Valentine's Day M&M Cookies Recipe

Whether you're in a relationship or you're single and ready to mingle, there's always an excuse to indulge in baked goods. In fact, these Valentine's Day M&M cookies even make for a sweet treat suitable for families and Galentine's. There's no denying that regular chocolate chip cookies are great on their own, but this recipe adds M&Ms to provide even more chocolatey goodness and a visually appealing cookie that we can't help but get heart eyes over. These cookies are great to serve after dinner with milk or a scoop of ice cream, but they would also make a great surprise in your kid's lunch.

Recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating created this fun recipe that is wonderful for all ages. "I love the thick, chewy texture of these cookies. They're super cute with the red, pink and white colors too," Brookes raves. "The pink, red and white Valentine's themed M&Ms make these perfect to bake for a loved one to enjoy on the special day!" 

This recipe includes most of the ingredients you typically would use when baking cookies. All you need is unsalted butter, light brown sugar, white sugar, a large egg, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, and Valentine's Day M&Ms (AKA the pink, red, and white variety).

To start, grab a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Set it to the side for the time being since you won't need it just yet.

Then, grab the bowl of an electric stand mixer and add the butter, light brown sugar, and white sugar. Turn the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until light and creamy. You can always beat by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.

Once the butter and sugars are well-combined, toss in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix again to combine well.

There are still a few things you will need to add to complete the mix. So, throw in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until a thick cookie dough forms. Again, you can use a stand mixer for this step.

Now, it's time to add the chocolate. Throw in the chocolate chips first, followed by the M&Ms. Mix with the dough to incorporate well, making sure that all of that chocolatey goodness is evenly spread.

Let's rock and roll. Grab handfuls of cookie dough and roll them into little balls. Each ball should be about three tablespoons large. 

After you roll, plop the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet and place them in the fridge to chill for an hour. "Chilling the cookies in the fridge helps to prevent them from spreading too much in the oven," Brookes notes. 

Toward the end of the chill time, preheat the oven to 400 F. Then, prepare another baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Add six cookie dough balls to the new baking sheet, leaving enough space between them as they will spread when they bake. Keep the others on the baking sheet that you chilled. 

Pop both trays into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until they turn golden brown.

After you remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle a few more M&Ms on top. This is optional, so if you think they have enough chocolate as-is, there is no need to add more. "You'll want to leave the cookies on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes before moving them to a wire rack," Brookes adds. "When fresh out the oven they will be very soft and may break if you try to move them." 

The festive cookies are great on their own, but Brookes also shares a few of her favorite ways to serve. "These are great dunked in a cup of coffee or tea, or enjoyed with some fresh fruit," she says. 

And, these will keep for a while! "Leftovers should keep well in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days," Brookes says. We hope you share these with a loved one on Valentine's Day.