Description
This easy gluten-free m&m cookie recipe is perfect for your next cookie craving! Try it with seasonal m&ms to celebrate the holidays!
Ingredients
Scale
For The Gluten-Free M&M Cookies:
- 1 cup butter, cut into cubes (2 sticks, 226 grams)
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar (150 grams)
- 3/4 cup sugar (150 grams)
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk (ideally at room temperature)
- 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour, weighed or scooped & leveled (300 grams)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (8 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup M&M candies (use milk chocolate or dark chocolate, or another gluten-free variety*)
- 1/2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
To Garnish The Baked Cookies (Optional–just makes them prettier)
- 1/2 cup additional M&M candies
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Start By Browning The Butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk constantly until the butter begins to foam. (Watch carefully when the butter begins to foam, as it will turn golden and brown quickly.) When the butter under the foam is golden brown (like honey) and smells sweet, remove the pan from the heat and transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer or a mixing bowl to cool for a few minutes, until it’s no longer hot to the touch. You want it room temperature, ideally, so it doesn’t melt the chocolate or m&ms.
- Combine Brown Butter & Sugars. When the brown butter is at room temperature, add the brown sugar and sugar in a stand mixer or large mixing bowl. Mix until the mixture looks like wet sand.
- Add Eggs & Egg Yolk One At A Time. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk one at a time, mixing well (about 30 seconds) after each addition to combine. Mix In The Vanilla. Stir in the vanilla and mix until it’s blended in.
- Add The Dry Ingredients. Next, add the flour mixture, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix slowly until almost combined (there should still be a little flour visible).
- Mix In The Chocolate Chips & M&M’s. Add the chocolate chips and the m&ms candies and stir until just combined and well distributed.
- Chill The Dough. Cover and chill the dough AT LEAST 2 hours, up to 1 day. (This allows the flour to fully hydrate, which will give your cookies a soft, chewy texture rather than a coarse or gritty texture.
- When You’re Ready To Bake, Preheat The Oven & Prep Your Pans. As soon as you’re ready to bake, remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop The Dough. As soon as the dough is soft enough to scoop, use a medium cookie scoop (2 Tablespoon cookie scoop) to scoop the cookie dough into balls. (You can scoop all of the dough now, just return it to the fridge in between batches so it stays chilled)
- Bake & Cool The Cookies. Place 6 cookie dough balls on your prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the centers look slightly underdone. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest 2 minutes on the warm baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, alternating between baking sheets so you don’t put cold dough on a hot baking sheet.
- A TRICK FOR PRETTY M&M COOKIES! M&Ms crack in the oven, so for the prettiest cookies, I like to reserve 1/2 cup of M&Ms and 1/4 cup chocolate chips to use on the tops of the freshly baked cookies. Add 5-6 M&Ms and 2-3 chocolate chips to each cookie when they’re warm from the oven and your cookies will look bakery-level beautiful! The additional M&Ms are less likely to crack & add a beautiful pop of color to the top of each cookie.
- Serve & Enjoy. Enjoy the cooled cookies right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days or freeze up to 2 months.
Notes
- Gluten-Free Flour. We love and recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure gluten-free flour for these cookies. If you use another 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum! (Weigh the flour for best results, or measure carefully using the scoop and level method to avoid packing extra flour into the measuring cup!)
*Make Sure To Use Gluten-Free M&Ms!
- Many varieties of M&Ms are gluten-free, but not ALL are. Milk Chocolate M&Ms and Dark Chocolate M&ms are safe choices. This is usually true for the holiday colors as well.
- Peanut M&Ms, Caramel M&Ms & Peanut Butter M&Ms are gluten-free, but too large for these cookies.
- Crispy M&Ms and Pretzel M&Ms are NOT gluten-free. Some limited edition/seasonal M&Ms are gluten-free, while others aren’t, so check your labels!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
