These Christmas M&M peanut butter cookies are chewy, packed with peanut butter and filled with chocolate chips and M&Ms. They’re quick and easy to make – no need to chill the dough – and have the best peanut butter flavor and soft cookie texture. Using red and green M&Ms make these an easy holiday treat.
I love to make a batch of my Christmas M&M cookies every year. They’re so simple to make, super chewy, and the red and green M&Ms make them look especially festive without requiring any extra effort. So this year, making this peanut butter version seemed like the obvious next step.
These Christmas M&M peanut butter cookies are thick and chewy with a BIG peanut butter flavor, tons of chocolate chips and packed with holiday M&Ms. There’s no need to chill the dough, so you can go from ingredients to warm, fresh out of the oven cookies in very little time.
Making Peanut Butter M&M Cookies
I’m including step-by-step photos and recipe tips below to show you exactly what each step should look like.
- Start by preheating the oven to 350F (180C) and lining your cookie sheets. I always line my cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats so that the bottoms don’t get too crispy.
- Then in a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and peanut butter until creamy and no lumps remain. **Make sure to use commercially prepared peanut butter and not something where the oil sits on top. Using natural or homemade peanut butter will lead to inconsistent results.
- Then beat in the egg and vanilla extract. For easier mixing, the egg should be at room temperature.
- Add in the dry ingredients, then carefully mix them together. I recommend sifting in the dry ingredients if your flour looks lumpy. You’ll also want to start with the mixer on a low speed and gradually increase to a medium speed to avoid the flour going everywhere.
- Then stir in your chocolate chips and M&Ms – do this by hand so that you don’t crush the M&Ms with your electric mixer. I always like to reserve some for dotting on the top of the baked cookies.
- Scoop the dough into balls with about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of dough each – I got around 30 cookies in total. Place the cookie dough balls about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for about 9-12 minutes, or until the tops look almost set. You can then place a few extra chocolate chips and M&Ms on top of each cookie.
These cookies are also great for prepping ahead of time. You can make the dough, form it into balls, and then place the cookie dough balls in a freezer bag. They’ll bake from frozen, as directed in the recipe. They’ll just require 1 or 2 extra minutes.
Big, chewy, and packed with peanut butter – these Christmas M&M peanut butter cookies are so easy to make and perfect for your cookie exchange.
And for more easy Christmas cookies, then be sure to try:
Christmas M&M Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (158 grams) light or dark
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (167 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup red and green M&Ms (about 140 grams)
- ¾ cup chocolate chips (135 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line cookie trays with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and peanut butter until you no longer see lumps of butter or brown sugar (granules are fine and expected - you just don't want lumps).
- Then beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
- Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. If the flour looks lumpy, then sift in first. Mix together, starting with the mixer on a low speed and gradually increasing until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and M&Ms. I typically reserve a few tablespoons of chocolate chips and M&Ms for placing on the top of the warm cookies.
- Scoop the dough into balls with about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of dough each. Place the dough balls about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 1 tray at a time in the middle of the oven for about 9-12 minutes, or until the tops look just set.
- Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the cookie tray for at least 10 minutes. While the cookies are fresh out of the oven (while they're still cooling) optionally, place a few extra chocolate chips and M&Ms on top of each cookie.
Notes
- Peanut Butter: Be sure to use commercially prepared peanut butter. Do not use anything where the oil sits on the top (such as natural or homemade varieties) because you can end up using different amounts of oil leading to inconsistent results.
- Doubling the Recipe: This recipe can easily be doubled - you will just need a very large bowl.
- Freezing the Cookies: Unbaked cookie dough balls can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen as directed in the recipe - they'll likely just need 1-2 more minutes. Baked and cooled cookies can be frozen for up to 2 months in a freezer container or bag. I recommend placing a sheet of wax paper between each layer of cookies to avoid them sticking together. Thaw in the fridge.
- Storage: Fresh cookies are always best. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 30 uniform cookies.
Nutrition
Trish Lambert
I don’t see how much peanut butter to put in these. I am sorry if I overlooked it. Could you please let me know. Thanks I enjoy making your recipes. Never been disappointed.
Fiona
Hi Trish – I’m so sorry about that! I’ve updated the recipe