Old-Fashioned M&M Cookies

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Your perfect cookie for dunkin’! These Old Fashioned M&M Cookies are hard to resist. Get some milk and start dunkin’ ASAP!

M & M Cookies Recipe

This old-fashioned M&M Cookies recipe is the one I remember Mama making the most growing up. Unlike many of today’s cookies, these have a good crunch to them. That, along with a pure flavor brought about by the vanilla makes them absolutely perfect for dunking in milk. I repeat: Absolutely perfect. Divine. Sublime. Wonderful. I really, really, really, want you to make these and have them with a glass of milk — tonight!

An Old-Fashioned Recipe

Mama used to always make this recipe and put the little balls of dough on baking sheets before transferring them to the table where the three of us sat at the ready. She’d give each of us a little bowl of M&M’s and we had one rule: We could put three M&M’s on each cookie — no more. I didn’t understand why Mama had that rule until I made these with son for the first time. There was one cookie that kid had put fifteen M&M’s on! ~laughs~ 

So now I revert to Mama’s wisdom. I put some M&M’s in the batter and then each cookie is adorned with exactly three M&M’s on top!

Keep reading to see how to make these little beauties as well as how I get my all red M&M’s for half price!

Ingredients for this Old-Fashioned M&M Cookies Recipe are:  

  • Solid Vegetable Shortening (I like to use Coconut Oil but you can use whatever you like)
  • Brown Sugar (dark or light, whatever you have on hand)
  • M&M’s
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Self Rising Flour (See FAQ on how to make your own)
  • Vanilla

 

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*Tip for Getting Red M&M’s on the Cheap*

I buy Christmas M&M’s for half price right after the holidays. Keep that in mind for next year if need be! It’s great to already have them on hand whenever the urge to make these old-fashioned m&m cookies strikes!

*I always store candies and such that I plan on baking with in mason jars rather than the original bags. Mason jars are reusable and keep them fresh better than the bags. Critters, if determined, can easily get into those bags, too. So glass jars is a safe way to keep everything stored until you need it!

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Then I sort them by color.

Red ones are perfect for Valentines Day

and the green ones are great for the very next holiday: St. Patrick’s Day!

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I put the green ones back in the jar and my kids will be ready to make our “lucky” cookies and treats next month.

Now let’s get to this recipe!

How To Make this Old-Fashioned M&M Cookies Recipe Step-by-Step

Place your shortening in a mixing bowl and add sugars.

I always just use whatever brown sugar I have on hand whenever a recipe calls for brown sugar of any kind.

I prefer dark because of the richer flavor but either one works.

add eggs and vanilla

Add eggs and vanilla.

Mix the M & M Cookie batter

Mix all that up until creamy and blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl if you need to.

Mama’s recipe says to add your flour gradually.

~arches a brow and smirks~

Raise your hand if you think I’m gonna do that…

Yeah, right. Dump all of your flour in at once. Walk on the wild-side with me.

Mix her up and add those M&M’s 

I add about half because you want to save some to put on the top.

M & M cookie recipe dough

It will look something like this.  

 

Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray. Shape the dough into little balls about one inch in size.

Add a couple more M&M’s on top

Bake for ten to twelve minutes or so…

When they are done baking they’ll look like this. And they are ready for Dunkin’!

 

M & M Cookies Recipe

Old-Fashioned M&M Cookies Recipe

You are gonna love these Old-Fashioned M&M Cookies! They really are made the old-fashioned way. Just enough crunch and tasty goodness to have the family coming back for more.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Total Time: 29 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cookies
Servings: 4
Calories: 190kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup solid Vegetable Shortening I use coconut oil but you can use your favorite
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups self rising flour*
  • 1 1/2 cups M&M's

Instructions

  • Combine shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Gradually add in flour and mix well (or just dump it in all at once like I do). Stir in 1/2 cup M&M's, reserving rest to decorate the tops with.Form dough into one inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Decorate tops with additional M&M's (this is GREAT for kids to help with!) and bake at 375 for ten to twelve minutes or until golden brown. Makes about five dozen.

Nutrition

Calories: 190kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

You may also enjoy these cookie recipes:

No Bake Chocolate Cookies

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Italian Cookies Recipe lightly sweet, cake like goodness!

Chewy Sugar Cookies

“You must not lose faith in humanity.

Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty,

the ocean does not become dirty.”

~Ghandi. How very true this is.

Submit your quote here or just visit to pick up a little inspiration and a few extra smiles for the road 🙂

 

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100 Comments

  1. I always buy M & M’s after holiday sales…for our daughters First Holy Communion, she wanted all pink and lavendar. So we purchased Easter M&M’s (every variety we could find) and sorted them out. I took the other pastel colors to work, but LOVE your idea of storing them in mason jars. I will be doing that from now on. Thanks for sharing!

    Going to make these cookies this weekend with my girls.

    1. Hey Kathy! Oh my, you sound just like my Mama, going to all of that trouble because you love your girls so much. Made my heart smile.

      Let me know how your girls like them. I know they’ll cherish this time with you in the kitchen!

      Gratefully,
      Christy 🙂

  2. OHH! I love the idea of putting the candy in mason jars! I’ll bet they look so pretty on your shelf! 🙂 ALSO, I just love making cookies with shortening instead of butter. (I think they make a better tasting cookie!) The kids will love this! Thanks! ♥

  3. Are you spying on me? Baking M&M cookies is on my “to do” list for today. (actually, it was on yesterday’s, but didn’t happen). Anyway, I came over earlier to find a recipe (starting here first, of course) and there wasn’t one. Now, ta da! You have one. I love your tip for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. I bought extra M&Ms at Christmas, but I think they are just regular colors. I must go check!

    1. teehee!

      ~quickly puts her telescope away and tries to look as if she wasn’t peering into your brain~

      Isn’t it strange how we all seem to think of making the same things at the same time? I think thats just another sign that we really are a family 🙂

      Gratefully,
      Christy 🙂

  4. Oooh, those look divine. I have everything but the M&Ms to make them, so they’ll have to wait for this weekend! Thanks for the tip about the Christmas M&Ms – we usually grab Christmas candy on clearance, but don’t save it for V-day and S.P. Day!

    We also stock up on chocolate Easter bunnies – usually around 25 cents for a large, solid bunny. Then they go into the freezer until I want chocolate for something.

    1. I had to laugh when I read your comment because my first thought was “SP Day? There is a Southern Plate day???”
      My eyes got all big as I tried to remember when it would be! lol

      easter bunnies = brilliant

      Y’all are so dern smart!!! I gotta do that now!
      Gratefully,
      Christy 🙂

  5. Hey Christy, you just brought back a memory of my late mama! She used to make cookies with M&M’s, but she made chocolate chip cookies with the M&M’s on top. I sure do miss my mama! Thanks for making me think of that memory! I also want you to know that I just recently found this website and I LOVE IT! I am a die-hard southern cook and just love you!

    1. HEY NANCY!!!!

      Welcome to Southern Plate!!! And I gotta tell you that I love you too! So glad you’re here. I bet your Mama was a wonderful person and big hearted as the day was long. You know, if you were short on M&M’s you could put chocolate chips in them and then just use M&Ms on top.

      So glad to know you, welcome to the family!
      Gratefully,
      Christy 🙂

  6. Think I will try these for my kiddos for Valentine’s Day! I just love reading your posts every day on this site as well as your Facebook posts. You really inspire me. Congratulations on your book! Can’t wait to get a copy! Have a blessed day!

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