Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

1. Prep your oven and pans. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 sheet pans (a standard half-sheet works great) with parchment. If you are reusing a pan between batches, let it cool fully first.

2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. Build the dough base. In a large bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until glossy and smooth, about 30 seconds.

   

4. Add eggs and vanilla. Whisk in eggs one at a time, then whisk in vanilla until the mixture looks thicker and cohesive.

5. Combine wet and dry. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.

6. Fold in the M&Ms. Stir in 1 1/2 cups M&Ms (and chocolate chips if using). Save a small handful of M&Ms for topping.

7. Scoop. Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls (about 30 to 35 g each) and place them 2 to 3 inches apart on the sheet pans. You should get about 20 to 24 cookies, depending on how generous your scoops are and how many mix-ins you add.

8. Top for looks. Press a few extra M&Ms into the tops of the dough balls. This is the easy trick that makes them look bakery-level without any bakery effort.

9. Bake. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers look puffy and a little pale. They will look slightly underdone in the middle. That is how you get chewy.

   

10. Cool and finish. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. For extra perfect tops, press a couple more M&Ms into the warm cookies right out of the oven.

My tiny cookie rule: Pull them when you think, “Are these done?” They finish setting as they cool.