This chewy homemade M&M cookie cake is a crowd-pleasing dessert made with chocolate chips and M&Ms then decorated with buttercream frosting. Perfect for special occasions!
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Homemade Cookie Cake with M&Ms
We’ve taken our favorite M&M cookie recipe and turned it into a M&M cookie cake! Topped with homemade chocolate frosting, it is a quick and cute giant cookie dessert perfect for any special occasion!
It has a similar soft and chewy texture like chocolate chip cookie pie or M&M cookie bars. The cookie dough is moist and decadent, but with less of a rise than bars. This cookie cake recipe is just as much cookie as it is cake!
I love making this giant cookie or my ice cream cake for a birthday recipe when a non-traditional cake has been requested. It’s easy, fun, and whimsical!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy to make. Made with a simple cookie dough recipe that is loaded with candy treats then a chocolate or classic buttercream takes it up a decorative notch.
- Festive. Such a fun way to serve a cake with a twist! Match the M&M candies to the occasion, like I do with M&M Christmas cookies and Valentine M&M cookies!
- Homemade. There’s no mistaking a warm homemade cookie cake made from scratch! It rivals any bakery, tastes much better than store-bought and cheaper, too.
M&M Cookie Cake Recipe Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Bring your butter to room temperature ahead of time for it to soften. If you’ve forgotten, check out my tips on how to soften butter quickly.
- Sugars: Brown sugar adds a bit of moisture on top of the sweet granulated sugar for a chewy bite that adds some caramelized flavor.
- Large eggs: Used to bind the ingredients so it can be sliced without falling apart.
- Baking staples: All-purpose flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla extract.
- Chocolate chips & M&M’s: I love the combination of the crunchy candy-coated chocolate and the gooey melty chocolate chips.
- Chocolate buttercream frosting: Softened unsalted butter, powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, and half-and-half.
How to Make M&M Cookie Cake
- Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a paddle attachment and set it to high speed. Mix for a minute and then add the eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Add in remaining dry ingredients. To the bowl of the stand mixer, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined.
- Form the cake. Fold in the chocolate chips and M&M’s. Dump the dough into the prepared pie dish or cake pan sprayed with cooking spray and gently press the dough evenly into the pan. Make sure to spread it out evenly to the walls. Top with extra M&M’s, if desired.
- Bake. Place the dish inside the 375-degree preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. The edges should be barely golden brown and the cookie will be set.
- Cool, decorate, and serve. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the dish. Only once it’s cooled can you add the frosting. Otherwise, it will not hold!
Type of Cookie Cake Pan
An 8 inch or 9-inch round cake pan, square baking dish or 10.5 inch metal cookie cake pan will work in place of a glass pie dish, but it will alter the baking time so keep a close eye on it in the oven.
Spread or Pipe Buttercream Frosting
- To make chocolate buttercream, start by creaming the butter on high for 30 seconds. Then, a third of the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and half and half along with all of the vanilla. Mix on medium speed. Continue to stir in the remaining powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and half and half a third at a time until the frosting is smooth.
- Use a piping bag to pipe with a 1M open star tip to frost around the edge for a classic look. Add extra M&M’s if you want.
Baking Tips and Variations
- Measure the flour accurately. Too much flour and your cookie cake will be dense! I love to fluff the flour then use the spoon and level method to measure the flour.
- Line pan with parchment paper. This make is easier to remove and decorate.
- Chocolate chips. Omit the M&M’s completely and turn this giant cookie cake into a chocolate chip cookie cake instead. White chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips are great too.
- Other add-ins. Sprinkles, toffee bits, mini M&M’s, chopped candy bars, nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries would taste yum!
- Frosting. Buttercream holds up to piping, but you can switch it up for a change. Use canned frosting when in a hurry or try marshmallow fluff.
Storing Tips
- Store: Once the cookie cake has cooled, keep it in an airtight container for up to 1 week. There’s no need to keep it in the fridge, so I guarantee you it’ll be gone very soon!
- Freeze unbaked dough: The dough freezes well, which is great for making ahead. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before baking. To make things a bit easier, you could press the dough into a foil pie plate and freeze it already in its shape.
- Freeze a baked cookie cake: I reccommend freezing before frosting. Keep it frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw and warm up before serving!
Need more M&M’s recipes? Try mini M&M cookies, M&M brownies or M&M cupcakes, too!
More Cookie Recipes
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M&M Cookie Cake
This chewy homemade M&M cookie cake is a crowd-pleasing dessert made with chocolate chips and M&Ms then decorated with buttercream frosting.
Video
Equipment
- Piping bag , optional
Ingredients
M&M Cookie Cake
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar , packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup M&M’s , plus more for topping
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar , plus more if needed
- 2 Tablesoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- Pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ Tablespoons half-and-half , plus more if needed
Optional toppings: M&Ms, Mini M&Ms, Sprinkles
Instructions
M&M Cookie Cake
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray 9-inch pie dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugars on high 1 minute, until combined. Add 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla then mix until combined.
- Add 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and mix just until combined. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup M&M’s.
- Press dough evenly into the pie dish. Top with extra M&M's, if desired.
- Bake 18 to 22 minutes, or until the edges are barely golden brown and the cookie is set. Cool completely before removing from pie dish and frosting.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream 1/4 cup butter on high for 30 seconds.
- Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder, 1/2 Tablespoon half-and-half, and 1 teaspoon vanilla then mix on medium speed. Add another 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 Tablespoon half-and-half and mix until combined. Add the remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 tablespoon half-and-half, and mix until the frosting is smooth and holds its shape. If needed, add more powdered sugar to thicken or more half-and-half to thin it.
Topping
- Using a piping bag, pipe the frosting around the edge of the cake. Decorate with M&Ms, if desired.
Notes
- Variations: Make this cookie cake your own by swapping out the M&M’s and chocolate chips for whatever your sweet tooth is craving; i.e. toffee bits, candy bars (roughly chopped), nuts, dried fruit, peanut butter chips, etc. The same goes the frosting flavor and how you decorate. Have fun with it.
- Alternative baking dish: An 8- or 9-inch round cake pan or square baking dish will work in place of the pie dish, but it may alter the baking time so keep a close eye on it in the oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 36mg | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Birthdays, Cake + Cupcakes, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cookies, Desserts, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
So cute and lovely! This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make mm cookie cake recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
So glad to hear it was a hit with your family, Allyssa! Thanks for your comment and review :)
The kids absolutely loved this cookie cake! It was easy to make, and delicious. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit with your kids, Diana!