These Super Easy Holiday M&M Blondies are soft, chewy, and so festive! Ready in about 30 minutes, they’re a quick and crowd-pleasing dessert option! Perfect for cookie swaps, holiday parties, potlucks, and beyond!
Holiday M&M Blondies
Welcome to Day 1 of a VERY delicious tradition: Ashley’s 12 Days of Cookies!!! Over the next two weeks, I’ll be sharing 12 BRAND NEW holiday cookie recipes with you! I’ve been working on this content for months… so it feels so good to finally be able to share with you!
And today, we’re kicking the series off with these Holiday M&M Blondies! They’re fun, festive, and so easy! Even the most novice baker can make this recipe!
What are M&M Blondies?
Are they a cookie? A brownie?
Well, they’re somewhere in between! Blondies are sweet and chewy, like a cookie, but very dense and baked in a baking sheet, like a brownie. These blondies are super flavorful, chewy, and loaded with gooey chocolate chips and holiday m&ms! These blondies were my contribution to Thanksgiving dessert and they were a huge hit.
Ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter: Cooked until browned! New to brown butter? Don’t fret! Brown butter is simply regular butter that has been cooked just long enough to toast the milk solids. Basically all you’re doing is melting the butter and then continuing to cook it a little longer. It takes about 5 minutes and enhances almost any recipe that calls for butter. You’ll simply melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Then continue cooking the butter, stirring frequently, until it’s golden brown and smells slightly nutty. Once it hits this point, remove from heat at once!
- Light Brown Sugar: But dark brown sugar will work in a pinch! The blondies will simply have a slightly deeper molasses flavor. I don’t suggest using granulated sugar or confectioners’ sugar.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a small dash enhances all of the other flavors in this recipe! If you don’t have vanilla on hand, you can simply omit. Just note the flavor will be slightly different.
- Eggs: You’ll need two large eggs, plus two egg yolks. You may discard the egg whites, or refrigerate them and save them for another recipe. Bring your eggs to room temperature before using, as cold ingredients don’t bond!
- All-Purpose Flour: Do not use any other variety of flour!
- Salt: A dash balances all of the flavors and keeps the blondies from becoming overly sweet.
- Holiday M&Ms: I use the milk chocolate M&Ms for this recipe. The red and green colors make them so festive and Christmas-y!
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips: A cup of chocolate chips makes these blondies extra gooey and chocolatey!
- Flaky Sea Salt: For sprinkling! This is totally optional!
How to make M&M Blondies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a saucepan, melt butter until browned.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown butter and brown sugar. Stir in the vanilla. Then add in the eggs and egg yolks.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and salt, mixing until just combined.
- Finally, fold in the M&Ms and chocolate. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 24 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are firm and golden and the center is just slightly wobbly.
And that’s it! A seriously easy Christmas cookie bar recipe sure to please! Straight from the pan, these will be warm and gooey… making them ideal to pair with a scoop of ice cream. Once they’ve firmed up, they’ll be soft but very chewy. Both ways are delicious!
More M&M Recipes:
- Brown Butter M&M Cookies
- Chewy Brown Butter M&M Blondies
- Soft Batch Chocolate M&M Cookies
- M&M Cookie Bites
AND IF YOU TRY THIS RECIPE FOR HOLIDAY M&M COOKIE BARS, LET ME KNOW! LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW AND DON’T FORGET TO SNAP A PIC AND TAG IT #BAKERBYNATURE ON INSTAGRAM! SEEING YOUR KITCHEN CREATIONS MAKES OUR DAY.
Super Easy Holiday M&M Blondies
Ingredients
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned
- 2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus one egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups holiday M&Ms
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper. Spray parchment, and any exposed pan, with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until browned. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes, then scrape the butter into a large heat proof mixing bowl.
- Whisk in the brown sugar and mix until well combined. Stir in the vanilla. Then add in the eggs and egg yolk, beating until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Finally, fold in the M&Ms and chocolate. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until the edges are firm and golden and the center is just slightly wobbly. Cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt before serving, if desired.
KP says
These are soooo good! Very easy too. Putting them in my rotation…can easily be modified for different occasions
Joyce W says
I made these delicious bars for a high school girls basketball team. They loved them!!! Now I need to make them for my family for Christmas. They are amazing! The brown butter makes all the difference.
Serenah says
Hi Lynn,can the above recipe be done in 2 square 8 inch pan…..Thank you