My thick and chewy bakery-style chocolate M&M cookies come together in the time it takes to preheat the oven! This cookie recipe makes just 9 large M&M cookies in 30 minutes and the cookie dough uses a blend of black cocoa and natural unsweetened cocoa powder for a dark and intense, complex chocolate flavor that goes so well with the milk chocolate centers from the candy.
I've got a lot of great cookie recipes on my site, but when you want thick, chewy bakery-style chocolate cookies and you don't have a lot of time, my no-chill chocolate M&M drop cookie recipe is exactly what you need.
These chocolate M&M cookies are a combination of so many of my favorite things: lots of texturally satisfying mix-ins, a chewy texture that melts in your mouth, and three different types of chocolate. They are fun to make, fun to look at, and fun to eat. I love them so, so much.
Thanks to a small batch, no-chill cookie dough, this is a fast cookie recipe that makes 9 cookies in about 30 minutes (as long as you remember to soften your butter first!). And yes, that 30 minutes includes bake time.
5-Star Reader Review
“I LOVE this recipe!!! I made it a couple of weeks ago to share with friends and family. RAVE reviews from everyone. One friend said it was so good she cried a little. I just made them again and have no one to share them with and that’s okay with me! I had one with my morning tea. I love the salty/sweet mix of flavors and the richness and look of the black cocoa.”
—Catherine S.
Black cocoa powder might seem like a bit of an unusual ingredient, but I promise it's worth it. Use the leftover black cocoa to make my dramatic black cocoa crinkle cookies or this rich chocolate Oreo bundt cake!
Black cocoa is a type of Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder. Flavor-wise, think of Oreo cookies. It's a little more mellow than other cocoa powders, but distinctly chocolatey. As a Dutch-process cocoa powder, black cocoa has been treated (alkalized) to remove any acidity.
Dutch-process cocoa powders exist on a spectrum based on how much acidity has been removed; black cocoa is the most alkalized and least acidic of the bunch. It doesn't absorb liquid the same way as other cocoa powders, which means you can't really substitute it without it changing the texture of the cookie.
It's unlikely you'll find black cocoa in your grocery store, so I recommend King Arthur Baking's Black Cocoa Powder, which you can order online. The "natural unsweetened cocoa powder" is like the classic box of Hershey's cocoa powder, nothing fancy!
Recipe Instructions
I followed a pretty standard cookie dough-making process in this recipe called the creaming method. First, I cream the butter and sugars together, then I add eggs and vanilla, followed by the dry ingredients.
The Mini M&Ms get stirred in last, always by hand; and I always make sure to save a few to put on top of the cookies before baking. Because this is such a fast cookie recipe, I usually use my hand mixer to make it. But you can use your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, too.
If you don't cream the butter and sugars long enough, the cookies won't spread as much as you want them to. Set a timer for this step if you, like me, are bad at judging how much time has passed.
At this stage, don't worry so much about over mixing, it's pretty hard to do before you add the flour. It's only once you add the flour that you want to be more cautious with your mixing.
You don't want to over mix the dough, so stop the mixer when the cookie dough looks like a bunch of dry pebbles or big crumbs. The cocoa powder will continue absorbing the moisture in the dough as you finish mixing in the M&Ms with a spatula.
Mix just until the Mini M&Ms are evenly distributed in the dough, but do try to avoid over mixing! Over mixing = tough cookies.
Shaping and Baking Giant Bakery Cookies
The way you shape your cookies can have a big effect on how they bake up. I tested several different cookie-shaping methods for these giant bakery-style cookies. I found this method worked best to give me chewy chocolate cookies that were evenly thick throughout.
To portion the cookie dough, I use a #20 cookie scoop that approximately 3 tablespoons of cookie dough.
Roll the dough into balls.
Smush each cookie dough ball down.
Arrange the cookies on a lined sheet pan so they have plenty of room to spread out.
Top each cookie with more mini M&Ms.
Scoot, scoot, scoot!
In most recipes, I will tell you that scooting the cookies is optional or for aesthetic reasons only. For these giant bakery-style chocolate cookies, scooting is not optional. Just like in my chewy buttercrunch cookie recipe, scooting the cookies pushes the tapered edges in, giving the cookies an even thickness so they're chewy throughout!
How to Tell When They're Done
Don't worry if these chocolate M&M cookies look underbaked when they first come out of the oven. They will be domed and slightly puffy with smooth tops and tapered edges. The cookies will continue baking while they rest on the hot sheet pan, and will settle down as you scoot them and then let them cool completely.
After about 5 minutes, carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. I recommend using a thin, flexible fish turner spatula for this step. If the cookies are still too delicate to move, leave them on the sheet pan until they're sturdy enough to lift.
