Festive M&M Christmas Sandwich Cookies: A Decadent Holiday Recipe
These irresistible Christmas cookies are the epitome of holiday joy, bursting with rich chocolate, vibrant M&M’s, and generously stuffed with a creamy, colorful buttercream frosting. They’re not just a dessert; they’re an experience, promising fun in the making and sheer delight in every bite. Perfect for spreading cheer, these festive treats can be baked ahead of time, making them ideal for bustling bake sales, lively holiday parties, memorable Christmas dinners, or any occasion that calls for a touch of homemade magic. Prepare to create a new family favorite that will light up any festive spread!
If you’re anything like me, you have an enduring love for M&M cookies – those classic, colorful treats that bring a smile to everyone’s face. Now, imagine taking that beloved cookie and elevating it to a whole new level by sandwiching it with a generous dollop of homemade, perfectly fluffy buttercream frosting! Especially during the enchanting holiday season, these decadent M&M sandwich cookies loaded with cheerful Holiday M&M’s and sparkling sprinkles are everything you could ever wish for in a festive dessert, and then some. They offer a delightful blend of textures and flavors, making them truly unforgettable.
Why You’ll Adore These Christmas Cookies
- Perfect for Chocolate Enthusiasts & Thoughtful Gifting: Indulge the deepest chocolate cravings! These cookies are a dream come true for anyone who adores chocolate. Their rich flavor profile, enhanced by both mini chocolate chips and festive M&M’s, makes them an utterly satisfying treat. When beautifully packaged, they also transform into thoughtful, handcrafted gifts that friends, family, and neighbors will cherish and remember long after the holiday season has passed.
- Super Cute and Utterly Festive: With their cheerful holiday M&M’s, vibrant sprinkles, and eye-catching, multi-colored frosting centers, these sandwich cookies are a feast for the eyes as much as they are for the palate. They instantly brighten any dessert platter, adding an undeniable festive charm that embodies the true spirit of Christmas. Their playful appearance makes them a surefire hit with both children and adults, ensuring they’re the star of any holiday gathering or cookie exchange.
- Irresistibly Soft, Chewy, and Decadent: Forget dry, crumbly cookies! Our carefully crafted recipe is specifically designed to yield an incredibly soft, wonderfully chewy, and tender cookie that practically melts in your mouth with every bite. The generous, fluffy buttercream filling elevates them further, creating a truly decadent sandwich cookie that feels wonderfully luxurious and deeply satisfying. Each bite is a harmonious blend of textures and flavors that will leave you wanting more.
- Easy to Make & Delightfully Customizable: Despite their impressive and bakery-worthy appearance, these Christmas cookies are surprisingly simple to prepare, making them a fantastic baking project for all skill levels, including aspiring young bakers. The decorating process is straightforward and offers endless opportunities for customization. Whether you stick to the classic red and green frosting for a traditional holiday look or venture into other festive hues, you can easily tailor them to your personal style, holiday theme, or specific event.
- A Joyful Family Activity for the Holidays: Baking these delightful cookies can quickly become a cherished holiday tradition. The entire process—from mixing and rolling the dough to the most enjoyable part of decorating with colorful M&M’s, sprinkles, and vibrant frosting—provides a wonderful opportunity for families to bond, create lasting memories, and truly get into the festive spirit together. It’s an engaging and rewarding activity for everyone involved, fostering warmth and togetherness.
- Fills Your Home with Wonderful Holiday Aromas: As these cookies bake to golden perfection, they fill your home with the most inviting, warm, and sweet aroma – the true, unmistakable scent of Christmas. This delightful fragrance, a mix of vanilla, chocolate, and butter, adds to the festive ambiance, making your home feel incredibly cozy and welcoming, long before the first delicious bite is even taken. It’s an integral part of the holiday experience.
Ingredient Notes for Perfect Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour – This forms the essential structural base of our cookies. For best results, measure your flour accurately using the spoon-and-level method, which means lightly spooning the flour into your measuring cup and leveling it off with a straight edge, rather than scooping directly from the bag. This prevents over-packing and ensures a tender cookie. While I haven’t personally tested it, a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (one specifically designed for baking) is usually a reliable substitute if you need a gluten-free option for your holiday guests.
- Cornstarch – This often-overlooked ingredient is a secret weapon for achieving an incredibly tender and soft cookie texture. Just a couple of tablespoons work wonders, helping to prevent excessive gluten development and ensuring your cookies have that delightful melt-in-your-mouth quality that makes them so irresistible.
