Prepare to discover your new favorite holiday treat! These incredible Mint M&M Cookies are a delightful fusion of rich chocolate and refreshing mint, perfectly adorned with vibrant green mint M&Ms. They’re guaranteed to become your go-to recipe for any occasion calling for a touch of green and a burst of irresistible flavor. Whether you’re baking for a joyful Christmas gathering, celebrating the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, or simply seeking an easy and fun after-school activity with the kids, these cookies are a versatile and delicious choice. The colorful mint M&Ms not only infuse each bite with an incredible minty essence but also naturally tint the cookies with a festive green hue, eliminating the need for artificial food coloring.
Soft, delightfully chewy, and generously studded with minty chocolate goodness, these cookies possess an enchanting quality that makes them disappear almost instantly. In our home, we’ve learned to always prepare a double batch – and a fair warning, you might want to stash a few for yourself before they even hit the dessert table! This recipe transforms a classic cookie into an extraordinary festive experience, bringing smiles and sweet memories with every bite. Get ready to bake a batch of these unforgettable mint chocolate cookies and experience the magic for yourself.
Why These Mint Chocolate Cookies Are a Holiday Must-Have
Baking is more than just a culinary task in our family; it’s a cherished holiday tradition, a time when generations gather in the kitchen to create delicious memories. There’s something truly special about the shared laughter and collective effort as we mix, shape, and bake cookies, culminating in the joy of savoring them with tall, cold glasses of milk. We discovered long ago that holiday treats don’t need to be overly elaborate or complicated to be memorable. In fact, the simpler the recipe, the more time we have to truly connect, play, and enjoy the season together!
This delightful Mint M&M Cookie recipe evolved from our beloved original M&M cookie recipe. Over the years, we’ve had endless fun adapting it with various seasonal M&M candies, from the pastel hues of spring cookies to the vibrant festive blends of winter. The mint variety, in particular, holds a special place, as its cool, refreshing chocolate mint flavor truly embodies the spirit of the cooler months and holiday celebrations. These cookies are not just a treat; they’re a connection to tradition, a canvas for creativity, and an invitation to gather and make lasting memories. Their straightforward preparation ensures that even the youngest bakers can join in the fun, making them truly perfect for any family looking to add a little sweetness to their celebrations.
The M&M candies in this recipe offer a delightful blend of vibrant green and a distinct chocolate mint flavor that evokes the crisp freshness of winter. Each bite delivers a harmonious combination of crunchy candy shell, creamy chocolate, and a cool, refreshing mint kick. This unique texture and flavor profile elevates them beyond a standard cookie, making them an ideal festive treat. The balance of sweetness and minty freshness is precisely what you crave during the holidays, offering a comforting yet invigorating taste that sets them apart. They’re simply irresistible, providing that perfect pop of flavor and color that makes any dessert table feel extra special.
Essential Ingredients and Smart Substitutions for Your Mint M&M Cookies
Crafting the perfect batch of Mint M&M Cookies starts with quality ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need, along with some helpful notes and substitution ideas to ensure your baking experience is as smooth as your cookie dough:
- All-Purpose Flour: This forms the foundational structure of our chewy cookies. If you’re catering to dietary restrictions, a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend can be seamlessly substituted without altering the texture significantly. Ensure your chosen blend is designed for baking to achieve the best results.
- Baking Soda: A crucial leavening agent, baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar to create a wonderfully soft and chewy texture, giving these cookies their signature bite. Don’t skip this for that perfect pillowy center.
- Unsalted Butter: We highly recommend unsalted butter to maintain precise control over the overall saltiness of your cookies. This allows the other flavors to truly shine. However, if salted butter is all you have on hand, simply omit any additional salt specified in the recipe to prevent an overly salty taste. Ensure your butter is at room temperature for optimal creaming.
- Brown Sugar: The secret to the cookies’ moistness and chewiness. Packed brown sugar adds a deep, molasses-rich flavor that complements the chocolate and mint beautifully. Make sure to pack it firmly when measuring.
