This M&M cookie cake recipe has the ultimate twist – and is thick, chewy, buttery and undeniably delicious! If you’re looking for a fun crowd pleasing dessert, this M&M cake is the perfect choice.
One bite and you’ll never purchase from the store again – it’s a cookie cake that will take you straight back to your childhood!
I take birthday cakes seriously, but after years of cake tasting during my event planning career, I rarely make a traditional cake.
Our middle kiddo, Ani, always requests an M&M Birthday Cake…when you take a bite, you’ll be requesting it for your birthday, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or the average Saturday just as an excuse!
This pretty M&M cake is even sweeter in a heart shaped dish, but you can make on any baking sheet with a lip, pizza pan, pie dish or tart pan! It’s your choice.
If you love a cute seasonal dessert, don’t skip this incredible Valentine’s Day Toffee Recipe.
Cookie cake was my top request as a child. In fact, I often prefer it over cookies because of its soft and chewy texture. My mom always made it in a pizza pan for a larger, thinner cake, which is also delicious! The thinner it is, the shorter the baking time.
BUT. This is no ordinary M and M Cake. A secret twist makes it out of this world. I make it with my favorite little baking secret, brown butter. One extra step makes this cake stand above the rest. It takes just a few extra minutes and it puts the cake recipe over the edge.
The next time you think to go to the store for a cookie cake, you may want to reconsider. There’s no comparison!
Why You’ll Love this M&M Cake
- Beautiful
- Tastes Amazing
- Easy to Make
- Foolproof
This cake comes together so quickly with staple ingredients – there’s no need for a cookie mix!
This is not your average sugar cookie dough! Brown butter adds a caramelized flavor to the dough that makes it irresistible. The additional flavor and texture eliminates the need to add frosting on top, though I’ll never judge if you decide to pipe it or smother it in real milk chocolate buttercream!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, your preference.
- White Granulated Sugar – Sweetens with a little crunch, also helps aid in the rise when you beat it with butter producing air pockets.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar sweetens while adding a hint of molasses flavor and adding to the golden brown color.
- Vanilla Extract – Adds a little flavor.
- Eggs – Bind ingredients.
- Baking Soda – One of two leavening agents that gives this cookie cake it’s rise.
- Baking Powder – One of two leavening agents that gives this cookie cake it’s rise.
- Salt – Reduce or omit if using salted butter.
- Flour – All purpose flour is the base for this incredible cookie dough.
- M&Ms – The star of the show. Fold into the dough and press on top for a picture perfect presentation. Use your favorite colors or holiday M&M’s.
You can find my full list of baking substitutions here.
Variations
- Reese’s Pieces – Calling peanut butter lovers! Fold into the cake and press on top.
- Chocolate Chips – If you’re a chocolate chip lover, go ahead and blend in a few milk chocolate chips! For us, the milk chocolate in the candy shell is just the perfect mix.
Tools to Use
- Mixer (You can also mix by hand)
- Measuring Cups + Measuring Spoons
- Note: the Le Creuset heart tart pan pictured in this recipe post is no longer available, but measures 11.8 inches at its widest point. Any similarly sized baking dish will work! A few options:
- 10″ Round Tart Pan
- Metal Heart Tart Pan with Removable Bottom
- Heart Shaped Aluminum Cake Pan, 10-Inch
How to Make
- Prep – Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking dish.
- Combine Dry Ingredients – In a medium mixing bowl, combine baking soda, salt and flour.
- Brown Butter (Optional) – For added flavor, brown butter. Warm butter caramelizes sugar giving it a rich, amazing flavor. Allow butter to cool for 5 minutes to prevent scrambling the egg.
- Combine Sugars – Meanwhile, combine sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer.
- Beat Butter and Sugars – Blend butter in, followed by eggs.
- Combine – Gradually add the flour mixture incorporate into the wet mixture.
- Fill – Scoop dough into dish just over halfway careful to compensate for rise. For a smooth appearance, cover with wax paper and smooth your hands or a spatula. Press a few M&M’s on top for added measure. It makes the prettiest M&M Birthday Cake!
- Bake – Bake in preheated oven for 15+ minutes (depending on the depth of your pan).
Tips
- Don’t over-mix! That’s how you achieve the out of this world texture and thickness!
- Allow the brown butter to cool a few minutes to prevent frying the egg.
- Adjust bake time as needed based on your baking dish.
- For a fully baked cookie cake, avoid pressing dough all the way to edges. Dough will spread. This will ensure a smooth, even rise without leaving the center under baked or edges over baked.
Scaling up, down or substituting? You’ll love this printable Measurement Conversion Chart!
Shortcuts
- Use store-bought cookie dough.
- Skip browning the butter.
Serving Suggestions
- Of course you can add frosting on top of M and M Cake for extra credit, but it’s not needed. It’s simply amazing as is!
- Warm, with a scoop of No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
- Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce
- Top with Sugar Cookie Buttercream Frosting
- If you prefer, divide into two smaller dishes.
How to Store
- At Room Temperature – Cover with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature. Add a piece of bread to the container to soften, if needed.
- Refrigerate – Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 7 days.
- Freeze – Freeze in an airtight container and covered in plastic wrap to prevent odors from seeping in, up to 3 months.
Dietary Considerations
- Nut Free
- Vegetarian
I hope you love this M&M Birthday Cake, holiday cake or just because you deserve it cake as much as we do!
More Cookie Cake Recipes
M&M Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cups white granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup M&Ms
Topping
- sea salt cracked
- ½ cup M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease baking dish.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Swirl until brown in color and it has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Gradually blend in cooled brown butter.
- Gently blend in eggs, careful not to over mix, until just combined.
- Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour over mixture and fold until combined.
- Allow batter to cool slightly and fold in M&Ms.
- Scoop dough into greased baking dish or pan until just over half full. (You can freeze excess dough).
- Press M&M’s into the top of the cake and bake 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown, depending how thick your cake is.
Julie’s Tips
Tips
- Don’t over-mix.
- Allow butter to cool.
- To prevent edges from over baking, don’t press dough all the way to the edges. Allow 1/2″ perimeter. Bring it to It will spread.
- For perfect M&M’s you can press them in IMMEDIATELY after baking, I put them in before, but don’t mind a few cracks.
How to Store
- At Room Temperature – Cover with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature. Add a piece of bread to the container to soften, if needed.
- Refrigerate – Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 7 days.
- Freeze – Freeze in an airtight container and covered in plastic wrap to prevent odors from seeping in, up to 3 months.
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
This cake is so cute! Iโd love to try it out for Valentineโs Day.ย
hanks, Christa! Hope your year is off to a great start!
That looks sooo good! Yummy! Pinned.
AHHH! That looks so yummy!
This is adorable!
Shelley
THIS LOOKS AMAZING!
WHERE DID YOU FIND THE HEART SHAPED PAN?ย
I’M HAVING TROUBLE LOCATING ONE.
THANKS SO MUCH!
You can usually find it at the Le Creuset Outlet and on Ebay. Good luck!