These extra soft and chewy M&M cookie bars are so easy to make—no mixer, no dough chilling, no individual dough rolling required! You can use a mix of regular and mini M&Ms and chocolate chips for texture variety, and change out the colors to make them festive for a holiday.
Finally a cookie recipe without chilling!
Let’s call these no-chill, no-roll M&M cookies! When you need a big batch of cookies but are pressed for time (or mental energy, LOL), cookie bars are the solution. This recipe makes a generously sized 9×13-inch pan of M&M cookie bars, perfect for sharing, especially at the holidays. Kids love these, but so do adults. Seriously, aside from special diets, have you ever met anyone who would turn down a chewy chocolate chip M&M cookie bar? I’m pretty sure I haven’t!
Here’s Why You’ll Love These M&M Cookie Bars
- Like a bigger batch of soft chocolate chip cookie bars—with colorful M&M candies!
- Makes a large pan to serve a crowd.
- A great recipe for young bakers to help with.
- No mixer, no dough chilling, no dough ball rolling—no fuss!
- Soft in the center, crisp around the edges.
- As easy as a box mix, but way more delicious.
- Add chocolate chips or white chocolate chips for texture variety.
- Choose your color M&Ms to match a holiday or theme.
Unlike these soft-baked M&M cookies, there’s no dough chilling or rolling dough into individual balls and baking in batches. The only waiting you’ll have to suffer through is for the pan to cool for 1 hour before you cut them into bars. (I know, I’m sorry.)
Easy Ingredients, No Mixer
Like with these favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies, using melted butter makes for the softest, chewiest bar cookies. I usually like to use melted butter in bar recipes like brownies and blondies because the bars taste chewy, not cakey. I tested this recipe with creamed softened butter, and the baked result ended up looking more like a puffy sheet cake.
Using melted butter also means you don’t need an electric mixer to make these bar cookies, AND you get that shiny, crackled look on top similar to brownies.
This recipe is similar to the Super Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars on page 28 of Sally’s Cookie Addiction, but I reduced the sugar a bit, since M&Ms are so sweet. We’re doing away with the extra egg yolk, and instead ensuring softness with an extra 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch.
It’s also similar to my smaller recipe for chocolate chip cookie bars, but scaled up to make a full 9×13 pan. Here’s everything you need:
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this recipe.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps these bars rise as they bake.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch gives the cookie bars that ultra-soft consistency we all know and love.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Butter: Use melted butter in this recipe for the chewiest cookie bars. Because we use melted butter, there’s no need to get out your mixer.
- Sugar: I like to use a mix of brown sugar and white granulated sugar this recipe. More brown sugar than white granulated sugar promises an extra soft and chewy cookie bar because there’s more moisture in brown sugar.
- Eggs: Eggs bind everything together and add richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor. If you have any homemade vanilla extract, use that!
- M&M Candies: Use regular-size, mini, or a mix of both. I also like to crush up about 1/4 cup of the M&Ms so some are broken, and sprinkle some on top. Totally optional—just adds some texture variety. You can even use different colors for different holidays. I love using red, white, and blue M&Ms for one of my 4th of July desserts.
- Chocolate Chips: I typically use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but feel free to swap them for white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or butterscotch chips.
Have I Mentioned No Dough Chilling?
Just melt, mix, press, and bake! Chant it in your head while you get out the ingredients. Melt, mix, press, bake! Melt, mix, press, bake! No dough chill! No dough chill!
The dough will be slick from the melted butter, but should be easy enough to spread/press into the pan. In fact, it doesn’t even look like regular cookie dough and you might remember that from a batch of these chewy chocolate chip cookies. Before & after adding your add-ins:
I strongly recommend lining the baking pan with parchment paper (with overhang on the sides) to make cutting into bars easier. Spread the dough into the pan:
It’s almost gooey-like, so it’s easier to spread than regular, creamy-thick cookie dough. Bake for just 26–30 minutes and avoid over-baking:
I press a few more M&Ms and chocolate chips into the tops of the warm cookie bars, for looks. This is optional. Cool the bars for 1 hour inside the pan, then simply lift the whole thing out using the parchment paper lining. Set it onto a cutting board and slice. They’ll still be a bit warm and that’s fine!