💭 Have More Baking Questions?
I've rounded up answers to common baking questions and how-to guides, including:
- Ingredient swaps and FAQs
- Why my recipes are written in grams and not cups
- How to quickly bring eggs and butter to room temperature
- Ingredients I use (salt, flour, yeast, etc.)
- Step-by-step guides for bread and baking techniques
See my baking techniques & troubleshooting guide and ingredient swaps and FAQs for more!
📖 Recipe
Giant Chocolate M&M Cookies (Chewy, Bakery Style Cookies)
Recipe Notes
- To help the cookie dough release cleanly from the cookie scoop, spritz it VERY LIGHTLY with non-stick spray before scooping. Repeat only as needed, not before every cookie.
- If using a smaller #40 (1.5-2 tablespoon) cookie scoop, bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes.
- If using regular sized M&Ms, chop them up a bit before mixing them in and use whole M&Ms to top the cookies.
- I wouldn't tell you to bother sifting your dry ingredients if it wasn't important. As much as I'd love to tell you it's an optional step, no one likes biting into a sneaky clump of dry cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is less absorbent than flour, which is why the chocolate cookie dough will look super dry and dusty at first.
- Store these chewy chocolate M&M cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. You can also freeze them after baking for up to 3 months.
- To freeze and bake raw cookie dough: Place flattened mini M&M-topped cookie dough discs on a lined sheet pan in the freezer for about an hour, then transfer to an airtight freezer-safe container or bag. Chewy chocolate M&M cookies baked from frozen may not spread as much and will require an additional 5-7 minutes in the oven. For best results, let the dough balls sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking.
Ingredients
- 180 grams all-purpose flour
- 15 grams black cocoa powder
- 15 grams unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch cocoa powder)
- 5 grams diamond crystal kosher salt (see notes for volume measurements)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 113 grams unsalted butter (½ cup, at cool room temperature)
- 125 grams light brown sugar
- 50 grams sugar
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1 cup Mini M&Ms (reserve ⅛ cup for topping the cookies)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Combine flour, cocoa powders, salt, and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use mixer to beat cool room temperature butter until smooth and slightly aerated, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add both sugars, and beat again on medium to high speed until it is fully incorporated, lightened in color, and has about doubled in size. It might not quite smooth out, and will still be quite grainy. Be patient here — we need to incorporate quite a bit of air to help the cookies spread. This step can take 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl halfway through.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat again on medium to high speed light and fluffy, about 60-90 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Press any lumps of cocoa powder through the mesh to break them up. If any salt doesn't fit through the mesh at the end, that's fine, dump it into the bowl.
- Run the mixer on very low speed until the dry ingredients are hydrated but still fairly crumbly. There will still be some dry powdery bits in the bottom of the bowl. The remaining powdery bits will incorporate when you stir in the mini M&Ms so you don't overmix the dough.
- Add the mini M&Ms (reserve about ⅛ cup for topping the cookies) and switch to a spatula. Fold the cookie dough over itself to incorporate the M&Ms. It will seem like there are too many M&Ms at first, but I promise there is no such thing. Just keep folding and pressing the cookie dough over itself with the spatula until the mini M&Ms are evenly incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Use a #20 cookie scoop to scoop the dough, scraping any excess dough off on the edge of the bowl for precise measurements. Roll the dough into balls, then flatten them to about ½" thick. Arrange on a sheet pan about 2-3" apart. You should be able to fit all 9 cookies on one sheet pan. Press additional mini M&Ms into the tops of the cookies.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes. The cookies will look puffy and slightly underbaked when they're done. Let them rest on the sheet pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Optional: Use a 3" circle cookie cutter or ring to scoot the cookies into perfectly round shapes immediately after removing from the oven.
Melinda says
The best cookies ! I am so glad I gave it a whirl and will be using my kitchen scale alot more !! Thank you ! A 11 out of 10 on these beauties !
Nicole W. says
I had all the ingredients on hand and was craving something sweet, so this was perfect! The longest thing about this recipe was bringing the butter to room temperature (which really didn't take all that long!) and I love that it's a small batch recipe, which can be tough to find for cookies. I used regular-sized m&ms (since that's was was in my pantry) and chopped them up as suggested and it worked great! I used the biggest sized cookie scoop I have, which I know is bigger than a standard #40, but possibly is a bit smaller than the #20 as I ended up with 12 cookies instead of 9, but they still came out perfectly baked at 10 minutes. I have no restraint and ate one hot out of the oven and it was very gooey and fell apart in my hands (still delicious!) which had me convinced I'd underbaked them, but once they cooled they were perfectly fudgey. Definitely a recipe I'd recommend and make again!
