Christmas Oatmeal M&M Cookies

Chewy Christmas Oatmeal M&M Cookies are a family favorite! Make these oatmeal cookies with red and green M&Ms, or use plain ones year-round.

These classic cookies are always a popular choice! The oats add a chewy texture, and the M&M’s add sweetness and a pop of color.

Tonia’s Notes

Every year, I ask my husband and kids what treats they want me to make for the holidays. I want to make sure I make at least one of their favorites. Brian always asks for Christmas Oatmeal M & M Cookies, so I thought I’d share the recipe with all of you! These are his favorite cookies year-round, and we add different colored M&Ms to match the holidays or seasons.

How To Make Christmas Oatmeal M&M Cookies

Step One: Butter and Shortening

For this oatmeal cookie recipe, I used a combination of butter and shortening. The shortening helps the cookies rise higher and have a lighter texture without having to chill the dough!

The butter adds flavor. Cookies made with all butter spread more and end up flatter.

Step Two: Cream Sugars

Once the butter and shortening have been combined, cream in the granulated sugar and brown sugar. As you beat the mixture, the batter will become lighter in color and fluffier in texture.

Creaming the butter and sugar adds air to the mixture, making the cookies lighter in texture.

Step Three: Egg and Vanilla

Next, beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. The eggs add additional leavening as well as moisture, flavor, and structure.

The vanilla is for flavor, so use pure vanilla extract. It is more expensive than the imitation vanilla, but you only need a little bit, and it is definitely worth it.

Beating the egg into the creamed butter and sugar will add more air to the cookie dough.

Step Four: Dry Ingredients

Combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Then, add it to the batter and stir until combined.

Step Five: Oatmeal and M&Ms

When making Chrismas oatmeal M & M cookies, you can use either old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats) or quick-cooking oats. The old-fashioned oats make for chewier cookies with more texture.

Quick-cooking oats are coarsely chopped old-fashioned oats. They will be more hidden in the cookies and make for a more uniform texture.

Red and green holiday M&Ms are fun for Christmas oatmeal cookies, but during the rest of the year, we use plain M&Ms. You can also substitute the M&Ms with an equal amount of chocolate chips.

Step Six: Dough Balls

When forming the cookie dough balls, I always use a cookie dough scoop. For this recipe, I used a medium #40 dough scoop that holds about two tablespoons.

Using a dough scoop gives you evenly sized cookies, which makes them bake evenly, and they fit into storage containers better when they are the same size.

Step Seven: Bake

One of my favorite cooking baking tips is to cover your baking sheets with parchment paper. The parchment paper prevents the cookies from sticking to the pan. Once the cookies are finished cooking, you can slide the whole piece of parchment paper, with the cookies on top, onto the counter to cool.

The second tip is not to overbake the cookies if you want chewy oatmeal cookies! Bake them too long, and they will be hard.

Don’t forget to allow the baking sheets to cool before making the next batch. Starting with a cool pan allows the cookies to rise and bake as they were meant to.

How To Freeze Cookie Dough

My favorite cookie hack is freezing some of the cookie dough to bake later. Sure, you can bake the cookies and freeze them, but freshly baked cookies, even from the frozen dough, are so much better.

• Make the cookie dough balls and place them in the freezer to harden.
• Then, put them in an airtight container or plastic ziptop bag and store them in the freezer.
• When ready to bake the oatmeal Christmas cookies, put the frozen cookie dough balls directly on a parchment-covered baking sheet (no need to thaw them first). Bake at 350˚F for 8-11 minutes.

How To Store Oatmeal M&M Cookies

• Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing them.
• Place the oatmeal M&M cookies in an airtight container (or ziptop bag) with pieces of parchment paper between layers. Store them at room temperature for 3-4 days.
• Or store them in the freezer for up to 4 weeks. Thaw them at room temperature before serving.

More Cookies Recipes

• Triple Chocolate Cookies are perfect for the chocolate lovers!
• Pretty pink Peppermint Cookies have a candy cane crunch.
• Try Soft Rain Cookies from Taste of Home for an old-fashioned holiday cookie.
• Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups are almost too cute to eat.
• Use this recipe to make Four Christmas Cookies From One Basic Dough.