Success Tips for M&M Cookie Bars
- Line the pan so you can easily remove the bars as a whole and slice them, just like I recommend when making rice krispie treats, too.
- Don’t over-bake. Check the bars around 24 minutes into baking, and if you notice they’re browning too much, tent foil over the pan for the remaining bake time.
- Wait at least 1 hour to slice, for neat slices.
Feel Free to Pipe Some Buttercream Decor
These M&M cookie bars are fabulous on their own, but then again, a little frosting is always a good idea. My favorite chocolate buttercream is far from basic; it’s incredibly creamy, silky, smooth, and rich. Even though it’s wonderfully creamy, it holds its shape well, and is perfect for piping. It makes a delicious and beautiful finishing touch on this chocolate chip cookie cake, and would have the same effect on these cookie bars if you want to add some flair!
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Andes Mint Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Shortbread Cookies
and here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
Soft M&M Cookie Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 27 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes (includes slight cooling)
- Yield: 24 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Think of these bars as no-chilling, no-rolling EASY M&M cookies! Using melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, and a touch of cornstarch guarantee the absolute softest, chewiest M&M cookie bar texture.
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups (343g) all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for just 5 minutes*
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (about 260g) mini or regular-size M&Ms
- 3/4 cup (135) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Adjust oven rack to the center rack position. Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch metal or glass baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft, slick, and thick. Fold in the M&Ms and chocolate chips. The M&Ms and chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
- Transfer dough to the prepared baking pan and press/smooth into an even layer. Bake for 26–30 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides and top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist (not wet) crumbs. Do not over-bake. If you notice the bars browning too much before 25 minutes, tent the pan with foil. Bars puff up in the oven, but settle as they cool.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for at least an hour. While they’re still warm, I like to press a few more M&Ms and chocolate chips into the tops, just for looks (optional!). Once relatively cool, lift the bars out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into squares.
- Cover leftover bars and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked and cooled cookie bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan or this one | Heavy-Duty Whisk
- Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookie bars will still be soft.
- Butter: Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long, otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft (and your cookie bars can end up cakey). You want it still warm, but not hot enough to begin cooking the eggs.
- M&Ms: You can use regular-size, mini, or a mix of both. I like to crush some of them, too, to sprinkle on the top before baking. Totally optional!
- Do I have to add chocolate chips? You can skip the chocolate chips. If you skip them, increase M&Ms to 1 and 1/2 cups (about 300g). You could also replace the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.
- 9-Inch Square Pan: To make a smaller 9-inch pan of cookie bars, use this similar scaled-down recipe. For the add-ins, use 1 cup (200g) of M&Ms and 1/2 cup (90g) chocolate chips.
Keywords: M&M cookie bars
These are perfect for people who love cookie cake and chocolate chip/M&m cookies. The tips and tricks were right on point! We made twice for holiday events and will be adding to our family recipe box!
★★★★★
This recipe looks good, I never used a whisk and wonder why you made a note about using one for this M & M cookie bars. Is it necessary to use a heavy-duty whisk to mix the dough completely? Can this recipe be made without a whisk?
Hi Lucinda, a whisk helps combine these ingredients. You can use a mixer instead if you’d like.
What an easy and tasty treat! I made these for my son’s family and they used these as their cookies for Santa. But my granddaughter loved them so much she ate them all instead of Santa (she’s only 3 years old!) Everybody has so many things to do this time of year so I appreciate a delicious recipe which took hardly any time. Thank you!
★★★★★
I want to leave them in the pan so they’ll be easy to transport. Would it work if I just substitute some non-stick cooking spray for the parchment?
Hi Nadia, yes, that will work. Enjoy!
Made these yesterday for my great-grandkids, was a hit. Really good!
Love these! So easy and so good!
★★★★★
Mine came out a little too dry, trying to figure out where I went wrong
Hi Dana, Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long, otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a food scale) to measure your flour, otherwise you could over measure the flour which will dry out the dough, too. Hope that helps if you try these again!
Instead of M&Ms, can I chop up some Twix and Kit Kats and use those?
We can’t see why not!
Holy moly! I knew these would be good but they are really, really good! I made them exactly as written and baked 27 minutes. The middle pieces are gooey and the edges crisp so you get some of everything. Love them. Thanks for another great recipe.
