M&M Cookies
I’m entering into my Power of Pink Challenge. There are quite a few breast cancer awareness events this month. I saw this M&M cookie recipe and I knew I had to try it. Growing up, my mom made M&M cookies using yellow cake mix. They’re quite tasty but I really don’t like using cake mix (I know, I’ve become a food snob). So I’ve been in search of a great M&M cookie recipe for about a year now. I made monster cookies and they were great, but weren’t exactly what I was looking for… This recipe really hit the spot. The large amount of brown sugar keeps these cookies sweet and moist. I love the texture and the bits of pecan in cookie.
I took these to our second week of beer pong league. I did have one person ask if the M&M were leftover from Valentine’s Day. I explained that they were for Breast Cancer Awareness. Seriously, do you think a bag of M&Ms could last in my cabinets for 8 months?!? (I happen to love M&Ms in everything – on ice cream, with pretzels, and by themself, frozen of course). Enough babbling from me, on to the recipe…
M&M Cookies – from Delish – originally from the Cookie Bible
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar – I used Splenda Brown Sugar blend
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups M&M’s, divided
1 cup chopped pecans
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs; beat well.
Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in 3/4 cup M&Ms and all the nuts.
Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Press 5-6 of remaining M&Ms on each cookie before baking. Bake 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
Yields about 3-3 1/2 dozen cookies. I made a double batch which yielded a about 6.5 dozen cookies. I used my cookie scoop to portion the batter.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
These look fantastic!
my husbands family calls them butter-gooey cake.
Hi! These are actually called Gooey Butter Cakes, and they are a Paula Deen recipe (hence the butter and cream cheese!) I love making them with a red velvet cake mix….so good.
Ooey gooey butter cakes have been around for decades – they started in St. Louis – very close to my hometown. I remember making this recipe years before Paula came on the scene. She just made them more famous! Everyone goes nuts when you make them – I make them with all kinds of flavors – pineapple, lemon etc. Yours look great.
Thanks for all the information about where the bars originate from. Wherever they came from, they sure are good. I saw some comments on the allrecipes.com link of variations that people have tried like swirling in some berries and using chocolate cake mix. Kind of like a cheesecake brownie
Here in Kentucky they’re called Chess bars and have been around for a very long time. I’m not a native to KY and a coworker introduced me to these. I looked at them and thought “What the heck is that?” but once I tried one I was HOOKED! I just love how simple they are to make.
Whatever you call them, they’re pretty darned good!
YUM! Those look really delicious. And I love the colors you always put in the background.; The blue with the orange tint of the abrs is just perfect!
Yours looks like how my first and only batch turned out but I think I’d like them better gooey and with a little less sugar.
~ingrid
Yum…I love these things!
These look delicious! And I love using boxed cake mix!
I made these for a friends birthday this past weekend and they were a big hit!
I just made these today and they are delicious! I left mine slightly gooey and it’s so good!
I love these bars!
ust made these, yum! But I am curious to know where I can find some variations, i.e., with nuts, chocolate, fruit flavored, etc……I love to experiment!
beantownbaker — March 16th, 2013 @ 2:49 pm
I haven’t had a chance to play around myself with this recipe. I’m sure if you searched online, you’d find some other variations. Let me know what you try!
My mom used to make them for us when I was little. I am 25 now. And I am pretty sure they have been around for quite some time. Paula Deen probably only highlighted the fact that they were around. But yes Yum!
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon everyday.
It’s always interesting to read through articles from other writers and practice something from other sites.
How can you make these to taste like pumpkin? If you add in pumpkin, do you need to cut back on something else??
beantownbaker — September 26th, 2013 @ 10:33 am
Oh that’s a great thought… What about using a box of pumpkin cake mix? And then throwing some pumpkin spices in the cream cheese mixture? If you try this variation, definitely let me know how it turns out!
Omg these look amazing cannot wait to try! I will experiment though!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:08 pm
If you do, let me know how it goes!
This has been around for years and yes it came from a Philly box. Was a family tradition for holidays at our house, but you can make with lemon as well
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:31 pm
Good to know!
I have been making these for years…but I dust with powdered sugar when cool. I can’t go to a family function without taking them.We call them Butter Cheese Squares.
I have made these for over 20 some years. I mix pecan pieces in the crust. Family just loves them. Making them tomorrow.
I make mine with Butter Pecan Cake mix and they are awesome. I am trying lemon this weekend.