- Baking Soda – Crucial for leavening, baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar in the dough, producing carbon dioxide bubbles that help the cookies rise beautifully and become wonderfully fluffy and airy. Ensure your baking soda is fresh for optimal results; you can test its potency by mixing a small amount with vinegar – it should bubble vigorously. This ensures your cookies aren’t flat.
- Fine Sea Salt – Salt is used here not just for its own flavor, but primarily to enhance and balance the sweetness of the sugars and the richness of the chocolate. A pinch of fine sea salt brightens all the other flavors, preventing the cookies from tasting overly sweet and adding a subtle depth that truly makes them irresistible and well-rounded.
- Unsalted Butter – Softened perfectly at room temperature, unsalted butter is paramount for a decadent sandwich cookie. Softened butter creams beautifully with sugar, creating tiny air pockets that contribute significantly to the cookies’ light, fluffy, and tender texture. Make sure it’s not melted or too cold, but simply pliable enough to indent easily with your finger. Using unsalted butter also gives you control over the overall saltiness.
- Sugars (Granulated & Light Brown) – The combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar is key to achieving the perfect cookie texture. Granulated sugar provides crispness and helps with browning, while light brown sugar adds crucial moisture, chewiness, and a subtle caramel-like flavor, ensuring your cookies are soft and delightfully chewy. Powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) is then specifically used for the frosting filling, dissolving smoothly to create a silky, lump-free buttercream.
- Eggs – Large eggs act as a crucial binder in the cookie dough, providing essential structure and moisture. They help emulsify the fats and liquids, giving the cookies their shape and contributing to their rich flavor and tender crumb. Ensure your eggs are at room temperature for better incorporation into the creamed butter and sugar mixture, which leads to a more uniform dough.
- Vanilla Extract – A high-quality pure vanilla extract is a non-negotiable ingredient, elevating the overall flavor profile of your M&M sandwich cookies. Its warm, aromatic notes complement the chocolate and sugars beautifully, adding depth and a comforting richness that makes these cookies truly special. Opt for pure vanilla extract for the best, most authentic taste.
- Holiday M&M’s – These festive candies are not just for decoration; they add delightful bursts of colorful chocolate goodness throughout the cookies. Their vibrant red and green hues instantly scream ‘Christmas!’ Feel free to experiment with other holiday-themed candies if M&M’s aren’t available, or even mix in different color combinations for other celebrations throughout the year.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Beyond the M&M’s, mini chocolate chips are included to boost the chocolate flavor, making these cookies even more intensely satisfying for serious chocolate enthusiasts. Mini chips distribute more evenly throughout the dough and melt beautifully without overpowering the texture. You can choose semi-sweet for a classic balance, or milk chocolate for extra sweetness, depending on your preference.
- Holiday Sprinkles – These are purely for aesthetic appeal and an extra touch of festive sparkle. Red, green, and white sprinkles mixed into the dough and pressed onto the baked cookies add a playful texture and a truly celebratory, cheerful look. Feel free to use jimmies, nonpareils, or any fun festive sprinkle blend you prefer to make your cookies pop!
- Whole Milk – Whole milk is recommended for the frosting to achieve an extra-rich, creamy, and luxurious filling. Its higher fat content contributes to a smoother, more decadent buttercream that holds its shape beautifully. If whole milk isn’t available, you can use 2% milk or even heavy cream for an even richer result, adjusting consistency as needed.
- Food Coloring – Green and red gel food coloring are essential for creating the distinct, vibrant layers of colored filling that make these sandwich cookies so visually striking and ‘Instagram-worthy.’ Gel colors are preferred over liquid food coloring as they provide intense color without adding excess moisture to your buttercream, ensuring a perfect, stable consistency. You can adjust the amount to achieve your desired shade intensity.
How to Make The Delicious Christmas Cookie Base
- Begin by preheating your oven to a precise 350°F (175°C). Proper oven temperature is critical for even baking and achieving that perfect golden edge without overbaking. While the oven heats, prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. This prevents sticking, promotes even baking by insulating the bottom of the cookies, and makes for super easy cleanup – a definite holiday baking hack that saves you time!
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients: the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and fine sea salt. Whisk them together thoroughly using a wire whisk until uniformly combined and light. This crucial step ensures that the leavening agents and salt are evenly distributed throughout the dough, preventing pockets of unmixed ingredients and guaranteeing a consistent texture in every single cookie. Set this bowl aside for later.
