High Altitude M&M Cookies

These are the best High Altitude M&M cookies! Soft, chewy and full of colorful chocolate pieces and chocolate chips. You would think that these came straight from the bakery.

It's no secret that I love cookies! And baking cookies at high altitude was NOT going to stop my getting my dose of homemade cookies. Chocolate chip, funfetti, peanut butter, really any cookie recipe and I am in heaven! But, there's something incredible nostalgic for me when it comes to M&M cookies. I just love all the colorful chocolate pieces in a freshly baked, warm cookie.

These High Altitude M&M cookies are just the best. These are thick and chewy with tons of m&ms and chocolate chips in the mix. These are the perfect balance of soft and chewy. Delicious! Plus, this recipe can be easily doubled or tripled for parties or gatherings.

Why You'll Love these Cookies

• These cookies are full of chocolate chips and M&Ms
• Thick, chewy cookies with soft centers and slightly crisp edges
• This recipe is easy and straight forward! No chilling required
• These M&Ms can be replaced with various colors of candies depending on the holiday or season

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted Butter: I use unsalted so we can control the amount of salt. The butter adds richness and results in a delicious buttery cookie. ½ of the butter should be brought to room temperature, white the other ½ of the butter should be melted.
• Sugar: I use dark brown and granulated sugar to give us just the right amount of sweetness and chewiness. I like dark brown sugar for its robust taste and it also reacts with the baking soda.
• Egg: A whole egg to bind the cookie dough, add moisture, and adds richness. 
• Flour: I always use all-purpose flour. Just make sure to measure the flour correctly.
• Salt: I prefer to use kosher or fine sea salt in my recipes.
• Vanilla Extract: I recommend using a nice vanilla extract. You can also use vanilla bean paste. 
• Baking Soda: it's our only leavening agent in these cookies. It reacts with the acidic molasses in the dark brown sugar. Which can result in a higher rise than using a light brown sugar.
• Semisweet chocolate chips: I like using mini chocolate chips so that these cookies are stuffed with chocolate. But, if you prefer milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips instead, you can use that.
• M&Ms: You can use regular M&Ms or Holiday M&Ms if you're celebrating something specific like red, pink and white for Valentine's Day or red, white and green for Christmas. Even mini M&Ms if you want more in each bite. Check out all the M&M possibilities here!

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, chop about ½ cup M&Ms in half or into pieces.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat melted butter, room temperature butter, and both sugar until completely creamed together ~ 2-3 minutes.

3. Add in the egg and vanilla extract, beat until combined together for about 2 minutes.
4. Add in salt, baking soda, and all purpose flour. Mix by hand using a silicone spatula until just combined. It's okay if there are a few streaks of flour.

5. Add in chopped M&Ms + ¼ cup whole M&Ms + chocolate chips and use a silicone spatula to fold the chocolate into the batter until it's fully combined.
6. Scoop cookie dough using a 2.8 tablespoon scoop onto a silicone mat lined on a baking sheet. Leave about an 2-3 inches between each cookie. Top each cookie with 3-5 additional M&Ms on the cookie dough.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Cool cookies on a baking sheet for 5-7 minutes.
8. Enjoy cookies warm or move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool until room temperature.

Expert Tips

• Properly Measure Flour: If you just dip your measuring cup into a bag of flour, chances are you have way too much flour due to packing. I keep a small digital scale to accurately measure flour BUT you can also you the spoon and level method too if you don't have a scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour within your flour bag or container. Then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and finally us the straight edge of a knife to level the flour across the measuring cup.
• Dark brown sugar > light brown sugar: I like dark brown sugar because of the robust flavor and how chewy it makes the cookies but its also key to activating the baking soda.
• Room Temp Ingredients are Key: room temp eggs and butter form an emulsion and traps air and blend/combine together very easily since they are warmer creating a seamless batter. Cold ingredients don't incorporate together easily and can result in dense puffy cookies and also seize up the batter.
• Hand Chop vs Food Processor: I recommend hand chopping M&Ms for a more visually pleasing cookie versus putting the M&Ms in a food processor for quick chopping if you are short on time. I found that cookies using m&ms in the food processor caused the chocolate to bleed in the cookies and made a less appealing cookie but still delicious.

Recipe FAQ

Storage

Store High Altitude M&M Cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature.

You Might Also Like

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page? I always appreciate feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.