These peanut butter M&M cookies are gentle, thick, and filled with peanut butter taste in each chew, plus a beneficiant handful of mini M&Ms for shade and crunch. When you’ve been baking from my web site for some time, this recipe could look acquainted. It’s primarily based on my traditional gentle peanut butter cookies dough, a recipe I first revealed in 2012 and nonetheless use as the muse for numerous variations right now.
I first shared this peanut butter M&M cookie variation again in 2012, and whereas the recipe itself hasn’t modified, I’ve up to date this publish with new photographs, clearer directions, and further success ideas to make sure the identical nice outcomes I count on in my very own kitchen right now.
This dough has stood the check of time for a motive. The cookies bake up pillowy-soft within the heart, frivolously crisp across the edges, and by no means dry or crumbly. Including mini M&Ms turns them right into a enjoyable, nostalgic twist that’s particularly standard with children—however simply as liked by adults who benefit from the colourful candy-coated candies!
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
- Comfortable & thick facilities with frivolously crisp edges
- Loaded with peanut butter taste
- Made with easy pantry substances
- Mini M&Ms distribute completely in each chew
- Based mostly on my most trusted peanut butter cookie dough
- Simple to adapt with different mix-ins
This Dough Is a Traditional for a Cause
This peanut butter cookie dough is one I return to time and again. It’s the identical base I take advantage of for peanut butter blossoms, peanut butter jam thumbprints, peanut butter cookie cups, and extra. Over time, hundreds of readers have baked the dough (in some model!) efficiently, and it continues to be some of the dependable cookie recipes on my web site.
A couple of key features make it work so properly:
- Extra Peanut Butter, Much less Flour: This recipe makes use of extra peanut butter and fewer flour than most conventional peanut butter cookies. Do you know that peanut butter acts as a binder in cookie doughs? Which means that you don’t want a lot flour—and including extra would really dry the cookies out. Persist with the measurements under for the softest outcomes.
- Brown Sugar + Granulated Sugar: Utilizing extra brown sugar than white retains the cookies gentle and moist, whereas a bit granulated sugar helps them unfold simply sufficient. It’s the identical steadiness I depend on in lots of my gentle cookie recipes.
- Creamy Peanut Butter Is Finest: Creamy peanut butter produces a smoother, softer cookie. Crunchy peanut butter tends to make cookies overly crumbly. You need to use both processed or pure peanut butter—each work—however observe that pure peanut butter will produce crumblier cookies that unfold a bit extra. For finest outcomes, I like to recommend processed creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy.
When you love oats in your cookies, strive these large big monster cookies subsequent!
Why Mini M&Ms Work So Nicely Right here
Like my traditional M&M cookies, mini M&Ms are superb in right now’s dough as a result of they distribute evenly all through the cookie, don’t overpower the peanut butter taste, and add simply sufficient crunch with out weighing the dough down.
When you solely have common M&Ms, you may roughly chop them, however mini M&Ms give the perfect texture.
Don’t Skip the Chill Time
After you combine up the cookie dough, you’ll discover it’s extraordinarily gentle and creamy, virtually like peanut butter frosting. That’s fully regular and anticipated; bear in mind, there isn’t a ton of flour on this dough.
Due to the dough’s consistency, refrigerating the dough for a minimum of 1–2 hours makes it simpler to scoop and helps the cookies maintain their form within the oven. If you wish to get forward, you may refrigerate the dough in a single day.
As soon as chilled, the dough is straightforward to deal with and form. Every cookie dough ball shall be round 1.5 Tablespoons, or 30-35 grams. A meals scale is all the time helpful within the kitchen, and particularly when portioning cookie dough.
Success Tip For Bakery-Model Beauties
For extra-pretty, bakery-style cookies, I like to verify loads of the M&Ms are close to the tops of the dough balls so that you see a lot of colourful candies as soon as the cookies are baked.
Since mini M&Ms are available in so many shade variations, you may simply customise these cookies for various holidays. Use Valentine’s Day–coloured mini M&Ms to your Valentine’s Day desserts, crimson and inexperienced M&Ms for Christmas cookie recipes, and many others.
When you love gentle peanut butter cookies, this candy-studded model deserves a spot in your common baking rotation!!
Extra Peanut Butter Cookies
Description
These peanut butter M&M cookies are gentle, thick, and filled with peanut butter taste in each chew, plus a beneficiant handful of mini M&Ms for shade and crunch. Don’t skip chilling the cookie dough. When you’ve been baking from my web site for some time, this recipe could look acquainted. It’s primarily based on my traditional gentle peanut butter cookies dough, a recipe I first revealed in 2012 and nonetheless use as the muse for numerous variations right now.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt collectively. Put aside.
- In a big bowl utilizing a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on excessive velocity till creamy. Change to medium-high velocity and beat within the brown sugar and granulated sugar till fully creamed and clean, about 3 minutes. (Right here’s a useful tutorial should you want steering on find out how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the egg and beat till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl as wanted. Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and beat till mixed.
- Add the dry substances to the moist substances and beat on low velocity till mixed, after which beat within the M&Ms. The dough shall be very creamy and gentle.
- Cowl and chill the cookie dough within the fridge for a minimum of 1–2 hours, and as much as 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line massive baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Roll the dough: Roll chilled cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (round 30-35g) of dough every. For further M&Ms on prime, gently place among the candies close to the floor of the dough balls, or press a number of further M&Ms into the tops earlier than baking. Prepare the dough balls on the baking sheets about 2 inches aside.
- Bake for 12–13 minutes or till the sides seem set and are very frivolously browned. The facilities will nonetheless look very gentle.
- Enable cookies to chill on the baking sheet for five minutes. After 5 minutes, switch to a wire rack to chill fully.
- Cookies keep contemporary lined at room temperature for as much as 1 week.
Notes
- Make-ahead directions: You can also make the cookie dough and chill it within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Baked cookies freeze properly for as much as 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze properly for as much as 3 months. Bake for an additional minute; no have to thaw. See How you can Freeze Cookie Dough for extra success ideas.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Meals Scale | Electrical Mixer (Stand Mixer or Handheld) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack
- Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter is good for this recipe as a result of crunchy peanut butter creates a very crumbly cookie. You need to use processed peanut butter similar to Jif or Skippy, or natural-style peanut butter. If utilizing pure peanut butter, ensure that it’s at room temperature, stirred properly, and count on a crumblier cookie. 3/4 cup of peanut butter weighs anyplace between 185–195g.
- Can I Use Almond Butter? Sure, you should utilize almond butter on this cookie recipe; nevertheless, count on a crumblier cookie. You might get pleasure from these flourless almond butter cookies extra, although!
- Mini M&Ms: Mini M&Ms are superb on this dough as a result of they distribute evenly all through the cookie, don’t overpower the peanut butter taste, and add simply sufficient crunch with out weighing the dough down. You need to use regular-size M&Ms should you’d like, simply very roughly chop them first.
- Can I Add Chocolate Chips or Different Add-Ins? Sure, so long as the full quantity of add-ins (together with M&MS) is round 1 and 1/4 cups.
- Replace in 2026: This recipe initially used salted butter with no added salt—be at liberty to make the dough that method should you desire. It additionally referred to as for smaller, 1 Tablespoon cookies (about 20g), yielding round 36 cookies. Over time, we’ve discovered the cookies bake up a bit higher when made barely bigger, which is why the portion measurement has been elevated.