- Now, in the body of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened unsalted butter with both the granulated and light brown sugars. Beat on medium-high speed for approximately 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes wonderfully light, fluffy, and visibly pale. This crucial step incorporates air into the butter and sugar, which contributes significantly to the cookies’ airy, soft, and slightly cake-like texture, preventing them from being dense.
- With the mixer still running on low speed, add the large eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to fully incorporate into the butter mixture before adding the next. This ensures a smooth emulsion and prevents the mixture from separating. Once the eggs are fully mixed in and the batter is cohesive, stir in the rich vanilla extract, ensuring its aromatic flavor is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Gradually add the reserved dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients in the stand mixer. Mix on low speed, just until the ingredients are combined and no streaks of dry flour remain. Be careful not to overmix the dough, as overmixing can develop the gluten in the flour, resulting in tough, dry cookies. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is thoroughly incorporated for a consistent dough.
- Gently fold in the festive Holiday M&M’s and mini chocolate chips into the cookie dough. Stir just enough to evenly distribute these delicious additions throughout the dough without crushing them. Then, add the holiday sprinkles and give it another quick, gentle stir. The goal is to incorporate them without overworking the dough, which could affect the texture.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of the prepared cookie dough for each cookie. Roll the dough into smooth, uniform balls between your palms. For a better shape and to minimize excessive spreading during baking, gently form the dough balls so they are slightly taller than they are wide, creating a more spherical mound rather than a flat disc. This technique helps the cookies retain a beautiful, thick, and chewy center. Continue this process with all the dough, placing the balls a few inches apart on your parchment-lined baking sheets to allow for proper airflow and prevent them from merging.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 11-12 minutes. Keep a close eye on them; you’re looking for the edges to be lightly golden brown and the tops to appear set and dry. It’s vital not to overbake these cookies, as this will lead to a dry, hard, and crumbly texture. Remember, they will continue to set slightly as they cool, so a slightly underbaked center is often ideal for maintaining their wonderful softness and chewiness.
- Immediately after taking your cookies out of the oven, while they are still warm and pliable, gently press a few extra Holiday M&M’s, mini chocolate chips, and sprinkles onto the tops of each cookie. This enhances their visual appeal, making them look even more professional, festive, and enticing for serving. Let the freshly baked cookies cool on the baking sheet for a crucial 10 minutes. This allows them to firm up slightly and prevents them from breaking before you attempt to move them. Afterward, carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely, ensuring proper air circulation prevents them from becoming soggy on the bottom.
- While your beautiful cookies are cooling completely, it’s the perfect time to shift your focus to preparing the decadent, colorful frosting filling. Having the cookies completely cool before frosting is absolutely essential to prevent the buttercream from melting and sliding off, ensuring your sandwich cookies hold their shape perfectly.
How To Make The Vibrant Buttercream Frosting
- In the clean bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened unsalted butter on medium speed until it is perfectly smooth, light, and creamy. This typically takes 2-3 minutes and ensures your frosting has a light, airy, and consistent base, free of any lumps, which is crucial for smooth piping.
- Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar to the creamed butter, a little at a time, mixing on low speed to avoid creating a ‘sugar cloud’ in your kitchen. Once all the sugar is incorporated, add the pinch of salt, the second tablespoon of vanilla extract, and the whole milk. Mix on low until everything is just combined. Then, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for a full 3 minutes. This vigorous whipping will transform the mixture into a wonderfully light, fluffy, and smooth buttercream, ready for coloring and piping.
- Carefully divide the freshly made buttercream frosting evenly between three separate bowls. To one bowl, add a few drops of red gel food coloring. To the second bowl, add green gel food coloring. Leave the third bowl of frosting its natural white color. Stir each colored bowl thoroughly until you achieve your desired festive shade. You can add more coloring, drop by drop, for a more intense hue, remembering that a little gel color goes a long way in achieving vibrant results without thinning the frosting.
- Prepare your piping bags (or use sturdy plastic bags with the corner snipped off for a simpler approach). Spoon each color of frosting into a separate piping bag. Now for the fun part: take one completely cooled cookie (with the flat bottom facing up) and pipe a generous dollop of each color onto its surface, creating a vibrant swirl, distinct stripes, or any pattern you desire. Then, carefully place another cooled cookie on top, gently pressing down just enough to create a beautiful sandwich, allowing the frosting to slightly squish to the edges. Serve these delightful Christmas M&M Sandwich Cookies immediately, and prepare for rave reviews and happy faces!
