Christmas M&M Cookie Bars – with a TWIST!

Best cookie bar recipe

Not quite a cookie and not quite a brownie, these M&M Cookie Bars are sure to please everyone this Holiday Season! They are loaded with crunchy cookie pieces and white chocolate chips, and of course full of red and green M&M’s to give them a festive spin.

Cookie? Bar? Brookie!

Mr. Olive came home with this new package of chocolate chips the other week with cookie pieces in it and as soon as I saw them I knew I was going to make something special for my nephews birthday celebration on the weekend.

Now I knew I didn’t want to do just a regular cookie, and I didn’t want a brownie either (while I love them -see our Nutella Brownies) I really wanted to make something that would showcase the crunchy cookie pieces of the Chipits he brought home.

That is how we came up with these tasty Christmas Cookie Bars that we are now calling a “Brookie” (brownie/cookie)! Just think about how cute these would be on a plate for Santa!

 Ingredients

• Margarine (or butter)
• Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• M&M’s Candy
• Cookies n Cream Chipits

Tips for the perfect cookie bars

• Take your margarine and egg out of the fridge ahead of time – try for at least 30 minutes but longer is better.
• Add your Chipits and M&M’s last and only mix until combined – this prevents them from breaking apart and keeps whole chunks in your bars.
• Keep a eye on the timer, set it for 25 minutes and check them – they should be lightly golden on top but not dark as they will continue to cook once they are pulled and you want to make sure you have the soft center.
• Allow them to cool completely before cutting them! As tempting as it is to eat one fresh from the oven if you don’t let them cool then you will end up with squished candies on top and throughout.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you turn a cookie recipe into a cookie bar?

It really comes down to the amount of time in the oven and the method of baking.

Rather than dropping your cookie dough by teaspoon full onto a baking sheet you will want to use an 8″x 8″ greased baking pan, this will get the needed depth for you to cut into squares.

As for the time in the oven, you will need to increase this from a normal 10-12 minute bake time for a traditional cookie recipe. For a typical 8″ baking pan I suggest starting with a timer for 25 minutes and to pull them once they are lightly golden on top.

Now you also want to keep in mind that many cookie recipes make 24-36 individual cookies and this would be too much for your bars. You should have about 1.5″ of batter in your pan for best results, and if you have left over batter you can always freeze it and use it for cookies later on!

How far ahead can I make Cookie Bars?

The good news is that you can make these bars as far ahead as a month if you want to! They freeze great, just be sure to allow the cookie bars to cool completely before cutting into squares and freezing.

If you want to make them to take to an event in a few days that is fine too – and no need to freeze them. You can simply keep them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. Bonus points for a baking dish that comes with an airtight lid – we have a couple of these glass ones and they are lifesavers in the kitchen.

You may also like

Elf Poop – White Chocolate Haystack Cookies

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50 Bar Cookies – The Food Network

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Frosted Sheet Pan Cookie Bars

Best Ever Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies 

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The best thing about these M&M Cookie Bars, besides their deliciousness, was hearing how much everyone else enjoyed them! My nephews searched me out at the party just to tell me how yummy they were, now if that doesn’t make your heart expand I don’t know what will.

The only issue? I ALWAYS like to leave a couple of whatever I have made (cookies, bars, brownies etc) on a plate at home so me and my hubby can have one the following day since we hardly ever eat our own stuff at a party…but since he packed our tray this time there were none left for us to enjoy so all we got were our “tester” cookie bars! That’s okay though, just means I get to make them again!

Christmas M&M Cookie Bars