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.Â
- 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.Â
- Bake for 28 to 32Â 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.Â
Bhuvi says
Is there any egg substitute for this recipe
Nell says
Do these freeze well? Thinking of making these ahead of time for some cookie boxes.
Aamna says
Is there a video to follow?
Katie says
So good!!! Made these for me & my roommates & the four of us finished the whole pan in a day 🙂
Alan says
Batter is extremely thick and dense. Is that normal? In oven now and top is not smoothing out.
Diana Brodeur says
These look so good! Do they freeze well?
Lynne says
Hoping theses come out okay. Why isn’t there any baking powder in these ?
bakerbynature says
Hi Lynee. Blondie recipes do not typically include baking powder. This is what makes them so dense and chewy!
naomi says
Can I sub flour with all purpose gluten free flour? and for m&ms, is it the same as the most
basic m&ms, just the colors are red&green? 🙂 I can’t wait to make these thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Simone says
Yup, these are tasty!!! The browned butter really makes the cookies smell and taste so good! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Cherri says
My first time using “brown butter” and I’m a fan! These are delicious!
Lyla Kaiser says
Was it easy to brown the butter??? I am very Leary????