I’m pretty sure whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend misspoke and meant to say cookies! I can’t think of one person that wouldn’t want to receive these mouth watering, festive, chewy, and perfectly sweet and salty crushed M&M cookies for Valentine’s Day.
You heard that right – crushed M&Ms! Having a mixture of broken up and mini M&Ms will forever change the way you look at this category of cookie – I can promise you that. Add flaky salt on top and you have yourself a completely elevated M&M cookie that will make you question all others you have had before!
These cookies are a sweet, salty, buttery, and chocolatey way to show someone you love them!
Recipe used for the sweet and salty crushed M&M cookies:
The Best M&M cookies by Butternut Bakery.
I absolutely love Jenna’s standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and knew these would have to be just as good. Well…I think I might like them even better (but who can choose?).
They have crisp edges contrasted by a chewy and buttery center. They also boast an absolutely delicious combination of salty and sweet with the addition of flaky salt sprinkled over top of the pink, red, and white crushed M&Ms.
You can adapt these cookies to be festive for any holiday as well – Check out a patriotic version here!
Reasons you’ll love these chewy Valentine’s Day M&M Cookies:
The Flaky Salt:
Adding the flaky salt on top elevates these cookies to a whole other level. I highly recommend not skipping this step. I used Maldon sea salt flakes that I find at the grocery store. Once you start topping your cookies with flaky salt, there’s no going back. It’s a game changer!
The Crushed M&Ms:
What intrigued me most about this cookie recipe is that it calls for mini M&Ms along with crushed regular M&Ms. I’d never seen anything like it and love the rustic look it gives, along with an easier ability to distribute the crushed candy coated chocolates. It adds a fun and unique spin on the look and texture of the standard M&M cookie!
- How to crush the M&Ms:
- Crushing the M&Ms is as easy as placing them in a zip-lock bag and giving them a few whacks with a rolling pin (you may want to perform this step during non-sleeping hours!). I ended up crushing even more M&Ms than I thought I needed per the recipe instructions, as I wanted even more than it called for to top the cookies with before and after baking.
- Mini M&M substitutions:
- If you can’t find mini Valentines M&Ms, you can substitute with mini chocolate chips. I was lucky enough to have a bag of mini Christmas M&Ms on hand and separated the red from the green to use for this cookie recipe. Currently making a mental note to stock up on these come holiday season this year!
Tips for making the crushed M&M cookies:
- Baking the cookies:
- Give the dough a lot of room on the baking sheet to spread as these are quite large cookies.
- Use a food scale to weigh out 2oz dough balls to ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Use a light colored baking sheet. I’ve been using half-sheet aluminum pans by Nordic Ware for the past year and absolutely love them. If you don’t have some already, light colored baking sheets are your best friend. Since switching over from dark to light, I’ve found it much easier to bake cookies without the risk of the bottom crisping too soon or over-baking.
- Creating the crispy and crinkly edges:
- Push the fresh out of the oven cookie edges in with a fork. They are most malleable when they are piping hot, and the longer they sit the less chance you have of being able to complete this step as they cool and firm up. To make the process more stable, hold one side of the baking pan with an oven mitt, and use the other hand to push a metal fork into the outer edge of the cookie.
- Freezing/Storage notes:
- I froze some of my already baked M&M cookies (wrapped in saran wrap and placed in an air tight container) and they held up perfectly taste and texture wise, however some M&Ms lost their sheen and color from being frozen. The M&Ms developed a bit of a white cast, but this did not alter the deliciousness of the cookie in any way!
I absolutely love these Valentine’s Day sweet and salty crushed M&M cookies as an easy to throw together but super festive and adorable Valentines treat! If you’re on the fence about trying them – take the leap! You won’t regret it.
I included these in a Valentine’s Day dessert box for friends and family and this cookie was by far the crowd favorite, and rightfully so!
These cookies are a sweet, salty, buttery, and chocolatey way to show someone you love them! They truly are M&M cookies baked from the heart.
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If you make this dessert or have any questions, please leave a comment below! I absolutely love hearing when others are inspired to step into their kitchen and try out something new.
Happy Baking!
XOXO,
