Peanut M&M Cookies
Peanut M&M cookies are clouds of soft peanut butter goodness packed with crunchy peanut M&M’s. This one-bowl recipe is easy to make and simply delicious!
M&M’s have got to be my favorite candy. Recently I’ve been reaching for peanut M&M’s and decided to add them to peanut butter cookie dough to create peanut M&M cookies.
There’s something about the crunchy outer shell covering milk chocolate that really gets my sweet tooth going. It’s crunchy, it’s smooth, it’s sweet, and—with the peanuts—even a little salty. I love grabbing a handful and snacking on them when I want a little something sweet.
I was snacking on peanut M&M’s the other day and realized I had never included M&M’s in a cookie recipe (gasp!) Even though I love M&M’s in cookies when I’m at a bakery, I have yet to include them in my own baking.
Peanut butter M&M cookies
Since peanut M&M’s have been a favorite of mine recently, I opted to use them in a cookie recipe. I kept with the peanut theme and used an easy peanut butter cookie recipe as my base. But seriously, this recipe so easy.
Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, peanut butter and flour—the basics make up this peanut butter cookie recipe. The dough creates a soft, pillow-like cookie with tons of peanut butter flavor. And in my opinion, peanut butter cookies deliver that “melt in your mouth” experience, which makes them all the more irresistible.
But things get really fun when you stir in the peanut M&M’s.Not only do they add a ton of color to the cookie dough, but they also add a lot of texture. Between the candy coating and the peanuts, the M&M’s really are the star of this cookie recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, regular m&m’s may be used in this recipe.
No-stir creamy peanut butter works best for these cookies. I prefer Skippy no-stir all natural peanut butter.
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Place cookie dough in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before scooping and baking.
Recipes with peanut M&M’s
In addition to these peanut butter cookies, there are a handful of recipes that call for peanut M&M’s. Here are just a few of my favorites peanut M&M desserts…
Peanut M&M cookies are by far my favorite peanut butter cookie I have ever eaten. Fresh out of the oven they gently fall into bite-size pieces revealing colorful M&M’s that gently crack open and ooze with chocolate.
With that kind of description it’s easy to understand why these peanut M&M cookies didn’t last long in my house. Little do my friends know that I stashed away some of the cookie dough in the freezer to bake when the holidays come around!
Get the Recipe: Peanut M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113 g) salted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup (185 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups (305 g) Peanut M&Ms
Instructions
- In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light a fluffy, about three minutes. Add peanut butter and mix until combined (about 30 seconds). Add egg and vanilla and mix until combined (about 30 seconds).
- With the mixer on low, slowly mix in the flour and baking soda just until incorporated. Be careful not to over-mix. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the peanut M&Ms.
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and form balls of dough about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place them on the cookie sheet and gently press the balls down slightly (they won't spread much while baking). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be soft and look undone. Don't worry, they will firm up as they cool.
- After cooling for a couple minutes on the cookie sheet, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
21 Comments on “Peanut M&M Cookies”
I need a cookie! Thanks for linkin’ up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Thanks, Karly! Cookies for everyone 🙂
Bake these for at least 12 minutes! I baked mine at 9 (and they were on the smaller side) but they were not cooked at all. Pull them from the oven when the edges brown and they’ll be the perfect soft chewy texture. Took about 12 minutes
Good Recipe! I would agree with another commenter that they need just a little longer in the oven, but other than that, they’re great!
I’m not the baker in my family but my late sister was. I can hack it on the bbq, stove or oven. But I call this the “unicorn cookie”….. peanut butter with oats dough, add chocolate chips. Don’t worry about raisins, that’s what raisin bran is for. You’ll have to R&D it for sure.
Merry Christmas…. this idea is all yours. I’ll check in for your recipe.
Now try the same with jalapeño flavor M & M’s. You’ll have to order them online.
SOOO YUMMY!
These were amazing!! Melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Baked for 10-11 minutes, let them cool, and they were perfect. Added about a teaspoon of salt for a little pizazz. Thanks for the recipe!
Will it still work without the baking soda? I have everything else.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I just changed it to extra crunchy peanut butter since that is what I enjoy. It is better than the recipe I had for M&M’s cookies. ✅ 😀
Delicious! I was skeptical about using the peanut candies because I thought they were too big but I was wrong.
What can I replace peanut butter with?
What do you think of using Nutella in stead of peanut butter? I do not have any peanut butter on hand right now.
Thank you! My husband loves peanut M&Ms and wanted peanut butter cookies with these in them. Not sure how long they were in the oven as I set my phone timer for 10 hours instead of minutes! Luckily they turned out are perfect and are delish!! I will be making more!
These did not turn out for me. I think they might need more butter. Mine had the consistency of sand. They also did not spread.
Hi Carsten – It sounds like the dough was too dry. Did you measure your flour properly? Use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour. If you don’t have a scale, fluff up your flour with a fork, spoon it into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Do not scoop flour directly from the bag or pack it into the cup. I hope you try the recipe again!
Can whole wheat flour be used instead of white flour? Thank you for your time.
Whole wheat flour has more protein than regular flour so the cookies will not be as soft. Other than that, it will work.
I’m wondering if you have tried substituting bread flour to use instead of all purpose flour in this recipe? Has anyone tried that & found deliciously chewy awesome results?
Haven’t tried them that way, but if someone wants to but doesn’t have the specialty flour, try this: in each cup of fluffed flour, remove 2 tbsp of flour and add 2 tbsp corn starch.
Made these for my granddaughter for chocolate chip cookie day (she loves chocolate and I don’t). Most of them I pressed in on the top side extra mini chocolate chips for hers and she loved them.