When I met Shane, he was living with three friends from college. After spending a little time with these guys, there was one in particular (we’ll call him Ben) that I couldn’t help but think might be a good match for one of my best friends from college (and let’s call her Lauren). I set them up, and long story short, they wound up getting married a few years later. Even better, shortly after Shane and I bought our house and moved to this town, Ben and Lauren bought their first house about 10 minutes down the road from us. It’s been so much fun to have them so close, especially since the remainder of our friends have stayed up around Boston.
Ben and Lauren had their first baby about a year and a half ago so they’re pretty busy these days, but Lauren and I still try to get together as often as possible. About once a month we jump in the car and head down to Trader Joe’s to spend obscene amounts of money. Trader Joe’s is a lot like Target for me – even if I only go in for one thing, I rarely walk out having spent less than $40. But anyway, after we work up an appetite we usually head across the parking lot to Panera for lunch. Love that place! If you’ve been to Panera recently you know they now have the cards they swipe when you make a purchase, and from time to time you’ll earn free things. A few months ago, I had a free pastry on my card, so I snagged an M&M cookie, mainly because it was right next to the register and was therefore the first thing I saw.
I was too full to eat my cookie after lunch, but I threw it in a bag and brought it home. We probably had plenty of sweets sitting around our house at the time, so the cookie wasn’t a high priority but eventually I did get around to trying it. And oh my word, it was so much better than I expected! I remember thinking it was essentially going to be a chocolate chip cookie made with M&M’s rather than chips, and I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to have a sugar cookie base. It was perfectly soft and chewy (my favorite kind of cookie!) and I have basically been wanting to recreate it at home ever since. I probably would have done it sooner, but I’d been holding out to find mini M&M’s, which I prefer for baking. I searched everywhere, but couldn’t find them so recently I decided just to make them with traditional M&M’s. (Anyone know where I might be able to buy some minis??)
I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe to make these copycat M&M cookies. It contains a few slightly unusual ingredients like cream cheese and oil, but the cookies consistently bake up with the best super chewy texture so I’m not going to complain. You can also make the entire recipe in just two bowls without the need for a mixer so that’s a plus! I’m not a big fan of chocolate chips in cookies, but I just love M&M’s, and these cookies definitely hit the spot, helping me to satisfy my craving for the Panera cookie without having to change out of my pajamas π
Chewy M&M Sugar Cookies
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 oz) sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
2 oz cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/4 cups M&M’s
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine 1 1/2 cups of sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl (no need to stir them together yet). Put the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a pie plate and set aside. Pour the warm butter over the cream cheese mixture and whisk to combine – the mixture won’t be completely smooth yet, that’s fine. Whisk in the oil then the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to start folding the dry ingredients into the wet. When the dry ingredients are partially incorporated, add 3/4 cup of the M&M’s to the dough. Continue mixing until a soft dough comes together. (Don’t wait to add the M&M’s until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated – you’ll end up overmixing.)
Portion the dough onto the prepared baking sheets with a cookie scoop, using about 2 tablespoons for each cookie. Working quickly (if you handle the dough too much you’re more likely to wind up with flat cookies), roll the dough into a ball with your hands then roll in the sugar set aside in the pie plate previously. Repeat until you’ve used all of the dough, placing 12 cookies on each baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the dough balls into discs that are about 2 inches in diameter. Gently press 2 or 3 more M&M’s into the top of each cookie.
Bake the cookies, 1 tray at a time, for about 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are set. The tops will be puffy and slightly cracked. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.
Makes about 24 cookies
Some cute and colourful… I bet kids will love it.
thanks for the review/info on the C.I. sugar cookie recipe. I have their cookbook and I was wondering about it but I love their choc chip cookie recipe (I cream rather than melt my butter) but I love the C.I. recipes and these look so good..and chewy!
Boy do I love panera. These cookies look wonderful! Gorgeous pics!
These look so chewy and delicious! Love this recipe!
I haven’t found a sugar cookie that I’ve absolutely loved (kind of like the chocolate chip cookie dilema). But these look great! The whoever is was that thought to put M&Ms into a sugar cookie sounds like a genious!
Oh, these look yummy. I have company coming this weekend and I’ll test them out on them.
These look great. Now I know what to do with the bag of mini m&ms I have in the pantry.
Looks great! I’ve actually been wanting to make M&M cookies..my son loves M&M’s. I found the mini ones at Bulk Barn. I don’t know if you have that in the States. Have you tried any of the bulk food stores?
I’m not crazy about sugar cookies unless they’re soft… and have m&ms! π
I’m not a big fan of sugar cookies, but your pictures make the cookie look delicious!
