Brown butter M&M cookies are a fun twist on my favorite chewy chocolate chip cookies recipe. The brown butter adds an irresistible nutty, caramel flavor that you're going to love!
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Chewy cookies filled with M&M's candies and a hint of toasted brown butter flavor.
Chilling time: Dough requires a 1 hour chill time.
Yield: 36 cookies
Similar to: Mini Peanut Butter M&M Cookies and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Unsalted butter - The butter and salt listed in the recipe can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- M&M's candies - M&M's can be substituted with Reese's Pieces or chocolate chips if desired.
How to make brown butter M&M cookies
- Brown butter over medium heat until brown flecks develop and butter is golden. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until just solidified into a room temperature or slightly cooler block.
- Cream browned butter and sugars until fluffy, then add eggs and beat until smooth. Mix in sifted dry ingredients and M&Ms until just combined. Chill dough for at least 1 hour, preferably 24 hours.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Optionally, add more M&Ms on top of each cookie.
- Bake at 350F for 11-14 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges and across the tops.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Cookie tips and tricks
Stir butter frequently - Stir the butter frequently as it begins to brown. This helps scrape up browned bits on the bottom to prevent burning.
Cook until golden brown, not black - Once the butter looks golden brown with a good amount of brown flecks, remove the butter from the heat. It shouldn't look dark or black.
Why chill cookie dough? - Chilling is important for several reasons. This time allows the flavors to meld, creating a tastier cookie. The flour has time to hydrate, which creates a chewier, thicker cookie. Lastly, some of the moisture evaporates, which creates a concentrated flavor and helps the dough spread less in the oven.
Chill longer for better texture and flavor - I try to chill my dough for at least 24 hours when I bake cookies for myself. Dough can be chilled for up to 3 days in the refrigerator if you'd like to make it ahead of a holiday or event.
Don't have 24 hours? - Anywhere in the 3 to 6 hour range greatly improves the overall texture of your cookies. If time is an issue, chill for at least 1 hour minimum. I never recommend baking this dough straight after mixing.
Frequently asked questions
Browning butter adds a nutty, toasted caramel flavor to the dough.
Brown butter cookies can turn out flat if the butter wasn't brought back to room temperature (solid) before creaming the ingredients together. The solid butter and sugars are creamed together to aerate the dough and help the cookies rise in the oven. Dough also needs to be chilled so that it firms up and spreads less while baking. Greasing the cookie sheet can also cause cookies to spread more.
Dry baked goods can happen for several reasons. If any of the moisture-adding ingredients have been reduced, like sugar, butter, or eggs, this can cause baked goods to turn out dry. If too much flour was added (I recommend weighing your flour or using the spoon and level method), cookies can turn out dry or cakey. Lastly, baking too long in the oven can dry out baked goods.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Brown Butter M&M Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (213 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour, *measured properly
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (356 g) M&M's candies
Instructions
Browning butter
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir frequently. Butter will begin to foam and boil. After 4 to 5 minutes you will see brown flecks appear in the bottom of the pan. Continue to stir until butter is golden and flecks are a medium brown color. Watch closely, butter will brown quickly. The entire process takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove butter from heat and pour into a bowl. Refrigerate for 15-25 minutes, or until butter is just solidified. You're looking for a room temperature or slightly cooler, solid butter.
Cookies
- In a large bowl, add room temperature brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat until creamed and fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined. Add M&M's and stir until just combined.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for at least one hour (24 hours or more is ideal) in the refrigerator. Refrigerating helps the flavors meld, creates a chewier texture, and firms up the dough so it spreads less in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (do not grease your baking sheet, this causes the cookies to spread more in the oven). Set aside.
- Scoop dough using a medium cookie scoop or shape by hand into 1.5 inch balls.
- Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 11-14 minutes, or until lightly browned around edges and across the tops. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- * How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
- Storing cookies: Cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Storing dough: Raw cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
- Freezing: Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- Tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!