★★★★★
Very good! I haven’t make bar cookies in a long time and never made any as good as these. It is a quick and easy recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
These were super easy, cut cleanly, and looked delicious. The texture was the perfect amount of soft and chewy but they didn’t have any real flavor. I was expecting a chocolate chip cookie flavor. My daughter expected a blondie flavor. I probably won’t make them again.
Hi Sally
Do I need to cook the melted butter before mixing it with the dry ingredients?
Cool the butter for 5 minutes after melting. Enjoy!
I made these for a work event and they disappeared! Everyone commented on how delicious they were.
We liked these cookies. I used 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 cup M&Ms. Honestly, it was plenty! Next time I’ll probably use only 1/2 cup of each.
These were a hit! I’ve already shared the recipe, so easy and delicious!
★★★★★
I baked them for 26 minutes and cooled for an hour. When I cut the bars, they almost looked raw in the middle, wasn’t sure if i underbaked? Any suggestions?
Hi Diane, all ovens slightly vary, so feel free to add an additional minute or two of bake time if the middles seemed a bit underbaked. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
These will be good when I finally figure them out. Admittedly I did freeze the dough and let it chill overnight before eventually letting it come to room temp (maybe it was still too cold when I put it in the pan?) but these just would NOT set into a proper cookie texture. The top crisped up fine but the bottom was wet and greasy. If I try them again, I’ll have to use 1.5 sticks of butter instead of two.
★★★
I’m an experienced baker and have a horrible history of messing up M&M cookies even though I try to make them every year. I tried this recipe instead this year and WOW they are good. I used regular and mini m&ms plus chocolate chips and everyone loved them. Thanks Sally!
OMG. These are PERFECT !
No chilling? No scooping? No mixer?! Sign me up!! If they taste half as good as they look and a fraction of how good they smell, I’m going to be very popular at tomorrow’s holiday party!
★★★★★
Made these for a holiday party and they were a hit. Quick and easy. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
I usually have no trouble with your recipes,but mine was not pourable after the egg step.so it was difficult to spread in the pan.what might have gone wrong.i checked and i didn’t miss an ingredient.cheers. They’re in the oven so I’m hoping they’ll still taste delicious 🙂
Hi Vicki, the batter will be somewhat thick so you’ll need to gently press or spread it into the pan, but here are a few other tips. Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long, otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a food scale) to measure your flour, otherwise you could over measure the flour which will dry out the dough, too. Hope you enjoyed these!
I didnt get the shiny top and it took longer to cook— could it be due to my oven (it is a gas oven)?
I made these last night in two half size pans, and stuck one in the freezer. I thought I would have snacks for a few days.
Well, my five year old, three year old, and 1 year old got to the non frozen pan while I dozed off for a few minutes this afternoon, and I woke up to everyone smothered in chocolate and an empty pan:).
How long did you cook them for? I am thinking of using two half sized pans as well. Thank you!
so good!!!!!
★★★★★
Holy moly absolutely mouth watering deliciousness . Just made these 48 hours ago and they’re almost gone. Only thing i added was some PB chips because why not. Anytime I want to bake something I come to this website first and if you don’t have what I’m looking for I usually find something better. Thank you for making my baked goods much more delicious. Next up the freeze dried raspberry sugar cookies or sugar cookie sprinkle bars.
★★★★★
I just made these and they are amazing! Sending the recipe to family members!
★★★★★
Super good recipe – I used mint M&Ms, mint choc chips and drizzled mint chocolate. Certainly lots of mint but texture and taste of the bar itself was delicious.
★★★★★
There’s nothing I love more than a recipe that doesn’t require a mixer or scooping dough/filling muffin tins. Beyond grateful for this very easy and very tasty recipe!
★★★★★
If I wanted to make this exact recipe into a cookie cake and use a 9 inch round springform pan do you have an idea as to how long it would need to bake?
Hi Stephanie, we would use this Chocolate Chip Cookies Cake recipe and swap half of the chocolate chips for M&Ms.
Hey, Sally! I just made these for my family tonight, and we loved them, except that they are a bit too rich for some of my kids. To make them less so, would I add more flour, reduce the butter, a little of both, or something else? Thanks so much!
★★★★
Hi Gigi, thanks for trying these! You can certainly reduce the butter in the recipe. Perhaps try 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks or 170g) instead.