- Granulated Cane Sugar: This provides a crisp edge and helps with the spread of the cookies. For those looking for alternative options, any granular sugar substitute that measures cup for cup to regular sugar can be used. Be aware that texture might vary slightly with certain sweeteners.
- Large Eggs: Eggs bind the ingredients together, adding moisture and richness, and contributing to the overall structure. Ensure they are at room temperature for better emulsion with the butter and sugars.
- Vanilla Extract: A classic enhancer that rounds out the flavors. For an intensified minty experience, consider swapping vanilla extract with pure peppermint extract. Start with half the amount and adjust to taste, as peppermint extract can be quite potent.
- Mint M&Ms: The star of these Peppermint M&M Cookies! Due to their seasonal nature, these colorful candies might not always be found in the regular candy aisle. Your best bet is to check near other holiday-themed candies or seasonal displays in larger grocery stores, especially during winter months and around St. Patrick’s Day.
Exciting Recipe Variations for Your Mint M&M Cookies
While these Mint M&M Cookies are fantastic on their own, a few simple tweaks can elevate them even further or customize them for different tastes and occasions:
- Amp up the Chocolate and/or Nuts: For those who believe more chocolate is always a good idea, feel free to add up to ½ cup of other mix-ins alongside the M&Ms. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips would be a perfect complement to the mint flavor, or for an added textural element, chopped pecans or walnuts would be a delicious addition.
- Indulgent White Chocolate Dip: Once the cookies have cooled completely, melt some white chocolate chips or baking bar. Dip half of each cookie into the melted white chocolate and let it set on parchment paper. This adds an extra layer of sweetness, visual appeal, and a lovely contrasting flavor.
- Elegant Chocolate Drizzle: For a simpler yet equally impressive finish, drizzle cooled cookies with melted dark, milk, or white chocolate. A zigzag pattern across the top adds a gourmet touch, perfect for presentation at holiday parties or cookie exchanges.
- Bite-Sized Mini M&M Cookies: Transform these festive treats into adorable mini cookies by using a small cookie scoop or rolling smaller portions of dough. If you opt for mini cookies, remember to reduce the baking time to approximately 8 minutes to prevent them from over-baking and becoming dry.
- Festive Food Coloring: While the mint M&Ms provide a natural green pop, you can enhance the festive look even further by tinting the cookie dough itself. A few drops of green food color gel can make the dough vibrantly green for St. Patrick’s Day, or you could even split the dough and use red and green for a truly spectacular Christmas cookie assortment.
Expert Tips for Baking the Best Mint M&M Cookies
Achieving perfectly soft, chewy, and flavorful Mint M&M Cookies is simple with a few expert tips. Follow these guidelines to ensure your batch turns out absolutely delicious every time:
- Prepare Your Baking Sheet Properly: To ensure your cookies bake evenly and release easily without sticking, always line your baking sheets. Parchment paper is an excellent choice as it prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze. Alternatively, a silicone baking mat (like Silpat) works wonders for non-stick baking and can be reused countless times. This small step makes a big difference in the final presentation and prevents frustrating stuck cookies.
- Avoid the Pitfalls of Overmixing the Cookie Dough: When it comes to cookie dough, less is often more. Overmixing is a common mistake that can lead to tough, hard cookies instead of the desired soft and chewy texture. The longer the mixer runs, the more friction it generates, which can slightly warm the butter and encourage the gluten in the flour to develop excessively. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients only until they are just combined and no streaks of flour remain. As soon as the dough comes together, stop mixing to preserve its delicate texture.
- Strategically Add Your M&M Candies: For the most visually appealing Mint M&M Cookies, we recommend mixing only half of the candies directly into the cookie dough. While M&Ms baked within the cookie will still taste fantastic, they tend to crack and melt slightly under the oven’s heat, losing some of their vibrant color and perfect round shape. By reserving the other half and gently pressing them onto the tops of the warm, freshly baked cookies, you ensure a beautiful presentation with intact, colorful M&Ms that truly pop. This creates a delightful contrast and enhances their festive appearance.