Can I Change the Filling for My Christmas Cookies?
Absolutely! One of the wonderful aspects of these M&M Christmas Cookies is their incredible versatility. While our classic vibrant buttercream is undeniably delicious and festive, you’re absolutely encouraged to customize the filling to suit your personal preferences or the specific occasion. Feel free to use any other filing you prefer to create a unique and memorable sandwich cookie experience. Some fantastic and highly recommended ideas include:
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: For an ultimate chocolate indulgence, a rich, dark, and silky chocolate buttercream would be divine, pairing perfectly with the M&M’s and chocolate chips in the cookies.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: A tangy, sweet, and incredibly creamy cream cheese frosting offers a delightful contrast to the cookie’s sweetness and a wonderfully luxurious texture.
- Ice Cream: For a truly decadent and refreshing treat, especially during warmer holiday seasons or as a unique dessert, a scoop of vanilla, mint chip, or even gingerbread ice cream makes an incredible filling. Simply assemble just before serving.
- Nutella Frosting: A rich, hazelnut-chocolate spread-based frosting would add a gourmet touch and a deep, comforting flavor that pairs wonderfully with the cookie base.
- Peppermint Buttercream: For a quintessential Christmas flavor, add a hint of peppermint extract to your buttercream for a refreshing and invigorating kick, enhancing the holiday spirit.
- Lemon Curd: A bright, zesty lemon curd can provide a wonderful tart counterpoint to the sweet cookies, offering a completely different and surprisingly delicious flavor profile.
- Salted Caramel Filling: A luscious homemade or store-bought salted caramel filling would add a sophisticated, sweet-and-salty depth that is incredibly addictive and makes for a truly elevated cookie.
The possibilities are truly endless, allowing you to tailor these delicious cookies to any taste or celebration beyond Christmas!
Top Tips for Perfect Christmas M&M Sandwich Cookies
- Shaping for Success: The way you shape your cookie dough balls significantly impacts the final cookie. By rolling the dough into mounds that are slightly taller than they are wide – think of them as mini domes – you encourage less spreading during the baking process. This clever technique helps the cookies retain a beautiful, thick, and wonderfully chewy center, rather than becoming too thin or flat. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference in achieving perfect, evenly sized sandwich cookie halves.
- Mess-Free Toppings Application: To maintain a cleaner presentation and minimize potential mess when handling and eating these delightful sandwich cookies, consider pressing the additional M&M’s, chocolate chips, and sprinkles onto only the top half of the cookies. You can leave the bottom cookies plain to serve as a clean base. If you choose to add toppings to both halves, ensure you press them very firmly into the warm dough immediately after baking. This helps them adhere properly, preventing them from falling off as the cookies cool or when they are assembled into sandwiches.
- Beyond the Holidays: Customization is Key! While these are designed as festive Christmas cookies, their appeal isn’t limited to just one season! This recipe serves as an incredibly versatile base for any occasion or celebration throughout the year. Feel completely free to use any color combination of M&M’s, sprinkles, and food coloring you like. Imagine pastel colors for Easter, primary colors for a birthday party, or even just leaving the filling a pristine, elegant white for a sophisticated dessert. The possibilities for customization are truly limitless, allowing you to adapt them to any theme or personal preference.
- The Golden Rule: Do Not Overbake! This is perhaps the most critical tip for achieving perfectly soft and chewy sandwich cookies. Overbaking will inevitably result in dry, hard, and crumbly cookies that are difficult to sandwich together and significantly less enjoyable to eat. Watch your oven closely and remove the cookies when their edges are just lightly golden brown and their centers still look slightly soft or puffy. Remember, they will continue to set slightly as they cool on the baking sheet, ensuring they remain wonderfully tender and pliable for pairing with that creamy frosting.
- A Versatile Cookie Base: Think of this delicious M&M-studded cookie recipe as a fantastic blank canvas for all your sandwich cookie creations. Once you master this base, you can confidently experiment with various fillings beyond buttercream – from sweet fruit jams and tangy lemon curd to rich peanut butter or decadent chocolate ganache. You could even swap out the M&M’s for different types of chopped candy, nuts, or dried fruits to create entirely new flavor combinations and cookie experiences throughout the year, making this recipe a year-round favorite.
- Room Temperature Ingredients are Essential: Ensure that your butter and eggs are at proper room temperature before you begin mixing. This seemingly small detail is vital for the success of both your cookies and frosting. Room temperature ingredients emulsify more effectively, creating a smoother, more uniform dough and a fluffier, lump-free buttercream that’s easier to work with. Cold ingredients can lead to a lumpy batter and a denser, less appealing final product.
