M & M Cookie Bars

M&M cookie bars are an easy-to-make dessert that is delicious and satisfying. Making these bars ahead of time will save time and effort when you are ready to eat them. These take just 10 minutes to mix and 20 minutes to bake.

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Whip up a batch of these deliciously sweet M&M cookie bar treats for your next 3:00 pm afternoon craving. They are as easy as making the dough and baking it in your baking pan instead of making cookies. These store well and can be customized with a variety of ingredients such as chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc.

Why make these bars?

• This bar recipe is adapted from my chocolate chip cookie bars, which have a soft and chewy texture, loaded with lots of sweet M&M candy. 
• I am using an electric mixer (hand mixer). But you can also use a large bowl and a whisk. 
• And most of the ingredients are simple pantry staples or easy to find, such as the candy.
• Also, these can be made in just about 30 minutes from start to finish.  
• This is a kids’ favorite treat, so make sure to double the recipe.
• And the process for these M&M bars is also very simple and straightforward, with no chilling time in between required before baking.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Flour – It’s best to use plain all-purpose flour for these cookies. They will spread, but that is what they are supposed to do.
• Butter – Use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt. But if salted butter is all you have, use it and omit salt in the recipe. And make sure the butter is at room temperature, not melted. Otherwise, the bars will be very soft and puffy.
• Sugars – We have both light brown sugar and white sugar, and they are both necessary. The brown adds softness to the cookie, while the white adds that crispness.
• Vanilla – Use good-quality vanilla extract, as it does make a huge difference. I use my homemade vanilla extract.
• M&Ms – Of course, I am using classic M&Ms, but you can also use similar candy if you prefer. Make sure to be generous, after all, we want to make sure each bite has at least a few candies in there.

Step-by-step: How to make the best M&M cookie bars

• Preheat oven to 350°F / 177°C / Gas Mark 4. Line a 9 x 9-inch square cake pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang so you can lift the baked bar out easily.
  Pro tip – You can also use a baking dish and line it with foil.

• Dry ingredients – In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – Set aside.
• Wet ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both white sugar and brown sugar until almost light and fluffy.
  Pro tip – It is important to cream until the sugar has almost dissolved. Otherwise, the cookie bars will not be soft.
• Next, add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and flour mixture.
  Pro tip – Once you add the flour, do not overmix, as we do not want to activate the gluten in our flour.

• Finally, add the M&M candy and stir or fold gently to combine with a spatula to prevent them from breaking.
  Pro tip – This cookie dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to a month in freezer bags.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle additional M&Ms on top of the dough.

• Bake in a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges start to get golden brown.
• Remove and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. While still warm, cut into 16 squares as shown in the video.
  Pro tip – You can sprinkle a teaspoon of sea salt on top of the baked bars, too.
• Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• Cream the butter and sugars well so the cookie bars are soft and chewy.
• Use the right baking pan (9 x 9-inch square pan or 8 x 8- inch square pan), not bigger or smaller. Otherwise, the bars will be too thin or too thick.
• Do not over-bake. Otherwise, these will become dry very easily. It is best to underbake them rather than over bake these.
• Make sure to use a generous amount of M&M and stir them well so they are well distributed.
• Be gentle and fold the M&Ms in the dough as they bread easily.
• You can use regular or peanut butter M&Ms. You can also substitute some M&Ms with chocolate chips.
• Cut the bars while they are still warm to get fewer crumbs.

Variations

• Holiday – These use only the red and green holiday M&Ms for Christmas.
• 4th of July – Using only red, white, and blue M&Ms, make the perfect 4th of July cookie bars.
• Chocolate chips – Add a few white chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips to make chocolate chip M&M cookie bars. 
• You can also add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the dough to make a peanut butter M&M cookie bar.
• Toffee flavor – Use all dark brown sugar with melted butter for a rich toffee flavor in these bars.
• Cookies – Of course, you can scoop this dough into cookie dough balls and bake for 10 to 12 minutes to make M&M cookies instead of bars.

More cookie bar recipes

• Snickerdoodle Bars
• Gingerbread Bars
• White Chocolate Cranberry Bars
• Apple Pie Bars with Crumble
• Best Cherry Bars or Best Apricot Crumble Squares
• Cranberry Shortbread Squares
• Chocolate Pecan Squares
• Chocolate Marzipan Squares – Christmas Treats
• Recipe for Pecan Pie Brownies or Pecan Blondies
• See all bars and blondies or brownies

Frequently asked questions

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