This Easy M&M Cookie Bars recipe is a quick and easy dessert made with chocolatey cookie dough loaded with M&M’s. They are soft and chewy with festive colored candies.
Christmas and holidays are great opportunities to use this recipe in your home. Do you want to prepare something simple yet special for the family for Christmas morning while you open gifts? Take these cookie bars out of your oven, then!
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Delicious M&M Cookie Bar Recipe
M&M cookie bars that are fudgy, delicious, and packed with brightly colored candies would be a favorite among the entire family! Gooey, squishy, and laden with M&Ms, these chewy m&m cookie bars are a treat. You will enjoy every bite of these since they are festive and loaded with the delectable taste of M&M's.
These bars are a perfect choice when you need a quick dessert because they are so easy to make, and also they are chewy, thick, and delicious. They will truly satisfy your craving for tastebuds in just a few bites from these delightful cookie bars.
Chocolate M&M Cookie Bars highlight the chocolatey flavor of the M&M's. This flavor is enhanced by the rest of the ingredients, such as vanilla extract and cocoa powder.
What Is a Cookie Bar?
Cookie bars, sometimes referred to as bars, squares, or just bars, are a sort of American cookie that has the texture of solid cake but is slightly softer than a traditional cookie. To make them, you'll use a skillet and bake them in the oven. Squares and rectangles are the most common shapes, although other shapes are available as well.
Cookie bars are common at bake sales and make great birthday presents. They are trendy during the holidays, but many people eat them all year. Many coffee shops and bakeries also offer the treats.
They are baked in the oven after being prepared in a pan. Squares or rectangles are carved out of the dough. Bake sales are a mainstay, and they're frequently created for birthday parties, as well. Many people consume them all year, but they are especially popular during the Christmas breaks. Treats like these are also available at many coffee shops and bakeries.
Why Does This Recipe Works?
This recipe is a must-try because:
- It is easy to make!
- Everyone will surely enjoy a chocolatey treat.
- A delicious treat or dessert.
- Perfect dessert for the holiday season and cookie exchange.
- These buttery cookie bars are an easy dessert for any time of year.
- The perfect treat to enjoy at a holiday party.
- Easy dessert to prepare in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Butter. While moisture and flavor are the most obvious reasons to use butter in baked goods, butter also serves various other functions. Butter binds the proteins and starches in this recipe during the mixing process, resulting in a more delicate crumb.
Granulated Sugar. When used in cookie bars, granulated sugar aids in spreading, provides a more crisp texture to cookies, and causes surface-breaking due to crystallization.
Light Brown Sugar. Brown sugar gives our bars a rich, sweet, and nutty flavor that is hard to resist. Given that brown sugar has a naturally moist texture, utilizing it will result in cookie bars that are softer and moister overall. Additionally, if you use light brown sugar, your baked items may become darker than you had anticipated.
Egg. When it comes to this recipe, eggs are critical components. Eggs give our cookie bars structure, leavening, color, and flavor, among other things. Use large eggs.
Vanilla Extract. Vanilla extract is always used in desserts because it chemically enhances the flavor of the dessert while also bringing out the flavors of the other ingredients in the mixture.
All purpose flour. The primary function of purpose flour in this recipe is to build a structure for the cookie bars to not become just a gooey mass.
Cocoa Powder. When used in this recipe, Cocoa powder adds a full, rich chocolate flavor and a deep brown color.
Baking Soda. It is a leavening agent used in baked goods, cookie bars in particular. Baking soda will help producing softer yet thicker M&M's Cookie Bars.
Cornflour. It has a thickening effect on the liquid. Corn starch is also used in baking formulations in conjunction with regular flour to give cookie bars increased crumb strength while simultaneously improving the tenderness of the grain.
How to Make M&M Cookie Bars
One: Preheat the oven to 190C, line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Two: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar and melted butter with the electric mixer until the mixture is smooth.
Three: Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
Four: Add in the (dry ingredients) plain flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate, salt, cornflour and cornflour a handful of M&Ms, mix until combined, and a thick dough is formed.
Five: Now, Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and press in the remaining M&Ms into the top.
Six: Bake for 20-25 minutes, then leave the cookie bake to cool for about 10-20 minutes. Cut the bake into small squares and serve.
How To Cut Cookie Bars
There are how to get a nice clean cut to all cookie bars:
- Let the cookie bars cool completely before cutting them into bars.
- Use a good sharp knife; this is very important to get a clean cut.
- Dip the knife into a cup of hot water, then wipe it between cuts.
Success Tips!
- Don't overcook your M&M's Cookie Bars, or else the chewy texture of these bars would not be that evident once eaten.
- Letting the M&M's Cookie Bars cool down at room temperature before cutting them into bar pieces would prevent them from being too crumbly.
- To get thinner bars spread the cookie dough in a 10x10 baking pan.
- It is important to line the baking pan with baking parchment to be able to take the bars easily from the pan.
Recipe Variations
- Add chocolate chips to make these cookie bars more delicious and
appealing to children! - If the vanilla extract is unavailable, you may use maple syrup instead.
- If you are making Christmas m&m cookie bars, use red and green m&m.
- Use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar for extra flavor.
- Decorate your bars, You can top them with a creamy frosting or sweet glaze.
Favorite Mix-Ins
- Milk chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips
- Peanut butter m&m
- Nuts
Serving Suggestions
The classic way of serving cookie bars is pairing it with a glass of milk, so why not follow this classic combo? You can also serve them with tea, coffee or any other drink of your choice. You can also serve them with your favorit ice cream.
Storing & Freezing
To Store: Keep these bars in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: To freeze these delicious cookie bars, wrap them in parchment paper or aluminum foil and place them in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or container before putting them away. Before eating, allow the frozen food to come to room temperature first.
Recipe FAQs
Use a toothpick to check the consistency of the batter by inserting it in the center of the pan. The cookies are done when the toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Yes, you can make them 2 days ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Just Take them out of the fridge 20-30 minutes before serving to come to room temperature.
Easy Dessert Recipes
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Recipe
Easy M&M Cookie Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 115 g Unsalted Butter
- 55 g Granulated Sugar
- 135 g Light Brown sugar
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 200 g All purpose flour
- 50 g Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon Cornflour
- 300 g M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C, line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar and melted butter until the mixture is smooth.55 g Granulated Sugar, 135 g Light Brown sugar, 115 g Unsalted Butter
- Whisk in the egg and vanilla.1 Egg, ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add in the plain flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate, salt, cornflour and cornflour a handful of M&Ms, mix until combined, and a thick dough is formed.200 g All purpose flour, 50 g Cocoa Powder, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Cornflour, 300 g M&Ms
- Now, Press the dough into the bottom of the baking pan and press in the remaining M&Ms into the top.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, then leave the cookie bake to cool for about 10-20 minutes. Cut the bake into small squares and serve.
Notes
- Don't overcook, or else the chewy texture of these bars would not be that evident once eaten.
- Letting the bake cool down at room temperature before cutting them into bar pieces would prevent them from being too crumbly.
Nutrition
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Olivia
My son loves these m&m cookie bars so much. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Elena
These m&m cookie bars are so fudgy, chocolaty and delicious, and because I am the biggest chocolate fan in the world, I liked them.