These M&M Christmas Cookie Bars are the best cookie bars you’ll ever make for the holidays. They are soft, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips, and red and green M&Ms for the best festive treat. They’re buttery, brown sugary, and sweet and taste just like your favorite chocolate chip cookies, but in an extra easy to make, extra soft and gooey form.
This recipe takes all the flavor of your favorite cookies, and make it even easier. No scooping the dough, or baking multiple batches. Just spread it into one pan and bake. The bars turn out soft in the middle, and loaded with chocolate.
They’re a great make-ahead dessert that cuts into clean, shareable squares. Perfect for holiday parties, cookie trays, or a fun Christmas project the kids can help you with!
Why you’ll love these
- Festive Fun: The Red and Green M&Ms make these perfect for Christmas. Add some holiday sprinkles to make them extra festive.
- Soft and Chewy: These bars have extra brown sugar, which gives them an extra soft and chewy texture! Like the center of a chocolate chip cookie in every bite.
- Extra Easy to Make: All baked in one pan, no rolling, scooping, or chilling the dough needed.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of some of the ingredients you’ll need for this Christmas M&M Cookie Bar Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Unsalted Butter: Gives the bars their rich buttery flavor. You can also use salted butter and cut the added salt in half.
- Brown Sugar + Granulated Sugar: Gives the bars their sweet flavor and soft and chewy texture.
- Flour: All Purpose Flour works best for these bars, I haven’t tested the recipe with other types of flour.
- Baking Soda: Needed to help the bars lifts while baking, giving them their chewy texture
- Salt: A must for all baked goods to balance the sweetness
- Red and Green M&Ms: Pick out the reds and greens from traditional M&Ms or buy a bag of the Christmas M&Ms to make it even easier.
- Chocolate Chips: I’ll never say no to extra chocolate
How to make Christmas M&M Cookie Bars
Step 1: Cream the Butter and Sugars. Add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a large bowl and mix them together for a couple of minutes until smooth and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Step 2: Add the Dry Ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and stir them into the wet ingredients until you have a soft cookie dough.
Step 3: Add in the Chocolate. Add most of the chocolate chips, and M&Ms to the dough, and mix them into the dough until evenly spread throughout the cookie dough.
Step 4: Spread into the Pan. Scoop the cookie dough into a greased 9×13 pan and press it all around the pan to the corners and edges, at an even thickness all over. Sprinkle the remaining M&Ms and chocolate chips over the top of the cookie bars, lightly pressing them in.
Step 5: Bake the Bars. Bake the bars until the top is golden brown and the center is set. You can test it with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before you slice the bars into squares and enjoy.
Tips and Tricks
- Line the Pan: Line the pan with parchment paper so you can easily lift the bars out of the pan once they’re cooled to cut and remove from the pan easier, for cleaner slices.
- Make them Extra Pretty: Save some M&Ms and chocolate chips for pressing into the top of the cookie dough before baking to make the bars look extra pretty.
- Different Colors: Swap out the M&Ms with different colors to make these cookie bars all year long.
- Cut Recipe in Half: Cut the recipe in half and bake the bars in a square baking pan instead. They will bake for about 25-30 minutes.
Storage Instructions
These cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.
These Christmas Cookie Bars are such a fun, and easy holiday dessert. They’re extra chewy, with the best brown sugar and butter flavor and loaded with chocolate. You’ll love making these again and again.
More Cookie Bar Recipes
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate Cranberry Squares
- Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars Recipe
- Almond Cherry Bars
- Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars // Like Mother Like Daughter
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars // Like Mother Like Daughter
If you try this M&M Christmas Cookie Bar Recipe, please leave a 🌟 rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Christmas M&M cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour (spoon and level, if not weighing)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup red and green m&ms
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl for about 3 minutes. 1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Add in the eggs and vanilla and stir into the creamed butter. 2 large eggs, 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir everything together till combined, and you have a nice soft cookie dough. 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt
- Add in 1 1/4 cup of the m&ms, and most of the chocolate chips and stir them until mixed evenly into the batter. 1 1/2 cup red and green m&ms, 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- Scoop the cookie dough into the prepared pan and press the dough evenly into the corners and all around the pan.
- Press the extra M&Ms and chocolate chips onto the top of the cookie dough.
- Bake the cookie bars for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden, and the middle is set. (You can test the scenters with a toothpick, you want it to come out clean, or with a few crumbs, but no runny dough).
- Remove from the oven and let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour, or completely. Then lift the parchment out of the pan, and cut into squares and serve.
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