Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookies are everything you love about your favourite Chocolate Chip cookies but made festive (and that much more delicious!) by adding red and green holiday M&M’s. After baking nearly every kind of Christmas cookie this holiday season I was really craving a cookie that was comforting, familiar but still felt festive. This cookie ticked all the boxes for me.
This Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookie recipe is baked until golden, chewy in the middle, with crispy edges and packed full of chocolate chips and M&M’s. I prefer my cookies thick and chewy, but if you are a thin and crispy person then I would recommend using my Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe instead.
Why you need this recipe in your life:
- It’s the ultimate chocolate chip cookies recipe. But dressed up for the holidays!
- They are super fun and easy to make with kids around the holiday season. Just make sure to buy extra M&M’s as they might not all make it into the cookies.
- They are a great addition to any Christmas Cookie box.
Ingredients
list of the ingredients needed to make these Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookies:
- Unsalted Butter. You can actually use salted butter, which I sometimes prefer as it adds a slightly more savoury flavour. If you do use salted butter just make sure you omit the ½ tsp of kosher salt.
- Light Brown and Granulated Sugar. The combination of sugars gives this cookie the right amount of soft, chewy texture and caramelized sweetness.
- 1 Large Egg, plus 2 egg yolks. This might seem odd but the yolks actually add the necessary moisture needed to keep these cookies nice and gooey. The egg whites tend to dry out when baked so that’s why we are only using one whole egg and adding in the extra yolk.
- Vanilla Extract. You can also use Vanilla Paste. And as always I often measure vanilla by eye and stop when my heart tells me to. You do you.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend. I used my All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend. The recipe for the blend can be found here. In a pinch I will often use Cup4Cup gluten free flour blend. If you are new to gluten free baking or are unfamiliar with the difference variations of Gluten Free Flour Blends, check out this article I wrote for Food Bloggers of Canada, where I explain how to find the right Gluten Free Flour for you.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda. It’s all about balance with these leaveners. The combination is going to help our cookies rise as well as add to the golden colour and overall flavour.
- Kosher Salt. If all you have is table salt you will need to use much less as table salt is much stronger than kosher salt due to the different granule size. Only use about ¼ tsp or a pinch of table salt to ½ tsp of kosher salt.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. This is all preference so choose whichever you have or brings you the most happiness.
- M&M’s (Red and Green). You can find the red and green M&M’s in most shops around the holiday season. I use the original M&M’s but you can also try the Chocolate Mint flavour to mix things up.
How to make Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookies:
In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using a whisk, mix the melted butter, sugars, whole egg and yolk, and vanilla until well combined. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in the dry mixture, just until a smooth dough forms and you can’t see any streaks of flour. Mix in the chocolate chips.
Cover dough with cling film or transfer to a Tupperware container and chill in the fridge for 1 hour. *This allows the flour time to absorb the liquids, creating a chewier texture, will spread less and will be much easier to handle once it is firmed up.
Using a kitchen scale, separate the dough into eight 60g pieces. If you don’t have a scale and are shaping them by eye, they will be roughly the size of a golf ball.
Next, take each dough ball and press it into the M&M’s until there is a generous amount stuck to the top of the cookie. You can manually press in M&M’s where there are gaps.
Place 5 cookies onto the prepared sheet pan, about 1 ½ -2 inches apart. You will need to bake these in three batches. Bake for approx 12-14 minutes. Bake until the edges of cookies are golden, and the centre is still doughy. We want these cookies to be slightly underbaked. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring to a rack.
Pastry Chef Tips and Tricks:
- For room temperature eggs, you can simply put the eggs (still in their shells) in a small bowl and run in under warm water for 2-3 minutes.
- The colder the dough is when you back these cookies will affect how thick they are. I like to bake them straight from the fridge so they are extra thick and chewy. For a slightly thinner cookie, allow them to come up to room temperature before baking.
- The key to these gluten-free M&M Christmas cookies is to underbake them slightly. If you are unsure if the cookies are baked enough, pull them out and gently press against the side of the cookie. The edges should be set and shouldn’t feel sticky or tacky in anyway.
How to Store Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookies:
Baked cookies will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Refrigerated dough will keep for 2-4 days.
You can also freeze the portioned-out dough balls in a Ziplock freezer bag or an airtight container for up to three months. Allow dough to thaw in the fridge for a few hours or overnight for best results.
Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookies
Ingredients
- 172 g Unsalted Butter (melted and cooled slightly) *1 1/2 Sticks of Butter
- 80 g Light Brown Sugar
- 60 g Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg (whole)
- 1 Large Egg (yolk only)
- 230 g Gluten Free Flour Blend *Kira's GF Flour Blend. Recipe on the Blog
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tso Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 200 g Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 200 g Holiday M&M's
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F. Prep a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silpat. In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Using a whisk, mix the melted butter, sugars, whole egg and yolk until well combined. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in the dry mixture, just until a smooth dough forms and you can’t see any streaks of flour. Mix in the chocolate chips. Cover dough with cling film or transfer to a Tupperware container and chill in the fridge for 1 hour or preferably overnight. *This allows the flour time to absorb the liquids, creating a chewier texture, will spread less and will be much easier to handle once it is firmed up.
- Using a kitchen scale, separate the dough into eight 60g pieces. If you don’t have a scale and are shaping them by eye, they will be roughly the size of a golf ball. Next, take each dough ball and press it into the M&M’s until there is a generous amount stuck to the top of the cookie. You can manually press in M&M’s where there are gaps. Place 5 cookies onto the prepared sheet pan, about 1 ½ -2 inches apart. You will need to bake these in three batches. Bake for approx 12-14 minutes. Bake until the edges of cookies are golden, and the centre is still doughy. We want these cookies to be slightly underbaked. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the sheet pan before transferring to a rack.
- How to Store Gluten-Free M&M Christmas Cookies:Baked cookies will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Refrigerated dough will keep for 2-4 days. You can also freeze the portioned-out dough balls in a Ziplock freezer bag or an airtight container for up to three months. Allow dough to thaw in the fridge for a few hours or overnight for best results.
If you are looking for more Christmas inspired gluten-free recipes to bake up this holiday season make sure to try one of these:
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