Christmas M&M’S Cookies

Pin RecipeJump to Recipe

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.
Want to Save this Recipe?
Enter your email and get this recipe sent to your inbox to save for later! Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!

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

Pin this now to find it later

Pin It

Christmas M&M’S Cookies

5 from 3 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
Save this Recipe?
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

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.

Avatar photo

About Aimee

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

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

Learn How To Become a Better Home Baker
Sign up for the Shugary Sweets FREE Email Course Today—soon you’ll say, "I made it from scratch!"

Categories: ,


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 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?

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

  5. 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.

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

  7. 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?

5 from 3 votes

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating