M&M Christmas Cookie Bars - These chewy cookie bars are loaded with festive M&Ms, making them the perfect option for your Christmas dessert table or any holiday party.
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A funny thing happened to me today...
Last week we were having fun in the sun at Disney in Florida. We didn't have a care about real life. The biggest issues we had were that we were {almost} too hot and the lines were too long!
Looking for more Christmas inspiration? Check out my Christmas Pin Board!
Anyway, I'm telling you this because today, I woke up, back at home and realize Christmas is right around the corner.
AHHHHHHH
How did that happen so quickly?
Seriously.
I spent all my time preparing for Thanksgiving and our Disney trip, that I kind of put Christmas on hold in my brain. Now, it's basically here and I haven't even thought of any holiday recipes. This bothers me. Christmas baking is what gets me in the holiday mood. For some it's putting up the lights, tree or decorations. For me, it's the baking (and watching Love Actually).
While I was shopping today I grabbed holiday M&Ms. I had no idea what I would do with them. I figured worst case, I would just make some cookies. As long as I had something red and green going in my oven, I would be happy.
After a while of perusing cookies and bars on Pinterest, I actually came across one of my own recipes. By the way, that is still weird to me. One second I'm in awe of someones beautiful recipe picture and all of a sudden, BAM, there I am, in my own feed.
I'm drifting. Let's get back to what I was saying.
The recipe of mine I came across was for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. Oh gosh, they are good. I figured I could leave out the salted caramel part and incorporate the M&Ms into the cookie bar part of the recipe.
They turned out perfect. My son devoured 2 bars as soon as he got off the bus. I had to stop him from going for more. My husband was nibbling away from the moment I told him they were cooled and ready to eat. And, I may have had two this evening. Let's keep that last part quiet, okay?
These M&M Christmas Cookie Bars are a:
- great bring along dessert to parties you are attending
- nice way to put a smile on your co-workers face at the office
- tasty way to thank a friend or neighbor (for instance I made some for my friend/neighbor who took in our mail while on vacation)
- festive option for your holiday dessert table
- delicious surprise for your kids when they get off the bus
Printable Recipe Card
m&m Christmas Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 Cup flour all purpose
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 tablespoon butter
- 1 Cup brown sugar
- ½ Cup white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Cup chocolate chips semi sweet
- 1 Cup m&ms divided (red & green for xmas)
- Non-stick spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Melt butter. Set aside to cool for a minute or two.
- Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
- Using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Add egg and extract. Mix until smooth. Continue to mix, adding the flour mixture in small amounts, until all combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and ½ C m&ms.
- Press the mixture into prepared baking pan evenly.
- Lightly press the remaining mms onto the surface of the dough. (this will ensure you see the bright colors on top of the bars).
- Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned and sides begin to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Cool before cutting into squares.
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Laurie Bailey says
These look awesome!
foodyschmoody says
Thanks!
Kirsten/ComfortablyDomestic says
You really can't go wrong with an easy classic like cookie bars. No one will every know how busy you've been!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
It's crazy that it's almost here already! And love the look of these bars!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
My kids would be all over those cookie bars!
carrie @ frugal foodie mama says
Oh, these look perfect! So thick and soft! 🙂 Perfect for the holidays.
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I can't believe Christmas is almost here either!! These are perfect! Hope you had fun at Disney!
foodyschmoody says
Thanks and yes we had a great time!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
Christmas snuck up on me too!! These bars look ridiculously good!
Brandy | Nutmeg Nanny says
Love m&m cookie bars! These would be such a hit in our house!
Aleksandra says
These cookie bars look amazing! We’re currently posted overseas and I’m hoping to make these for a holiday party we have coming up. One problem... I can’t find M&Ms anywhere! I did find mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that I bought. My question is, would this recipe work adding peanut butter cups in place of the M&Ms? Or should I just leave out that part and make only with chocolate chips? Thanks!
foodyschmoody says
hmmm, I've never done this w/ PB cups (daughter is allergic to PB) but I think if it were me, I would make the bars w/ the chips and then maybe a few minutes before the bars are done, I would press the PB cups in and then finish cooking. I'm afraid adding them too early would result in them melting. Please let me know how they turn out.
Sarah says
Made these this afternoon and when my husband got home he scarffed down like 4 of them. He was raving about how good they were. Will definitely be making these again!
foodyschmoody says
Glad he liked them! They go quick at my house too!
Tami says
Would these freeze well?
foodyschmoody says
I haven't frozen them but I think they would do just fine. I found this guide on freezing desserts, it specifically states cookie bars if you scroll down https://anitalianinmykitchen.com/my-moms-best-christmas-cookies-and-bars/freezing-cookies-and-bars/
Crissy says
These were delicious and so festive! I never make bar cookies, but man they are so much easier! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
foodyschmoody says
Super easy, right?! I love bars so much better than cookies because they're all done in one shot. No more waiting for the first batch and for the cookie sheet to cool etc. So glad you enjoyed them!
Kelly says
I use this recipe ALL the time. Easy to make with few ingredients. My teens love them!
foodyschmoody says
Awesome. Thanks for sharing. Glad everyone loves them!