorporating the first egg fully before adding the second one.2 eggs
- Add vanilla and milk and mix on low until incorporated.2 tablespoons milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Add flour mixture and mix on low until just incorporated. Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want dense and tough cookies.
- Add M&M’s and chocolate chips and mix on the stir setting or fold them in until just distributed.1 ½ cup mini M&M’s candies you can use the peanut butter ones, ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon-sized dollops onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Roll into a ball and slightly press the tops down until they are flat on top but not smushed.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, best to chill overnight if possible. (At this point, you can chill the cookies in the freezer and place them into a Ziploc bag once frozen and have cookies at hand to bake and eat whenever it pleases you or whenever you have company over.)
- Preheat the oven to 375F. (Here you can add additional M&Ms and chocolate chips to the top). Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes until slightly brown. Don’t overbake them, there is nothing sadder in life than an over-baked cookie!
Video
Notes
- Use a 1 Tbs cookie dough scoop to portion out these cookies.
- You can make full sized cookies, read my instructions above.
- These can be stored in many ways such as frozen unbaked and baked, reference my tips above.
- We like to press more chocolate chips and M&M’s on top of the cookies before baking to make them look prettier but necessary.
- Make sure you chill your dough, this helps in the baking process. 1 hour is good but overnight is best.
- If you want to make fewer cookies, you can absolutely cut this recipe in half or the opposite double it if you are wanting to make more for large crowds or functions.
Nutrition
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These cookies are soooo delicious! I gave a few to my fiance to take to work and his coworkers haven’t stopped talking about them – 10/10 will make these again!