Proof that I had planned to blog in March: I made M&M cookies with Easter colors. Therein lies the beauty of M&M cookies, they can be customized to any season that suits your fancy.
I’ve been making these cookies for awhile. I found the recipe on -shocker- AllRecipes.com listed as “Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies.” I’m pretty sure they’re the highest reviewed chocolate chip cookies on the site, which is saying something considering how many people post reviews.
I could tell just by going through the photos, that these were going to be very cakey cookies, which isn’t how I personally like my chocolate chip cookies, but I did think it would make a great base for M&M cookies.
The “secret” ingredient is vanilla pudding mix. Not only does it make the cookies thick and puffy, but it infuses the dough with an extra zing of vanilla that gives it a grocery store bakery type taste. That might not sound tasty to you, but I love me some grocery bakery, so it counts as a “pro” in my book.
Since there were so many reviews, I read through a lot of them to pick up tips on any changes people had made. Surprisingly, one of the reoccurring suggestions was to add more vanilla, and if everyone else is jumping off of a bridge, you know what? I’m will too. Bombs away vanilla!
This recipe makes A TON of cookies. Like, cookie dough flying out of my KitchenAid stand mixer amount of cookies. As it turns out, the best way to fix that is to eat any of the cookie dough that doesn’t want to fit in the bowl. What can I say, I’m a problem solver.
So below is the recipe that I use after adopting some of the recommendations in the original recipe reviews. If I’m not baking for a large crowd I like to half this recipe.
And if you’re already wondering about what to make for that 4th of July BBQ, I might have an idea…
Or just keep it classic.
M&M Cookies
Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown
sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (I only use 1/2 of the second packet)
4 eggs
2 tbls vanilla extract
4 cups M&Ms
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the M&M candies. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.
Adventures of a Hungry Redhead 
I’ve heard a lot about adding pudding mix into cookie dough, and I am 100% for it. Can’t wait to try it next time I bake some cookies!
I mean, if Betty Crocker and Pilsbury advertise putting it in cake mix, it must make cookies better right? I’m also trying recipes that use cornstarch with interesting results.
Pudding, huh? That’s so smart! I LOVE soft cookies, so I’ve got to try this recipe. These look awesome.
Very soft and they stay soft for days. Almost in a commercial baked goods type way… like one of those Chips Ahoy “soft baked” cookies. They extra vanilla helps that too I think. You’ll have to balance the vanilla flavor to your liking.