M&M’S Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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Chocolate Chip M&M’s Bars â€” Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips are a guaranteed hit!! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that’s so much simpler than making cookies!!

Chocolate Chip M&M’s Bars â€” Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips are a guaranteed hit!! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that's so much simpler than making cookies!!

M&M’s Cookie Bars Recipe

The only thing I may possibly like better than soft and chewy M&M’S cookies are cookie bars. Bars are my favorite kitchen shortcut because they’re so fast and easy to make. No dough to chill or individual cookies to form.

For these very soft, slightly chewy, buttery cookie bars that are loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips, I called upon my trusty blondie base.

When I want an easy, fuss-free, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that I know everyone will love, it’s my go-to. With 25+ versions and counting, it never lets me down.

It’s an easy recipe to memorize because everything is ‘one’. In the 1 bowl used, melt 1 stick of butter, stir in 1 egg, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 1 cup flour.

I stirred in 1 cup of the new Crispy M&M’s, but anything from Dark to Pretzel to Peanut Butter M&M’s would be wonderful. M&M’S has a Pinterest page where you can check out new recipes for baking inspiration.

I loved the texture contrast of the soft bars, with gooey chocolate chips, and the Crispy M&M’s that stay crispy even after being baked. My family’s eyes lit up when they saw these M&M’s bars, and they sure didn’t last long.

stack of three m&m cookie bars on a white plate

What’s in M&M’s Bars? 

To make these easy bar cookies, you’ll need: 

  • Unsalted butter
  • Egg
  • Light brown sugar 
  • Vanilla extract
  • All-purpose flour
  • Salt 
  • Crispy M&M’s 
  • Semi-sweet chocolate chips 

stack of four m&m bars on a white plate. The top bar has a bite missing.

How to Make M&M’s Bars

Melt then butter, then whisk in the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients, then gently fold in the chocolate chips and M&M’s.

Turn the batter into a foil-lined 8×8-inch baking dish and bake until done. 

Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.

How to Store M&M’s Cookie Bars

These M&M’s bar cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Can I Double This Recipe? 

You should be able to, yes. However, some readers who have tried doubling this recipe have said their cookie bars have turned out too greasy. If that happens to you, I recommend scaling back the amount of butter to 1 1/2 sticks total and seeing how that works out for you. 

Chocolate Chip M&M’s Bars â€” Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips are a guaranteed hit!! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that's so much simpler than making cookies!!

Tips for Making M&M’s Bars

I used crispy M&M’s, but you can use any variety you’d like. Likewise, you can add different mix-ins besides chocolate chips, if desired. Chopped nuts and dried fruit would both be good additions! 

Note that I always bake with metal pans and line them with foil for easier cleanup. If baking with a glass pan, your bars may turn out slightly different from mine. 

Lastly, note that these bars firm up as they cool. Be careful not to over bake them, otherwise they’ll be too dry. 

Chocolate Chip M&M’s Bars â€” Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips are a guaranteed hit!! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that's so much simpler than making cookies!!

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4.72 from 46 votes

M&M’S Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

By Averie Sunshine
Soft buttery bars loaded with M&M’s and chocolate chips! Fast, easy, foolproof, no mixer recipe that's so much simpler than making cookies!!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 28 minutes
Additional Time: 57 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12
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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
  • ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 cup Crispy M&M’s, or your favorite M&M’s like Dark, Pretzel, Peanut Butter, plus more for sprinkling
  • ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling

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, salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
  • Stir in the M&M’s and chocolate chips.
  • Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
  • If desired, evenly sprinkle about 1 tablespoon each of M&M’S and chocolate chips for an extra visual pop, tapping them down lightly with your fingertip.
  • Bake for about 25 to 28 minutes (I baked 26 minutes), or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Bars firm up as they cool.
  • Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.

Notes

Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 310kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 111mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 32g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

More Easy Bar Cookies: 

ALL OF MY COOKIE BARS! 

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Triple Peanut Butter Monster Cookie Bars â€“ Peanut butter is use 3 different ways and baked into bars. Great for pantry odds-and-ends cleanout!

Triple Peanut Butter Monster Cookie Bars - Easy One-Bowl Recipe at averiecooks.com

Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter Bars â€” An easy, fuss-free recipe that everyone will love. There’s peanut butter, peanut butter cups, and chocolate chips! 

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — A FAST and EASY dessert that is on the HEALTHIER side with only 1/4 cup butter and no oil!! Bold banana flavor, chewiness from the oats, and plenty of chocolate in every bite!!

Tagalong Cookie Bars — Say hello to year-round Girl Scout cookie season with these delish bars! All the flavors of the classic cookies in easy bar form!!

Peanut Butter Brookies— These brookies are soft and chewy, with peanut butter and chocolate married together in every bite. All you need is two bowls, and no mixer is required!

 Post is brought to you by M&M’S. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. I went to the grocery store to get some mini MnM’s just the regular ones because Im boring like that ;) and they were $5.99! HOLY, so instead I bought mini reeces pieces ($3.99) and Im pretty excited about it! They are in the oven as I type!