I can get mini M&M’s at my local Wal-Mart, in the candy aisle.
I love chewy sugar cookies… And, the M&Ms sound like the perfect addition! I need a kid-friendly dessert for a get together next week, so I will keep this one in mind!
I can find the mini M & M around the holidays in the baking aisle or the candy aisle of my grocery store (Wegman’s). But the rest of the year, I can usually find them in the bulk food section.
It’s so nice to have friends close! Panera is one of my favorite places to eat lunch and I adore their cookies. As much as I love homemade, I jump inside when I have a free sweet on my Panera card! These look amazing though. Must try!
I’m always able to find mini m&m’s at my CVS. I find it strange that they are the only place I can always find them.
I don’t go to Panera enough to get free stuff, but man, if Target or TJ’s had that, I’d be getting free stuff A LOT more haha..I love a chewy sugar cookie. I always want to recreate the ones from Potbelly’s. They’re just the perfect consistency and yours looks perfect too!
YUM! those look delicious! i love the bright pops of color from the m &ms! thanks for sharing! love your blog!
Oh my, these cookies look perfect!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.co.uk/
I can’t remember if I’ve tried these sugar cookies or not. I think so, but obviously I need to make them again. =) We only have a couple of Panera stores in Austin, and unfortunately I don’t live close to one. But I might have to go on my next day off. =) Oh, and I can find mini m&ms here, but I think they’d melt on the way if I tried to send you some.
OMG these cookies look so cute, I love sugar cookies and M&Ms they are both great when paired!
I find my mini mm’s in the candy aisle of walmart. Right by all of the other bags of MM Flavors. Last time I think they were in a light blue bag. I find them there year round
I love chewy cookies, enough to bake these. I am debating if I will have time, tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions on where to find the minis! I’m on a quest, I’ll keep you posted π
Usually you can find a tube of mini M&MS around the registers at walmart.
Love your blog!
I love sugar cookies…these are adorable π
last night i dreamt of sugar cookies (its a a baking blogger hazard π ) I am keen to try these! The M7M make them look so happy!
Yum! I love the idea of using a sugar cookie base for M&M cookies instead of a chocolate chip cookie base. These look delicious!
I like how the M&M’s pop on these cookies. I’m thinking about making them using red and blue M&M’s for Baking GALS in July. I have a Panera pretty close to my office and I love their frequent flyer card. It’s dangerous with getting free sweets and bagels!
I had no idea Panera had cards now! So fun! I guess now I have a reason to visit more often. π
I used to love the m&m sugar cookies from the grocery store bakeries and these look just like them!
I always seem to end up with a few leftover ounces of cream cheese–I can’t wait to give these a try soon!
These look fantastic. I bought mini M&M’s on sale at Kroger last week for our candy jar! If we are using minis do we still use one and a fourth cup?
@Liv – Thanks! Yes, I would use the same quantity of mini M&M’s in the cookies (if I could ever find them) π You’ll have a few more per cookie, but the same volume of chocolate overall if that makes sense.
Hey…I just saw this picture on Foodgawker and couldnβt stop appreciating the clicks!! The recipe sounds delish!!! My kids love M&M cookies, so colorful.
I get my Mini M&M’s from Nuts.com ;
what a great website- I love them! Be careful, it’s hard not to spend a ton of money. http://nuts.com/chocolatessweets/m-m/milk-mm-bits.html They also have dark chocolate ones: http://nuts.com/chocolatessweets/toppings/chips/semisweet-bits.html
This recipe looks so good- glad to have a use for those mini M&M’s I have!
Tracey, these cookies are the best cookies EVER! I can not thank you enough for sharing this recipe! And amazingly, my cookies turned out as perfect looking as yours did (which isn’t usually the case when I make things.) Anyway, this recipe has such a GREAT “sugar cookie taste”, that next time I make these, I might leave out the M&M’s and make sugar cookies. I know this isn’t a “roll out and cut with cookie cutters” kind of a recipe, but frosting these PERFECTLY round cookies are so much easier than rolling out and cutting out anyway! If ANYONE is debating on making these, please don’t! This is such a GREAT recipe! You WILL NOT be disappointed! I know I will be making these cookies ALL. OF. THE. TIME!!!!!!!! THANK YOU TRACEY for sharing all of your wonderful recipes! Jodie
My boyfriend made a batch of these cookies last night. They turned out perfectly! Easy to follow recipe and we had all of the ingredients on hand since I love m&ms. Our oven runs a bit hot so one batch browned more than I wanted but we started at 11 minutes on the next batch and they were fantastic! Thank you for this great recipe!
Cookies are looking fantastic!