M&M Cookie Bars (Large Batch!)
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Soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars are gooey, buttery and delicious! This large batch cookie recipe is packed full of colorful chocolate candies and sweet chocolate chips. Make these delicious cookie bars for parties, picnics, potlucks, BBQ’s, or any time you need a colorful dessert to bring to feed a crowd!
Table of Contents
Why We Love M&M Cookie Bars
- Larger batch recipe for parties– This is the BEST recipe to share at a party. Always a crowd please, these chewy M&M cookie bars baked on a full sheet pan are way faster to make than individual M&M chocolate chip cookies (though those are delicious too!) This is one of those easy recipes everyone should have in their back pocket.
- Gooey Chocolate– Following this recipe will give you gooey, buttery cookie bars just full of colorful chocolate. They are both chocolatly and delicious on a platter and are the perfect treat any time of year.
- Great For Holidays– Fourth of July, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, birthdays or any holiday season. Just change up the color of the M&M chocolates to make them themed for your favorite holiday or party, easy peasy! This is also a great recipe for a cookie exchange and is one of my favorite cookie recipes when I’m baking for a crowd.
Ingredients For M&M Cookie Bars
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- butter unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- brown sugar– light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
- white sugar
- vanilla extract
- large eggs
- flour– all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt – if substituting salted butter, leave out the salt here.
- M&Ms Red, white and blue mix, or other colorful candy-coated chocolate.
- chocolate chips
This recipe does make a thick dough and is best mixed in the bowl of a standing mixer because they have a stronger motor. I recommend either mixing with a stand mixer or by hand (with butter that has softened properly!) Mixing with an electric hand mixer may cause the motor to break because the dough is on the thicker side and there is a lot of dough to fill the pan. These thick and chewy cookie bars are worth the effort!
How To Make M&M Cookie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet (11inches x 17 inches) fully with parchment paper. It can help to line the pan from top to bottom the long way rather than the short direction to ensure the entire pan is lined fully. Some people also like to butter the parchment paper, but it’s not necessary.
- In a large bowl add softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Crack and lightly beat the eggs to break the yolks. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture and fully mix with an electric mixer into the wet ingredients.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time until fully mixed with an electric mixer.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and one cup of the M&M’s until mixed evenly into the cookie dough. The dough is thick so if using a hand mixer this step is best done with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
- Spread the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Take a few extra minutes to press the dough evenly into the pan. See note!
- Sprinkle one cup of M & M’s across the top of the cookie dough.
This dough is thick. When you first lay it on the pan, it almost doesn’t look like enough dough. Take the extra couple minutes to press the dough with clean hands evenly into the pan. The cookie bars will cook more evenly, and you’ll notice once you start spreading the dough it will fit evenly.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges. The edges will be crisp edges, but we want the center to still be a little gooey. When you tip the pan slightly the center of the dough should move a little, but not be raw in the center.
- Allow cookie bars to cool for at least 20 minutes on the pan. Don’t skip this step! The cookie bars continue to bake on the pan, plus can be difficult to move without breaking if you remove them too early.
- Allow the cookie bars to finish cooling completely on a wire rack, clean kitchen towel or on the parchment on the counter. Cut into 36 even bars with a sharp knife, then serve and enjoy!
Variation Ideas
This recipe is so amazing on its own, but here are a few variations that we have loved!
Add Chopped Nuts– chopped pecans, peanuts or walnuts are all delicious in this recipe! I recommend using about a cup of nuts in the cookies themselves and then adding an extra sprinkle of nuts to the top of the bars.
Use Different Flavors Of M&M Candies– There are SO many flavors of M&Ms these days, and they always seem to be changing! Try experimenting with pretzels, fudge, peanut, caramel, mint or my personal favorite, peanut butter M&Ms! You can also change the color for each holiday, like using a red and green Christmas M&M pack for the holidays.
Swap Out The Chocolate– I used semisweet chocolate, but you can also use dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate chips. Other flavors like peanut butter, butterscotch and caramel chips are also delicious and can be swapped cup for cup.
Add Oreos– I’m not telling you what to do with your cookies, but try gently crushing a good two handfuls of Oreos in a zip-top bag and add it to the top of this cookie dough before baking. Delicious!
