The best and easiest Christmas M&M Cookie Bars that are perfect for your Christmas cookie exchange! These gooey and chocolaty Christmas M&M Cookie Bars are loaded with red and green M&M’s, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips for a festive holiday cookie treat!
Christmas baking is so much fun for me, and I especially love baking easy Christmas cookies that don’t require precise decorating and many steps. These Christmas M&M Cookie Bars are one of the easiest Christmas cookies you can make because you only need to mix the ingredients in a bowl and then spread the batter in a pan.
Cookies in a Pan
Cookie bars made in a pan are one of my favorites. We have made various versions of cookie bars including Magic Bars, Cinnamon Roll Cookie Bars, S’mores Cookie Bars, and Peanut Butter Bars. You can typically take any cookie recipe and bake it in a 9×13 or a sheet pan to make cookie bars. This recipe base is from our favorite chocolate chip cookie bars and sometimes I make them in a 9×13, or sometimes in a large rimmed sheet pan to spread out the serving size.
I added white chocolate chips for extra festive flair and then pressed red and green M&M’s to the top instead of mixing them into the batter. This is my favorite way to add M&M’s to any cookie recipe so that the fun little colors do not get lost in the batter and instead stand out studded on top.
Christmas M&M Cookie Bars Ingredients
These Christmas M&M Cookie Bars require standard pantry ingredients, with maybe one or two extras you might need to pick up like white chocolate chips (optional) and the red and green M&M’s. The other ingredients include:
- Butter
- Sugars
- Flour
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
Tips for Making Christmas M&M Cookie Bars
- Line your pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray for easy removal from pan.
- If using a 9×13-inch pan, bake a little longer until the middle is set. This may take up to 30 minutes total.
- Serve these Christmas M&M Cookie Bars at a cookie exchange, classroom party, work party, or dessert for Christmas dinner!
- Make these M&M Bars any time throughout the year by using other colors of M&M’s to match the season.
Other Christmas Cookie Exchange Ideas
Every year I make these Christmas M&M Cookies Bars along with our other annual favorite Gingerbread Boys, Sugar Cookies, Gingerdoodles, and Peanut Butter Blossoms among others! I always stock up on red and green holiday M&M’s so I have enough to cover my Christmas baking for the season. I also use these Christmas M&M’s for a seasonal twist to my favorite chocolate chip cookies.
What are your favorite Christmas cookies to make each year? I’m always up for trying something new!
Christmas M&M Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12-oz. bag)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup red and green M&M's
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed sheet pan or a 9x13 rectangle dish with foil, making sure the foil hangs over the edge. Grease with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 1 minute). Stir in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in all of the semi-sweet chocolate chips and half of the white chocolate chips.
- Using a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon, spread the dough onto the prepared pan in an even layer. The dough may be thin if using a sheet pan, but will puff and close holes during baking.
- Sprinkle M&M's and the rest of the white chocolate chips evenly over top and lightly press into the dough.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through and edges are lightly browned. You may need to bake longer, up to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the pan. Do not over bake. Let cool and lift edges of foil to remove from pan to cutting board and cut into squares.
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