Christmas M&M’S Cookies

If you’re looking for The Best Christmas M&M’s Cookies, you’ve arrived! The secret to soft, chewy cookies is pudding mix. These cookies are easy to make and easy to customize with your favorite M&M flavors.

For a fun twist, try our Chocolate M&M’s cookies too! We used our favorite M&M cookies recipe (complete with sprinkles) to make today’s holiday version.

Christmas m&m cookies on a green serving plate.


Why this Recipe is Best

Add M&Ms to just about any cookie (or M&M Brownies) and chances are I’ll be on board. But when you want the M&Ms to really stand out, pairing them with the right cookie dough is important.

This dough is made with instant vanilla pudding mix. Why add pudding mix to cookies?

  • Because pudding mix adds flavor while also making the cookies soft, chewy and sweet.
  • That soft cookie texture is the perfect vehicle for M&Ms with a crunchy candy shell.
  • We used M&Ms with festive holiday colors, along with sprinkles, to get these M&Ms Cookies ready for Santa! (need more holiday inspiration check out our christmas cookie recipes!)

You should also give our M&M cookie bars a try! So chewy and delicious.

Ingredient Notes

  • Pudding Mix. Make sure to use instant vanilla pudding mix, not the cook ‘n’ serve variety.
  • Melted Butter. This helps give the cookies the perfect consistency. They’ll spread and firm up as they bake but stay soft and chewy in the center.
  • M&Ms. We used the special holiday M&Ms for these cookies. The recipe works beautifully with any flavor or color of M&Ms you like!
  • Sprinkles. Feel free to change up the color of the sprinkles for different occasions or holidays. We recommend Jimmies sprinkles (the long, rectangular ones) or nonpareils here.
Holiday m&m's cookies stacked.

Easy Instructions

These cookies start like most: creaming together the melted butter and sugar.

Next, you’ll add the eggs, vanilla extract and pudding mix, followed by the dry ingredients.

Fold in the M&Ms and sprinkles. Now, drop the cookies by the spoonful onto a baking sheet.

Bake for about 11 minutes. Let cool before enjoying.

PRO TIP: For a thicker cookie dough that spreads less, chill dough for an hour!

Tips and Tricks

  • The cookies are likely to appear soft when you first remove them from the oven. They’ll continue to firm up a bit as they cool so be careful not to overbake.
  • Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy within 1 week.
  • Line your baking sheet with parchment paper before baking the cookies to prevent sticking and make clean up a breeze.
  • Freeze Cookies. Use my tips on how to freeze cookie dough for later.
  • Got more M&M’s? Try our M&M Cheesecake Bars or M&M frosting.
Baked M&M cookies with Christmas sprinkles on parchment paper.

Recipe FAQs

Can I freeze M&M cookies?

Yes, these M&Ms Cookies freeze well both baked and unbaked. Baked cookies can be stored in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Unbaked cookies should be scooped and frozen on a baking sheet until firm, then transferred to freezer bags. No need to thaw them before baking. Just place them on a cookie sheet frozen, adding a couple more minutes to the bake time.

Can I use salted butter in this cookie recipe?

Yes, salted butter can be used in this recipe. If you need to use salted butter, I recommend omitting the added kosher salt to help balance out the saltiness of the baked M&Ms Cookies.

What kind of sprinkles are best in M&Ms cookies?

I love the way that Jimmies sprinkles hold up to baking! Other kinds of sprinkles, like nonpareils and sugar sprinkles will tend to bleed into the dough.

Can I make these cookies with other flavors of M&Ms?

Of course you can! Feel free to try this recipe with any kind of M&Ms you love. Peanut Butter M&Ms, White Chocolate M&Ms and Peanut M&Ms would all be delicious choices.

Favorite Cookies

See all Cookies recipes

Christmas M&M’S Cookies

5 from 9 votes
By: Aimee
If you're looking for The Best M&M's Cookies, you've arrived! The secret to soft, chewy cookies is pudding mix. These cookies are easy to make and easy to customize with your favorite M&M flavors.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 13 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 box Instant Vanilla pudding mix 3.4 ounce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 package holiday M&M'S 11 ounc (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • ¼ cup holiday sprinkles
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Instructions 

  • In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugars until creamy. Add in pudding mix, eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Add flour, baking soda and salt. Fold in M&M’S and sprinkles.
  • Drop by large tablespoon (I use this scoop for perfect sized cookies) onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake in a 350°F oven for 11-13 minutes. Do not over bake, cookies may appear soft. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Notes

  • If you want thicker cookies, chill dough for at least an hour before baking.
  • STORAGE: Store cookies in airtight container for up to one week. Or freeze in airtight container for up to three months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 131kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 99mg, Sugar: 12g
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!

The Best M&Ms Cookies are made with pudding mix! Bake up a batch of these for your family’s Christmas celebration, or whenever you’re craving the heavenly combination of cookies and M&Ms candies.



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About Aimee

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

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Posted on December 8, 2021

Comments & Reviews

  1. 5 stars
    We love these cookies so much! I just made another batch and immediately froze them for Christmas because my kids keep eating them!

  2. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!

  3. I have had a recipe similar, if not exactly, like this one for a few years. Mine is called “Santa’s Favorite Cookie” and it is a favorite with everybody I bake for. I give baked goods (4 or 5 kinds of cookies, sweet breads, etc.) to coworkers and friends every year and this is the cookie they always make sure is in the box.

  4. My cookies when I took them out and they were cooling they had flattened, I am not sure what I did wrong. Someone please help, it may have been my butter as it was sitting out since last night so it was very soft!

  5. I made these at Christmas with the usual type sprinkle, (loved them!!). I’m planning on making these for a baby shower. She’s having a girl and I was looking for sprinkles in pinks. I found non-pareils (sp?). Will these work the same or be too crunchy?

  6. They taste great but are so flat and not very pretty. I froze half the batch so hopefully they won’t be as flat when I bake them.

  7. OMG! just made these yesterday. they were awesome. they are now my favorite cookies, really yummy.
    thanks for the recipe

  8. I made these today. YUM! I melted the butter, added the sugars, and then added the eggs before adding the vanilla pudding. I did not use parchment paper. I baked them on a stone cookie sheet for 11 minutes. They didn’t look done when I took them out of the oven, but they firmed up and were perfect. I’m planning to make another batch later this week.

  9. Definitely don’t melt butter, as soon as I finished I knew something was off. Should of realized you can’t cream with melted butter, her base recipe she uses to make variations of this recipes calls for “softened” butter. 

  10. Yum! I love how the pudding keeps the cookies so soft. These are totally perfect for Christmas!

  11. These look great. I have had trouble in the past with adding pudding to the cookies. For some reason the pudding made it gritty. Any idea of why?

    1. I have been making pudding cookies for years. I make sure the butter and sugars are well creamed and smooth before adding the pudding, while being sure to scrape the bowl to ensure there’s no leftover/hiding bits on the bottom/sides. Works for me. Good luck!

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