Beth says
This cookies were such a hit. Super easy to make and the chocolate flavor is out of this world. 12/10 will make again. Going to try with Reese pieces next time.
Hannah says
Oh man, my only regret is that I didn’t make these sooner and that I didn’t have any milk to pair these perfectly chocolate nuggets with. Hands down the best cookies I’ve made all year!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Given the recipe has only been up a week, you made it pretty dang quickly!! No regrets, I’m so glad you liked them!
Amy Champagne says
I made these and they were delicious! My only question is on the salt. I had Morton coarse Kosher salt on hand and weighed out 5 grams and it seemed like a lot. I tried to do some research on morton vs diamond kosher salt to see where they differ (I guess Morton is saltier and denser). In the end, I did only add 4 grams. Still a little on the salty side. I love salty and sweet so they were ok in my book. Next time, maybe I will add the salt to the dry ingredients to make sure its combined well. I was afraid to overmix the dough so the salt may not have been distributed evenly or maybe I will just pick up the diamond brand next time!
Amy Champagne says
ooops just re-read the recipe and see that you said to cut salt in half if using other brands! 🙂
Rebecca Eisenberg says
LOL yup, def reduce the amount of salt! Technically if you're weighing it shouldn't need to be reduced, but Morton's is so chunky it takes longer to break down/dissolve in the cookie dough which is why it probably still tasted so salty. Try cutting it in half next time for sure and you should be right on target!
Gini says
These are lovely! My husband came home and ate half of them before I could stop him. Will make again!
Lisa P. says
I couldn’t resist this recipe when I started holding baking, and I think it’s my favorite this year!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I'm blushing! So thrilled you enjoyed the cookies!
Katie says
I didn’t have black cocoa powder so I used both Dutch processed cocoa and hersheys special dark cocoa (they might be the same thing? I have no idea, it’s just what I had) and these were great! I also used my 2T scoop to make smaller cookies & they were perfect at 9 mins. The first time I made this I used mini M&Ms and they were great. The second time I used Reese’s peanut butter chips & white chocolate chunks and they were even better. This will definitely be my go-to chocolate cookie recipe now!!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
This sounds fantastic so glad you enjoyed them!! The special dark cocoa is different from black cocoa but is a good substitute in a pinch!
IR says
Instant classic! Another TPK winner that I'm currently savoring with a glass of milk. The recipe is so clear about what to look for at each stage--this is what sets the practical kitchen apart from so many other places I read recipes!!
Michelle says
I really want to try these for Easter with the micro mini Cadbury eggs I just bought. But! I don’t have any natural unsweetened cocoa- just Dutch and black. Can you recommend what adjustments to the amount of baking soda I should make? Thanks in advance.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Without testing I can’t guarantee anything. That said, I wouldn’t adjust the baking soda — that’s necessary! But I think there may be enough acidity from the eggs and brown sugar to activate the baking soda. I would try using Dutch cocoa powder in place the natural unsweetened cocoa powder. But if your cookies have a subtle vaguely soapy aftertaste…that would be why! I do think it will be okay, but I haven’t tested it so can’t say for sure. Good luck and let me know how they turn out!
Catherine S says
I LOVE this recipe!!! I made it a couple of weeks ago to share with friends and family. RAVE reviews from everyone. One friend said it was so good she cried a little. I just made them again and have no one to share them with and that’s okay with me! I had one with my morning tea. I love the salty/sweet mix of flavors and the richness and look of the black cocoa.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
This makes me so happy! Enjoy your cookies!
Kristin R says
I’ve been looking for a good chocolate cookie forever. Most are just too dry. This was great. I accidentally bought peanut butter minis instead of regular and it made them even better for me. Thais definitely goes into my Christmas cookie rotation.
Diane says
I have been searching for a thick, ultra chocolatey, chewy cookie for some time now. This is the one! The Practical Kitchen’s chewy chocolate M & M cookies check all the boxes. This recipe is easy, makes just the right amount and satisfies any chocolate craving.
Rachel says
B R O these cookies are KILLER my husband is a hobby baker and loves cookies and cake and things. Black cocoa powder is one of our favorite ingredients so we put it in everything, part of the reason why this recipe was so enticing. And of course, because my husband bakes, he always!! uses the gram measures, so thank you for having those! He tripled the recipe with no stress and I just. I can't get over how good these are. They might be my new fav cookie. Bless!!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Never has a review starting with "B R O" made me blush so hard. Thrilled to hear you and your husband are enjoying the cookies! Black cocoa really just is the freaking best. Happy baking!