Fourth Of July Chocolate Chip Cookies

These red, white and blue cookies are the perfect Fourth of July dessert , soft, chewy, and bursting with chocolate and colorful M&Ms. Whether you’re baking for a summer BBQ, Memorial Day picnic, or a patriotic party tray, this easy cookie recipe always brings the fun.

A group of cookies with red, white, and blue M&Ms, chocolate chips, and sprinkles on a counter with one cookie missing a bite.

Why We Love These Red White And Blue M&M Cookies

Perfect for summer holidays – Great for the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and any patriotic celebration.
Great for sharing – Bring them to bake sales, BBQs, road trips, or even for a lemonade stand for older kids to earn some vacation money.
Easy to make a big batch – This simple cookie recipe doubles or triples easily when you’re baking for a crowd.
Kid-friendly to make – A fun recipe for kids to help with, especially pressing in the red, white and blue M&Ms!.

Bake with more colorful Red White And Blue M&Ms! These thick and chewy M&M cookie bars with Red White And Blue candies are always a hit, or start with a brownie mix and make Fudgy Brownie Mix cookies full of lots of red white and blue M&Ms too!

Ingredients For Red White And Blue M&M Cookies

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.

all purpose flour
baking powder – this gives the cookies a little extra lift
baking soda – we are using both baking soda and baking powder in these cookies to give them both lift and spread, so we end up with a plump, soft and chewy cookies that melts in your mouth. You need an acid when you add baking soda, and our brown sugar will be enough to balance the cookies
salt – a little salt brings out the sweetness without making the cookies salty, don’t leave it out!
white sugar – also called granulated sugar
brown sugar – you can use light or dark brown sugar, both are delicious. Dark brown sugar will give a bit more of the caramel molasses flavor, but use what you have.
butter – You can use unsalted or salted butter in these cookies, both are fine.
egg
vanilla extract
chocolate chips – I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate or even a different flavor if you prefer.
red white & blue M&M’s – Red, white, and blue M&Ms are usually a limited-edition summer release . So if you love this cookie, stock up early! They start disappearing fast after the 4th. Or swap in regular M&Ms or another holiday colored pack if you can’t find the red white and blue ones.

Serious chocolate fans should check out my Triple Chocolate S’mores cookies too! They work so well on a platter together with these Red White And Blue cookies!

How To Make Red White And Blue Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly oil the pan.
Add butter, brown sugar and white sugar together in a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer cream together butter and sugar on medium until fluffy.
Crack egg and add vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix the ingredients well until combined.

A metal mixing bowl with creamed butter and sugar for red white and blue m&m cookie dough with an egg and vanilla in bowls nearby.

A metal mixing bowl with wet ingredients mixed together for red white and blue M&M cookie dough with the dry flour ingredients in a bowl nearby.

In a medium mixing bowl add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix the dry ingredients until combined.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well on first a low setting then a medium setting until the dry ingredients are fully mixed into the wet ingredients and a dough forms.

A metal bowl of cookie dough on a counter with red white and blue M&Ms, chocolate chips and sprinkles in bowls nearby.

Stop the mixer and add in the chocolate chips and M&M’s to the dough. Gently mix on low. You can also do this step with a silicone spatula. Mixing the dough on medium or high can cause the M&Ms sometimes to crack.

Use a cookie scoop for even portions. This can make it a lot less stressful when baking with kids as they can help scoop. Cookies that are all similar in size will bake more evenly. This keeps you from having a pan with some over baked cookies, and some not quite done.

A metal mixing bowl containing cookie dough with red, white, and blue M&Ms, chocolate chips and sprinkles with a bowl of M&Ms nearby.

A bowl of cookie dough for Red White And Blue M&M cookies after mixing.

Scoop the dough with a cookie scoop onto a cookie sheet, about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time. Press a couple extra M&M’s into the top of each dough to decorate the cookies.

Want to make baking cookies even easier for younger helpers? Portion the dough and set out a small bowl of M&Ms just for decorating the tops. This gives the youngest bakers a job they can feel confident helping with and makes the cookies even prettier, even if some of the M&Ms end up in their tummy!

A cookie scoop holds raw cookie dough with red, white, and blue candies being portioned for Red White And Blue M&M cookies.

A baking sheet lined with parchment paper holds eight cookie dough balls with red, white, and blue M&Ms before baking.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies just begin to brown around the edges but are still a little gooey in the middle. Cool on a cooling rack, then enjoy.

A baking sheet with red white and blue M&M cookies after baking in rows close up from the edge of the pan.

Variations And Other Add-Ins

Peanut Red White And Blue M&Ms make a delicious substitute for regular and are sold in patriotic color packs in stores. I’ve also seen white chocolate bars with red and white chocolate pieces that could be chopped up in these cookies, though they were only released seasonally.

Get creative and add other red white and blue chocolates you might find seasonally closer to summer holidays.

You could also pick a different flavor of M&Ms, try crunchy pretzel, special dark chocolate, or any of the limited release flavors they regularly have.

FAQ For Red White And Blue M&M Cookies

What’s the best way to pack these for a picnic or BBQ without melting the chocolate?

Layer the cookies in a rigid container with parchment between the layers. Keep them in a cool or shaded spot until serving. If it’s going to be really hot, I may keep the cookies in the fridge before I leave.

Will the M&Ms bleed in the dough?

If your kitchen is humid or the butter or dough is too warm, the candy coating may bleed a little. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 15–30 minutes if you notice this happening!

Why are some M&Ms cracked after baking, and can I prevent it?

M&Ms sometimes crack from oven heat or if pressed too hard into the dough, like mixing them on too high a speed. Adding a few candies to the tops of the cookies right before baking, rather than mixing in all the candies will help the cookies stay pretty.

Can I color the dough red, white, and blue too?

After the dough is mixed (but before adding chocolate chips or M&Ms), divide it into three bowls. Add red gel food coloring to one, blue to another, and leave the third plain for white. Once the colors are evenly mixed, gently fold the chocolate chips and M&Ms into each bowl separately.

Skip the liquid food coloring, it’s not vibrant enough and adds too much moisture. At this stage, it can make the dough sticky, streaky, and your cookies won’t bake up nearly as pretty.

Can You Freeze The Cookie Dough?

Cookie dough can be frozen for up to 3 months.

I recommend portioning the dough out into dough balls and freezing them on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, place a layer of freezer paper or parchment in between the cookie dough balls in a freezer container or freezer zip-top bag for longer stroage.

The cookie dough balls can be placed from frozen straight on the pan. Frozen dough may need an extra minute or two to bake from frozen. Be sure to watch the cook time carefully and adjust as needed.

Swap white or peanut butter chocolate chips for regular chocolate chips