Top With Ice Cream– Warm cookie bar topped with homemade no churn chocolate chip ice cream, does it get any better? You can also line the pan with parchment paper and then slice the ice cream to make the most amazing cookie and ice cream sandwiches, yum!
How Long Do These Cookie Bars Last?
These M&M cookie bars can be stored on the counter for about 3-4 days in an airtight container. They can also be placed in the refrigerator for about a week or can be frozen for up to a month.
Honestly, they never last more than a few days in our house!
Other Recipes You Will Love
M&M Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 1 11x 17 rimmed baking sheet
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cup brown sugar light brown sugar or dark brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups flour all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups M&Ms Red, white and blue mix, or other colorful candy-coated chocolate.
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.. Line a rimmed baking sheet fully with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl add softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Crack and lightly beat the eggs to break the yolks. Add eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture and fully mix with an electric mixer into the wet ingredients.
- In a separate medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time until fully mixed with an electric mixer.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and one cup of the M&M’s until mixed evenly into the cookie dough. The dough is thick so if using a hand mixer this step is best done with a wooden or silicone spatula.
- Spread the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Take a few extra minutes to press the dough evenly into the pan. See notes below.
- Sprinkle one cup of M & M’s across the top of the cookie dough.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges. when you tip the pan slightly the center of the dough should move a little, but not be raw in the center.
- Allow cookie bars to cool for at least 20 minutes on the pan. Don't skip this step! The cookie bars continue to bake on the pan, plus can be difficult to move without breaking if you remove them too early.
- Allow the cookie bars to cool completely. Cut into 36 even bars, and enjoy!
Notes
Do Not Over Bake!
These cookie bars taste their best when they are a little gooey. If you overbake they become too crispy and go from amazing cookie bars, to just ok. It’s better to under bake these cookie bars a little than to over-bake.Can I Use A Hand Mixer?
This recipe is best made using a stand mixer or by hand. The dough is thick so using a hand mixer could overwork the moter and cause the moter to burn out with this dough.My Cookie Bars Are Too Gooey!
First, let the cookie bars cool all the way before you start slicing. I know it’s really hard to have patience because these bars look really delicious! If after cooling the cookie bars are still too gooey to slice, try sliding the parchment paper with the cookie bars back onto a cookie sheet and sliding them into the refrigerator or freezer for a little bit. This can help the cookie bars to firm up a little bit more before slicing.Do I Have To Use Parchment Paper?
Technically you could skip using parchment paper and oil the pan generously with butter or cooking oil. The tricky part is cookie bars will often stick to the pan if you use a butter or oil method. While they can be sliced in the pan, this may scratch your pan. With parchment paper, you can literally lift the cookies off the pan once they have cooled enough. This makes it really easy on you to have delicious cookie bars that look as beautiful as they taste. You can also use aluminum foil. This will need to be oiled but does lift out easier from the pan than skipping the foil.Pressing Cookie Dough Into Pan Tips
When you first add the dough to the pan it looks like there isn’t enough dough for the full sheet pan. Use your hands to spend a few extra minutes and press the dough evenly into the pan. This dough is thick, and while it may not look like the dough fits, when you spend just a few minutes pressing the dough evenly in the pan it will fit properly. Not spending a few extra minutes to make the dough even may mean the cookie bars cook unevenly, so it’s important not to skip this step!Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
I made these with butter flavor crisco as butter is so expensive. They came out beautiful
Glad you enjoyed them Judy!
If i cut the recipe in half could i use a 9×13 dish? What would bake time be?
Hi Andrea, I’ve never made this recipe that way before. Likely you will have to watch the bake time carefully. Since I haven’t prepared it the way you are suggesting with this recipe, I haven’t tested how long the bake time would be for this version. If you try it, let me know how it goes. -Kristy
I baked this in 2 8×8 pans and it was just right
Can I substitute eggs with something else? Egg allergy.
Applesauce is usually the first thing I try in most baked goods as a replacement for eggs since it has a mild flavor. It will make the cookies denser and a bit softer. You want to use 1/4 cup per egg or 3/4 cup of applesauce total. I have not tried this swap in this specific recipe, but have in other similar recipes and it should work just fine. Let me know how it goes! -Kristy