  2. Hi, im waiting to see how mine turn out!! i used pumpkin spice latte m&ms and just kinda stirred anything together and made sure all the lumps were out :)

    1. The bars are so versatile with almost any kind of add-in being able to be accommodated. I’m sure the PSL M&Ms will be great in them!

  3. The guys I work with love cookie days and with summer being busy I love the shortcut of bars over cookies. I was in the mood for something “M&M-ish” and having such success with your snickerdoodle bars that put this recipe on the top of the list for me.  Needing to make enough for 20 guys I often have to make 2 batches, so I was really happy to read through the comments to find success with doubling the batch. 
    While I rarely comment, I had to tell you what a huge hit these were! I doubled the batch, used a 9×13″ pan and baked for 28 min and ended up with 32 squares. Complete perfection! Thank you so much. You’ve made baking fun for me (and for my taste testers)!

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you with doubling the recipe and glad the guys at work loved them! Thanks for the wonderful compliments – I appreciate that!

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that doubling it worked great!

  4. These look delicious but I need to make them for a crowd. Do you think I could double the recipe to an 8×13 pan?

    Thank you

    1. Probably will be fine but haven’t personally tried so can’t guarantee, but probably ok.

  5. I had a problem getting these to bake,  I had to cook them for 45 minutes at 350.  They were not light but very dense and greasy.  Maybe the foil was a problem with the spray?  I have never used that combination baking anything before.  

    1. Are you sure your oven is working totally normally and is calibrated? Baking times do vary but 45 minutes is a long time for this recipe. I’ve made this blondie base hundreds of times over the years https://www.averiecooks.com/tag/blondies-2 and know it’s a very solid base. Probably the most well-tested base I have on my site. So….maybe for you, don’t line with foil? I do it b/c it saves tons of time with cleanup and you can just lift the whole thing out using the foil so for me it’s great. I have a feeling though that something is going on with your oven or possibly you under measured the flour? They are a dense bar and buttery, but not greasy. Thanks for trying the recipe and I wish I could pinpoint where the trouble came in for you.

  6. Just made these bars and they were pretty chocolatey so it tasted okay, but mine burnt. :( 
    I baked it for 26 minutes and 350 degrees, because first when I checked at 24 mins it didn’t look done. I didn’t melt the butter so that it was completely liquify/clear-ish color, I’d say I melted it for about 30 seconds. Could this be why? Also, it tasted a little too bready-like/like dough or flour? Do you know why this happened? I followed the recipe as is..maybe I over mixed the flour? I’d like to try this again and hopefully it will go better next time!

    1. All ovens, pan, climates, etc. vary and so you have to really watch your item in your oven and conditions.

      Next, you didn’t melt the butter fully and YES that will absolutely impact results in this recipe! It will cause the batter to be drier in general, and cook quicker, and likely this is why it tasted a bit flour-ey. I have made this blondie base recipe hundreds (not exaggerating) of times over the years with a million different adaptations and it’s a keeper and easy, but you just need to follow the recipe fully next time and you’ll be all set.

      Also don’t hard-pack and use a heavy hand with flour; most people over-measure their flour. Just something to keep in mind for the future.

  7. Averie, you’ve done it again! My family thinks I’m a rock star pastry chef because of you! :) It’s rare that a bag of M&Ms lasts long enough at my house to actually permit cookie-making, so that in itself was something. I love this blondie base. I used the regular candies, and these turned out gooey and YUM. The 8X8 pan was gone in a day–my 4 boys (1 adult and 3 preteens) fought over the last piece. Thanks, Averie.

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and I’m actually surprised that it lasted 4 days with 4 teen boys in the house! That’s actually impressive :) And glad you look like a rock star pastry chef!!

  8. Every single shot above made my jaw drop further. I want to try every single cookie, brownie and “cookie pie” on this page. Time to buy some ingredients I think.

  9. Looks so good! You can’t deny, M&Ms are so much more exciting to look at in cookies, and taste even better! Thanks for all the great M&M ideas!

  10. I love everything about these bars! I didn’t realize I needed them until now. It’s like you read my mind and combined my favorites in a way that is easier than making individual cookies! I’m both thrilled and freaked out at the same time.☺

  11. Oh serendipity! I saw this at 5:15 this morning. Yum! I should make these some day. Flash forward 1 hour as I turn into the candy aisle as I grocery shop…bam! Pastel/Easter m&m on sale $1.69 a bag (not the $3.69)…oh yes! Thank you universe for speaking so loudly. They’re in the oven and I have 25 minutes of sun time (it’s going to be 70 today…yay). Thanks for the recipe and bringing all the pieces together today! *grin*

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe with your very serendipitous pastel candies that were on sale that you scored (love those kind of finds!!)

      Enjoy the bars!

  12. I always love coming and checking out your recipes. I feel comforted just looking at these m&m blondies :)