- Master the Art of Not Over-Baking: This is perhaps the most crucial tip for achieving soft, chewy cookies. Over-baking can quickly turn a perfectly good cookie into a dry, crumbly one. Keep a close eye on your cookies as they bake. You’ll know they are ready to be removed from the oven when their tops lose their glossy appearance, and the edges begin to set and turn a light, golden brown. The centers may still look slightly underdone or soft, but they will continue to firm up as they cool on the hot baking sheet. A baking time of 10 to 12 minutes usually does the trick for standard-sized cookies. Trust your instincts and the visual cues!
Once your cookies emerge from the oven, allow them to rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. This allows them to firm up slightly before transferring. While they are still warm, but not too hot, gently press the reserved M&Ms onto the tops of the cookies. This ensures the candies adhere beautifully and adds that perfect pop of color and extra crunch. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. The crispy shell of the M&Ms provides a delightful textural contrast to the soft, chewy cookie, making each bite even more enjoyable.
If you’re seeking another fantastic recipe for your Christmas cookie repertoire, you might also want to try our adorable Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies!
Perfect Serving Suggestions for Your Mint Chocolate M&M Cookies
These delightful Mint Chocolate M&M Cookies are incredibly versatile and perfect for a variety of occasions throughout the holiday season and beyond. Their festive green hue and irresistible flavor make them a standout treat. Here are some ideas for how to serve and enjoy them:
- Holiday Gatherings and Cookie Exchanges: These cookies are a showstopper! Arrange them on a festive platter at your next holiday party or bring them to a cookie exchange. Their unique mint-chocolate flavor and vibrant color are sure to impress.
- Thoughtful Gifts: Pack them in decorative tins or bags to create wonderful homemade gifts for teachers, friends, neighbors, or colleagues. A handmade gift from the kitchen always shows you care.
- Classic Pairings: For a comforting treat, serve these cookies alongside a warm beverage. They pair beautifully with a steaming cup of hot tea, a rich coffee, or a cozy mug of hot chocolate. A tall, frosty glass of cold milk is also an absolute classic, especially for kids!
- St. Patrick’s Day Special: When we specifically serve these as St. Patrick’s Day Cookies, we love to enhance the green theme. Pair them with a refreshing glass of basil lemonade for a unique herbal twist, or a decadent iced caramel latte for a more indulgent pairing.
- Sweet Treat Platters: For an ultimate candy lover’s dream, create a dessert platter featuring these cookies alongside an assortment of other festive candies. Think colorful Christmas tree gummies, classic candy canes, an array of Jelly Belly beans, tangy Skittles, chewy Starburst, mini Hershey’s bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Mars bars, and Hershey’s Kisses. It’s a delightful spread that offers something for everyone.
If you cherish the invigorating flavor of peppermint in your holiday desserts, these Mint Christmas Cookies are an absolute must-try! Much like our popular chocolate and peppermint cupcakes recipe, these cookies expertly blend the richness of chocolate with the refreshing coolness of peppermint, creating a seasonal treat that is both comforting and exhilarating. They capture the essence of winter wonder in every delicious bite.
Mint M&M Cookie Recipe FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about making and enjoying these delightful Mint M&M Cookies, designed to help you troubleshoot and get the best results:
Don’t let the seasonal availability of mint M&Ms stop you from making these delicious cookies! If you’re having difficulty locating the specific holiday edition candies, you have a few excellent alternatives. You can easily substitute with other green-colored M&Ms like regular milk chocolate M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, white chocolate M&Ms, or dark chocolate M&Ms. To infuse that essential mint flavor, simply add ½ to 1 teaspoon of pure peppermint extract to the cookie dough along with the vanilla extract. Start with ½ teaspoon and taste the dough (before adding eggs if you’re concerned about raw eggs, or just a tiny bit) to see if you’d like more mint intensity. You can also crush some peppermint candies or candy canes and add them to the dough for a similar effect.
