These M&M Cookie Bars are chewy, buttery and full of chocolate! They're the perfect after school snack, weeknight dessert and treat for any holiday!
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Growing up, there was nothing better than getting off the school bus, running into the house and seeing a warm pan of bars on the counter. Us four kids would devour a good size chunk of the pan and head outside to play until supper.
This M&M Cookie Bar recipe is SO yummy. Imagine my chocolate chip bars, but then make them thicker, more chewy and packed with more chocolate.... yeah, they're truly incredible!
Ingredients Needed
- Salted Butter - If you don't have salted butter, add an additional ½ teaspoon salt into the cookie dough.
- Sugars - Light or dark brown sugar and regular white sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Chocolate Chips - I recommend using semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips; milk chocolate chips can be used, too, but it'll be very sweet
- M&M's
How to Make M&M Cookie Bars
Get everything ready! Preheat the oven, let the butter come to room temperature and line a pan with parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, cooking spray will be just fine.
Combine the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla until well-incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.
Stir in the dry ingredients and then the chocolate chips and M&M's.
Spread the mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining M&M's on top. Press them in lightly and bake!
Give the bars some time to cool before enjoying....if you can wait!
Perfect for Any Holiday!
Depending on the time of year, you'll find M&M's in all different color combinations! Turn these into Christmas M&M Cookie Bars with festive red and green. Or how about 4th of July, Halloween or Easter M&M Cookie Bars?!
Now you can even order a custom color variety of M&M's. This would be especially fun for your favorite team's colors on game day or school colors for graduation!
You could also give these a try with peanut or crispy M&M's. However, I think my favorite might be turning these into Peanut Butter M&M Cookie Bars...what do you think about that?!!
To cut these cookie bars with clean edges, here's how to do it: Let the pan of bars cool completely (refrigerate to speed up this process). Use a knife to cut the bars down the center (so you're only working with half of the pan at a time). Remove an entire half from the pan onto a cutting board and cut with a chef's knife; repeat with the other half.
Simply put, don't overbake them! One of the things I love most about this recipe is the chewy, dense interior of these bars. Overbaking them will make them more crunchy and less chewy.
Store these in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also opt to freeze them in well-sealed freezer bags or in an airtight container.
Other Cookie Bars You'll Love!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel Bars
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M&M Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ⅓ cups M&M's divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, brown sugar and sugar. Beat for about a minute, or until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and the vanilla; mix well, scraping down the sides to make sure the ingredients are all incorporated.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt; mix until combined.
- Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of the M&M's.
- Spread the cookie dough into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
- Sprinkle the remaining M&M's over the dough and press in lightly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown. (Don't overbake or the center will crunchy, rather than chewy!)
- Let cook, then cut into squares and enjoy!!
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