Loaded M&M’s Oreo Bars — Stuffed to the max with M&M’s and Oreos! These Oreo cookie bars are an easy, no-mixer recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes. Always a hit at parties!
The Best Oreo Cookie Bars
If you like Oreos and M&M’s, these are the bars for you. Is there anyone who doesn’t like Oreos and M&M’s? I hope not. Or you may be reading the wrong blog.
These bars came to be because I was preparing to move and in an effort to clean out my pantry, I started grabbing things that looked like they’d work together.
Half-eaten package of Oreos. Check. A small bag of M&M’s that appear to have most of the reds and browns picked out. Check. A stick of butter, 1 egg, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 cup flour. Check. I always have those items on hand.
And if you do, you can make these Oreo bars in 5 minutes without a mixer and they’re ready in a half hour. Love pans of bars for that reason. Fast, easy, no dough to chill.
I used my easy, no-mixer, go-to blondie recipe that has served me so well over the years, and I adapted it this time by stirring in chopped Oreos and sprinkling on M&M’s. It’ll seem like there are more Oreos than batter, and that’s correct. Such a such a good problem to have.
I used Birthday Cake Oreos, which have birthday cake flavored-filling, but don’t go out of your way for them. They hardly seem different from original Oreos to me.
The Oreo bars are dense, thick, and packed with texture. The Oreos soften slightly while baking, but retain some crunch.
The crunchy shells of the M&M’s, contrasted with Oreos, and the soft, buttery, moist blondie dough is a texture lover’s dream. Shopping in my own pantry and widdling down my ingredients before moving was a packer’s dream.
And my family was pretty happy when they had a taste of my pantry clean-out endeavors. They’re tailor-made for your trashy eating enjoyment. Live a little, it’s fun!
What’s in These Oreo Bars?
To make these Oreo and M&M’s cookie bars, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Oreo cookies
- M&M’s
How to Make Oreo Cookie Bars
Melt the butter, then whisk in the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Then, fold in then crushed Oreos.
Turn the batter into a greased 8×8-inch pan. Sprinkle with M&M’s just before baking.
Bake these Oreo bars until a toothpick inserted in the center (if you can find a bare patch to test) comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
Can I Use Different Flavors of Oreos?
Yes! Use whatever variety of Oreos you have on hand. Different flavors of Oreos will work here, as will Double Stuf.
Can I Use Different Flavors of M&M’s?
Yes again! Any kind of M&M’s can be used in these Oreo and M&M’s cookie bars.
Can I Use Granulated Sugar Instead of Brown Sugar?
No, you must use light brown sugar in this recipe. Granulated sugar isn’t sticky enough, which will result in a different texture.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Most likely, yes. You’d need to bake the Oreo bars in a 9×13-inch baking pan.
How to Store Oreo Cookie Bars
Store these Oreo cookie bars in an air-tight container at room temperature. They’ll last about a week.
Can I Freeze These Oreo Bars?
Yes, but just note that M&Ms can sometimes lose their color and bleed a bit upon freezing.
Tips for Making Oreo Bars
If you don’t have Oreos or M&M’s, shop in your own pantry for what you do have.
Graham crackers, 4-day old leftover chocolate chip cookies that are past their prime, leftover fun-sized candy bars from last Easter, the remains of your last impulse buy at Trader Joe’s like chocolate-covered pretzels or that tub of mini peanut butter cups you’ve been snacking on at midnight, or the nearly empty bag of white chocolate chips that you grab a handful of every time you walk past the cupboard.
You get the point. Don’t buy anything if you don’t have to. Sure, the Oreos and M&M’s are great but so are a lot of other things. Use the recipe as an opportunity to use up your odds and ends.
Edited to add: This recipe, and my name, appeared on the COVER of Taste of Home Magazine, September 2014. They used their in-house photographer rather than using mine. Facebook post about it here.
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Loaded M&M's Oreo Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 18 Oreo Cookies, coarsely chopped*
- about 1/2 cup M&M’s, I used plain, use your favorite flavor or other chopped candy
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Stir in the Oreos.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Evenly sprinkle the M&M's over the top, lightly pressing them down with your finger or a spatula.
- Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes, or until done based on add-ins used. Top should be set and edges slightly firm. A toothpick inserted in the center (if you can find a bare patch to test) should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- *Note: I used Oreo Chocolate Birthday Cake Sandwich Cookies; another type of chocolate sandwich cookie may substituted, or about 2 heaping cups of coarsely chopped add-ins including leftover cookies, graham crackers, chocolate-covered pretzels, etc.
- Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can the M&m oreo bars be frozen. I need to make them this week for an event in 2 weeks.
Laura Nettles
Joeandlauranettles@yahoo.com
Sometimes upon freezing M&Ms can lose their color and bleed a bit. It just depends. You may want to make a trial test batch and freeze just to see if the results upon thawing will work for you. Taste will be fine, it’s just cosmetic.
Followed the directions to a T and they are completely under baked at the bottom. I put in for an extra 10 mins – bottom is still not cooked through. Even flipped them over and put the oven on broil – and they finally cooked. Anyone else have this issue? I think next time I will skip the foil and cook longer
No one has mentioned this before you. Maybe your oven is running cooler or maybe you live in a more humid climate. So many variables with baking. Thanks for trying the recipe.
I had the same problem. In the middle it was under baked at the bottom. Although it was delicious i couldn’t slice the bar because it was falling apart.
