M&M Cookie Bars

Easy one-bowl M&M cookie bar recipe! These buttery soft and chewy cookie bars are loaded with M&Ms and chocolate chips!

I love easy, one-bowl dessert recipes like my popular chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, and these M&M cookie bars! The bars are buttery and soft with chewy edges.

They are also really quick and don’t take much time to whip up. They can be made from scratch – start-to-finish – in about 30 minutes.

So they’re a great treat to make any time a craving strikes!

How to make M&M cookie bars

Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour, salt, and baking soda into the butter mixture until just combined; do not overmix.

Fold in the M&Ms and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.

Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

Tips

Butter: I like a good salty/sweetness to my chocolate chip cookies, so I use salted butter along with the salt. If you like your cookies on the sweeter side, use unsalted butter or omit the salt in these.

Melting the butter: Just barely melting the butter helps to speed things along. It takes about 40 seconds in my microwave to melt the butter without getting it too hot.

Flour: To keep these bars soft and chewy, be sure to properly measure the flour. First, sift or stir the flour to break it up. Then lightly spoon it into the measuring cup and level. You don’t want to pack the flour or the bars will be heavy and dry.

Salt: Or use 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt if you prefer.

M&M’s: I use regular chocolate M&M’s. Feel free to use a seasonal flavor if you prefer.

Chocolate chips: I like to use mini chips because it gives little bits of chocolate throughout the bars. You can use regular chocolate chips if you prefer.

Mixing the dough: I recommend mixing this dough by hand. It’s easy to do, and it helps to prevent overworking the dough.

Other flavor combinations

These cookie bars are really easy to customize. You can mix up the flavors of the M&Ms and chips to make holiday-themed or different-flavored bars.

Here are a couple ideas to get you started.

• Sugar cookie M&Ms + white chocolate chips
• Caramel M&Ms + caramel chips
• Candy corn M&Ms + white chocolate chips
• Fudge brownie M&Ms + peanut butter chips

Storage

These bars can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.