An easy high altitude recipe for six big M&M cookies that are soft and chewy in the middle with crisp edges. Make these with seasonal M&Ms for any occasion or holiday, or use chocolate chips instead.
You might also love these high altitude cookie recipes for iced walnut poppy seed cookies, red velvet chocolate chip cookies, and almond paste cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Reader Favorite Recipe. If today’s recipe seems familiar to you, then you’ve probably already made my popular high altitude chocolate chip cookies. They’re the perfect soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie. I based today’s M&M cookies on my original recipe by using the same basic dough, but with M&Ms instead of chocolate chips. And instead of small cookies, I divided the dough into six portions for six big cookies.
Perfect for Holidays. I love that M&Ms come in so many color assortments for the holidays. I used a pastel mix for Easter, but there’s also Christmas, Halloween, July 4th or Valentine’s Day, to name a few.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Sugar. A combination of white and brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture, as well as subtle hints of caramel and molasses from the brown sugar. The sugar also helps the cookies to spread and contributes to the crispy edges.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. A good amount of salt is essential in these cookies to enhance the flavor of the candy and balance the sweetness.
- Corn Starch. A small amount of corn starch tenderizes cookie dough for soft, chewy cookies.
- M&Ms. Use any assortment of colors to make these cookies for various seasons and holidays. For Easter, you could even use chopped Cadbury mini eggs instead of M&Ms.
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, until smooth.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, salt and baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until no more flour remains. Let the dough sit at room temperature to cool for 10 minutes.
- Stir the M&Ms (or chocolate chips) into the cooled dough. The dough will be thicker now than it was before cooling.
- Weigh your dough, then divide the dough into 6 equal portions (this should be about 122 grams of dough per cookie). Shape each portion into smooth balls, and flatten the balls into thick disks measuring about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a 13×18 inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chilled dough on the baking sheet and bake the cookies for about 15-17 minutes, until the edges are set, but the centers are still slightly soft, and the color is pale golden brown.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are hot, press a few more M&Ms on top of the cookies for decoration.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Cool cookies completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap well and freeze for 3-6 months.
For smaller cookies, divide the dough into 12 portions, shape into balls, and flatten slightly. Chill for 25 minutes, then bake for about 9-10 minutes.
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High Altitude M&M Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp corn starch
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup M&Ms (or chocolate chips)
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, until smooth.
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, salt and baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until no more flour remains. Let the dough sit at room temperature to cool for 10 minutes.
- Stir the M&Ms (or chocolate chips) into the cooled dough. The dough will be thicker now than it was before cooling.
- Weigh your dough, then divide the dough into 6 equal portions (this should be about 122 grams of dough per cookie). Shape each portion into smooth balls, and flatten the balls into thick disks measuring about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a 13×18 inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chilled dough on the baking sheet and bake the cookies for about 15-17 minutes, until the edges are set, but the centers are still slightly soft, and the color is pale golden brown.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are hot, press a few more M&Ms on top of the cookies for decoration.
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