Proper storage is key to maintaining the irresistible soft and chewy texture of your homemade Chocolate Mint Cookies. For short-term storage, place the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will remain wonderfully fresh and soft for up to 3 days. For longer preservation, these cookies freeze exceptionally well. To freeze them, first wrap each individual cookie tightly in plastic wrap. This prevents freezer burn and helps maintain their moisture. Then, place all the individually wrapped cookies into a freezer-safe bag or an airtight container. They will keep beautifully in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw frozen cookies overnight in the refrigerator, or simply place them in their storage bag at room temperature for a few hours before serving. This ensures they return to their original delicious texture.
More Festive Christmas Treats to Love
If you enjoyed these Mint M&M Cookies and are looking for more delicious ways to celebrate the holidays, here are some other fantastic Christmas treat recipes from our kitchen that you’re sure to adore:
- Christmas Muddy Buddy Mix: A festive and addictively crunchy snack mix, perfect for sharing.
- Christmas M&M Cookies: Another colorful M&M cookie recipe, perfect for a classic holiday touch.
- Charcuterie Trees: A fun and creative way to present savory snacks, turning your charcuterie board into a festive masterpiece.
If you tried this mint Christmas cookies recipe or any other recipe on my website, please consider leaving a 🌟 star rating and share your experience in the 📝 comments below. Your feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for visiting!
Mint Christmas Cookies
Renae Gerhardstein
Pin Recipe
Equipment
- rimmed baking sheet – or cookie sheet
- stand mixer
- parchment paper – or silicone baking mat
- small cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour or cup-for-cup gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter *if using salted butter, omit any salt called for in this recipe.
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar or cup-for-cup granulated sweetener
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups mint M&Ms divided; reserve 1 cup for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375º F (190°C). Prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat (such as Silpat), or by lightly spraying them with cooking spray. This will prevent sticking and ensure easy cleanup.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda until well combined. Set this bowl aside for later use.
- In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer (either a hand-held or stand mixer), beat the softened butter and both brown and granulated sugars together. Cream them until the mixture becomes light, fluffy, and pale in color. Remember to periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula to ensure everything is evenly incorporated. Beat in the large eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, continuing to mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing only until just blended and no streaks of flour are visible. Be careful not to overmix at this stage. Once combined, gently fold in 1 cup of the mint M&Ms by hand with a spoon. (Refer to the notes section for why we divide the M&Ms).
- Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough (or use a small cookie scoop for uniformity) onto your prepared baking sheets, ensuring they are spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are golden brown and set, but the centers still look slightly soft. This indicates a perfectly chewy cookie.
- Carefully remove the baking sheets from the oven. Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheets for about 5 minutes to allow them to firm up before transferring. While they are still warm, gently press the remaining 1 cup of mint M&Ms onto the tops of the cookies for a beautiful finish. Then, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. (See notes for more details on this step).
Video
Notes
- The M&Ms will naturally crack and melt slightly during the baking process when mixed directly into the dough. To achieve cookies with beautifully intact and vibrant M&Ms on top, it is recommended to mix only half of the candies into the dough and gently press the remaining half onto the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven. This technique ensures a much nicer presentation.
Recipe Variations:
- Add more chocolate and/or nuts: Enhance the flavor and texture by incorporating up to 1/2 cup of additional mix-ins. Consider adding chocolate chips (milk, dark, or white) or chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts for an extra layer of deliciousness.
- Dip half of the cookie in white chocolate: For an extra special touch, once the cookies are completely cooled, melt some white chocolate and dip half of each cookie into it. Allow the chocolate to set on parchment paper.
- Drizzle the cooled cookies with melted chocolate: A simpler way to add a chocolate flourish is to drizzle melted chocolate (any type) over the cooled cookies in an artistic pattern.
- Make mini M&M cookies: Use a small cookie scoop to create bite-sized versions. If you choose this option, be sure to reduce the baking time to approximately 8 minutes to prevent over-baking.
Storing Instructions:
- These delicious cookies will remain fresh and maintain their soft texture for up to 3 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- M&M cookies are excellent for freezing! To ensure they stay as fresh as possible, we recommend wrapping each cookie individually with plastic wrap. Then, place all the wrapped cookies together in an airtight freezer bag or container. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature in their container before serving.