- Chill Your Dough (Optional, but Recommended for Best Results): If you have the time, chilling the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes (or even overnight) can significantly improve the texture and prevent excessive spreading during baking. Chilled dough results in thicker, chewier cookies with a richer, more developed flavor profile. It also makes the dough much easier to handle and roll, especially if your kitchen tends to be warm. This extra step is well worth the wait!
Storage Instructions for Freshness
Proper storage is absolutely key to maintaining the delightful freshness and perfect texture of these M&M Christmas sandwich cookies. Once baked and completely cooled, these festive treats will stay fresh and delicious when stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To extend their shelf life even further, you can keep them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. For longer-term storage, these cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. To freeze, first place the assembled cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Once solid, transfer them to a freezer-safe airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag, making sure to separate layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. When you’re ready to enjoy them after freezing, be sure to let them thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight. For the very best texture and flavor, allow them to come to room temperature on the counter for about 30-60 minutes before serving. The creamy frosting truly shines when not overly chilled, offering its soft, luxurious consistency.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies: Explore another beloved holiday classic with these deliciously fudgy and beautifully cracked chocolate crinkle cookies, perfect for any festive table and an easy crowd-pleaser.
- Soft Peanut Butter Cookies: Indulge in the comforting, rich flavor of these incredibly soft and chewy peanut butter cookies, a timeless favorite that brings warmth and nostalgia to any occasion.
- Sugar Cookies with Icing: Master the art of beautifully decorated sugar cookies with this versatile recipe, ideal for cutting into festive shapes and adorning with colorful, smooth icing for any holiday or celebration.
- Cream Cheese Nutella Cookies: Experience a unique fusion of creamy richness from cream cheese and decadent hazelnut chocolate in these utterly irresistible Nutella-infused cookies, offering a sophisticated and delightful twist.
We absolutely love hearing from you! If you’ve tried your hand at baking these joyful Stuffed Christmas M&M Cookies, please take a moment to leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or share your thoughts with a review in the comments section further down the page. Your feedback helps us and other bakers discover new favorites! And don’t forget to connect with us and stay updated on our latest delicious creations by following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest! Happy baking!

Christmas M&M Sandwich Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups Holiday M&M’s
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk chocolate
- ½ cup Holiday sprinkles
For The Filling:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar , sifted
- pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- green gel food coloring
- red gel food coloring
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream softened butter with granulated and brown sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
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Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla extract.
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Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring on low speed until just combined. Scrape down sides as needed. Do not overmix.
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Gently fold in Holiday M&M’s and mini chocolate chips. Add sprinkles and stir again to combine.
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Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, and form slightly taller than wide to prevent spreading. Place on prepared baking sheets.
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Bake for 11-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden and tops appear set. Do not overbake for soft cookies.
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Immediately after baking, press more M&M’s, chocolate chips, and sprinkles onto warm cookies for presentation. Cool on sheet tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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While cookies cool, prepare the frosting filling.
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In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream softened butter until smooth.
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Gradually add sifted powdered sugar. Stir in salt, vanilla, and milk. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until fluffy.
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Divide frosting evenly into 3 bowls. Color one red, one green, and leave one white. Stir each to desired color.
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Spoon each color frosting into separate piping bags. Pipe a dollop of each color onto the bottom of half the cooled cookies. Top with another cookie and gently press to form a sandwich. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Shaping your cookie dough into mounds that are taller than they are wide will help prevent excessive spreading during baking, resulting in thicker, chewier cookies.
- To avoid a messy look, press additional toppings onto only the top half of the cookies, leaving the bottom halves plain. Ensure toppings are pressed firmly into the warm dough so they adhere.
- These sandwich cookies don’t have to be holiday-themed! Feel free to use any color combination of M&M’s, sprinkles, and frosting to match other occasions or preferences.
- Do not overbake your cookies! Removing them when the edges are just golden and the centers are still slightly soft will ensure they remain tender and perfect for sandwiching.
- This versatile M&M cookie recipe can be used as a base for other sandwich cookie creations, experimenting with different fillings and mix-ins throughout the year.
- For optimal results, ensure your butter and eggs are at room temperature. This aids in better emulsification and a smoother, more uniform dough and frosting.
- Chilling the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes can significantly improve texture and minimize spreading, leading to thicker, chewier cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
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