All ovens bake differently. Maybe a few more minutes in your oven would have cooked it through better. Glad it tasted delicious!
Could the recipe be doubled for a 13×9 pan?
Probably yes but I haven’t personally tried doubling the recipe so can’t speak from experience.
I am so glad that I was browsing for recipes including Oreos one day, and I came across your website (thanks Pinterest) I’ve made two kinds of cookie bars in the last week, and they are just fabulous. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!!
Thanks for trying two recipes of mine in the last week (and finding me) and glad they turned out great for you! Keep me posted what else you try!
I should start by saying I have made these bars multiple times and people always go crazy for them! Thank you for a great recipe. You may already know this but I thought you would want to know an etsy seller is using your photos for her bake shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/250983657/loaded-mm-oreo-cookies-oreo-cookies
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And thanks for the heads up on the Etsy situation…grrr!!
I made a test batch of these tonight (planning to take them to a party on Thursday) and followed the directions exactly (8×8 pan, lined with foil, sprayed with PAM. etc. ) and ended up baking them for 40 minutes and they STILL weren’t baked. We ate them with a spoon…they were delicious, but I can’t take them anywhere since I couldn’t cut them into squares. :(
I’m not sure why they weren’t cooked after 40 minutes. It’s one of my most popular recipes and hundreds of people have written in to say everything is fine when they make them.
And Taste of Home Magazine featured them on their cover last year, and in order to do so, they remade them umpteen times in their test kitchen. Maybe your oven is running on the cool side? Not sure what to say…Thanks for trying the recipe.
These look great, but I have worked on them all day, and they have not turned out. ? they have taken hours to cool and still are not set, so they just fall apart and are still doughy. Don’t know what I did wrong. ?Yes the directions were followed.
Doughy, falling apart, taking forever to cool and not set? = Classic signs of underbaked (raw). All climates and ovens vary and in your situation, a few more minutes in the oven is likely all you would have needed for success. Now you know for next time.
wow…. it’s look heavenly delicious <3
I was wondering about the absence of baking powder and or baking soda? Mine just came out of the oven and they look fine and smell amazing. I can’t wait to taste them!
There’s neither in this recipe. Glad they smell amazing!
I was worried that the bars wouldn’t rise without a leavening agent. It wasn’t needed, they came out great. My husband loved them! Thank you. I love your recipes, they are so unique. I love to bake and make different recipes other than the regular ordinary cookies, quick breads, etc.
Baking these right now for a Bake Sale tomorrow! They smell heavenly!
Enjoy!! Hope they’re a hit at the bake sale!
1 Tablespoon vanilla?????
That’s 3 teaspoons, but if you want to use less, use less. I love very vanilla things so I go heavy-handed.
These look so good, and are some of my dad’s favorite things. His birthday is coming up…Do you think this recipe could be doubled for a 9×13 cake pan?
Yes, pretty sure you’ll be just fine like that. Enjoy!
Wondering if these can be baked then frozen? I offered to make cookies for my nieces grad party next month but wanted to get it done now instead of at the last minute. :-)
Thanks!
(This question is regarding all of the bar recipes I saw here)
For the most part, yes, you can make, cool, wrap well, then freeze. Being that you are serving them at a party, well, if it were me I would make them 24-36 hrs ahead of time if possible b/c it is a special event, rather than taking something out of the freezer but totally your call. You can freeze most of my bars, they’ll be fine upon thawing, but just have to throw that fresh is always best caveat in there.
These look so good i think I’m gonna try them tomorrow! but i have one question, instead of m&m’s could i use like 1-2 cup mini marshmallows in the batter? so it would be a loaded oreo & marshmallow bar? I’m wondering cuz maybe marshmallow might burn faster? i hope not cuz i already made a bar using m&m’s the other week so now i wanna try something different and i think those two would be good combo! – pls let me know -thanks ! :)
I haven’t tried with marshmallows so can’t say for sure how they’ll hold up while baking. Let me know how it goes!
Just wanted to chime in, great recipe, though when the dough was finished I worried I’d done it wrong, it seemed so syrupy. One caveat, I found a type of oreo that unfortunately doesn’t work well. The absolutely delicious reeses peanut butter oreos they came out with in 2015. They just don’t solidify enough to work in the bars, so some parts seem undercooked even when they aren’t. This still tastes delicious, just means that they aren’t really presentable for serving to anyone other than immediate family :-) It’s a shame, that flavor of oreo is super tasty and gives an interesting additional depth to the bars. It just doesn’t hold together with them. I’ll have to use regular next time :-)
The reason the Reeses peanut butter oreos likely don’t work is because of all the peanut butter/oils found in them, that’s just inherent to PB. You really want that classic Oreo, chocolate or even the vanilla-based versions, just nothing with PB. After writing a cookbook about PB, trust me there’s so much I learned :)
If you’re looking for an AMAZING Pb dessert that uses PB cookies, make these! Just posted them https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/05/chocolate-peanut-butter-dream-bars.html and made with Nutter Butters. Crazy.crazy.good.
Always a winner, made two batches last weekend, one just as you suggested here, the other loaded with Do-Si-Dos, peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips – YUM!! Love the versatility of this recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I totally want to make with Do-Si-Dos, peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips now too! I just made a recipe for next week with Nutter Butters, Pb chips and choc chips :)