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These Brown Butter Christmas Cookies are everything you want in a holiday cookie: nutty, festive, and impossibly delicious. They’re adapted from my brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, but swapped with red and green M&Ms for a playful holiday twist that’s perfect for gifting.
These are non-negotiable in my annual Christmas cookie boxes. The recipe is so simple, which makes it perfect for baking with kids (or when you’re already juggling a million holiday tasks). If you’re building your own cookie box lineup, I have a whole guide on building the perfect Christmas cookie box and how to freeze cookie dough so you can bake ahead without the stress.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Brown Butter Christmas Cookies
M&Ms – I like to use red and green M&Ms for a festive cookie.
Sugars – A mix of white and brown sugar, heavy on the brown sugar for that chewy texture.
Eggs – Two whole eggs plus an extra yolk for richness.
Butter – Unsalted butter (I used KerryGold) so you can control the salt level.
Baking soda – Helps with spread and gives the cookies their golden color.
Vanilla extract – Vanilla actually enhances the flavor of chocolate and there’s nothing like the flavor of Homemade Vanilla Extract. But use what you have!
For the full list of the ingredients, please see the recipe index card below!
Tips and Tricks
Pack on the M&Ms on the dough balls. I like to pack the M&M’s onto the cookie dough balls so that when they bake up, you can see the colors studded all over the cookie.
Use a large cookie cutter to ‘scoot’ the cookies. I like to do this to shape my cookies into perfect circles. It’s totally optional.
Make these ahead! The cookie dough can be made, scooped out into dough balls and kept in the fridge, covered tightly, for up to 3 days. Bake them straight from the fridge.
You can freeze your cookie dough balls. Here is my full guide on How to Freeze Cookie Dough. Store cookie dough balls in a storage bag in the freezer and bake fresh when you’re ready. Just be sure to add 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
You can switch out the colors of the M&M’s for different holidays, like red and pink for Valentine’s Day.
More Cozy Holiday Recipes
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In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt.
In medium saucepan, set over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Take out a silicon whisk and give the butter a stir. It will begin to foam up and bubble. Stirring frequently, allow it to keep going until it goes from a pale yellow color to a light brown color. Once it hits a light brown color, I like to give it a few more stirs just so I can monitor the color. This process happens quickly so don’t walk away! Keep stirring it until it goes from a light brown color to deep golden brown. Remove it from the heat and give it a few more stirs.
I like to let it continue to cook until it’s dark brown. Immediately pour it into a large bowl. Whisk in the two teaspoons of water. Allow the brown butter to cool for about 10 minutes. (If you don’t do this, when you add the M&M’s, they’ll melt.)
Next, whisk in the sugars. And then, add the eggs and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Lastly, fold in 10 ounces of red and green M&M’s. You will use the remaining 5 ounces of M&M’s to pack on the dough balls before baking. Stick the cookie dough in fridge for 1 hour to chill.
Preheat oven to 350F. Scoop out 1 1/2 tablespoon balls of dough and roll them between your palms and pack on the reserved M&M’s around the outside of the dough balls. (You can use as much or as little as you like.) Place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet spacing them 4 inches apart.
Bake for 8 minutes. At the 8-minute mark, remove them from the oven to shape them (this is optional). Rotate the pan and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden brown.
Tips and Tricks:
Pack on the M&Ms on the dough balls. I like to pack the M&M’s onto the cookie dough balls so that when they bake up, you can see the colors studded all over the cookie.
Use a large cookie cutter to ‘scoot’ the cookies. I like to do this to shape my cookies into perfect circles. It’s totally optional.
Make these ahead! The cookie dough can be made, scooped out into dough balls and kept in the fridge, covered tightly, for up to 3 days. Bake them straight from the fridge.
You can freeze your cookie dough balls. Here is my full guide on How to Freeze Cookie Dough. Store cookie dough balls in a storage bag in the freezer and bake fresh when you’re ready. Just be sure to add 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
You can switch out the colors of the M&M’s for different holidays, like red and pink for Valentine’s Day.
Equipment and Tools:
OXO Medium Cookie Scoop | Baking Sheets | KitchenAid Stand-Up Mixer | Silicon Spatulas |
Calories: 3138kcal | Carbohydrates: 453g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 134g | Saturated Fat: 81g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 543mg | Sodium: 1945mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 300g | Vitamin A: 3550IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 398mg | Iron: 13mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
