Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Christmas chocolate chip cookies made with m&m’s, toasty brown butter, swirls of marshmallow, and topped with a little chocolate snowman.

This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details.

Close up of the christmas chocolate chip cookies.

christmas chocolate chip cookies

Hello! I’m here today with a delicious cookie that’s perfect for the holiday season. And you know it’s good because it contains delicious, toasty brown butter. These cookies have crispy edges with soft and chewy centers, are loaded with chocolate and m&m’s, are swirled with marshmallow fluff and are topped with festive chocolate snowmen. They’re the perfect crossover between cute and delicious.

Like a lot of other recipes you’ll find on this blog, these cookies are small batch – yielding 8 medium sized cookies. However, you can easily double or triple the recipe if you need more. So let’s get into it! 🙂

why you’ll love these christmas chocolate chip cookies:

  • Brown butter. It’s so delicious and such an easy way to add even more flavor into a cookie.
  • One bowl, no mixer required. The cookies come together in one bowl and there’s no need for a stand mixer or hand mixer – just another reason that melted butter > creamed butter in a ccc.
  • Little chocolate snowmen on top. I mean, look at them! What’s not to love about a festive ccc?

expert baking tips

Weigh your ingredients:

My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.

Mix the dough carefully:

When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.

chill the cookies prior to baking

I know, I know – it’s frustrating to have to wait! However, because we’re using melted brown butter, we want to give the dough time to firm up. Letting the cookie dough chill just a little bit in the fridge means that the cookies will bake up thicker. This also gives the flavors a little bit of time to meld together.

Under bake for perfect cookies:

Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

The secret to perfectly round cookies:

Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!

A note on oven temperature:

Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.

The christmas chocolate chip cookies on a serving tray.

ingredients for christmas chocolate chip cookies:

  • All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
  • Baking soda & baking powder: helps the cookies rise and the edges crisp up.
  • Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
  • Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. We’ll also be browning the butter for some extra delicious toasty flavor. If you’re looking to make this dairy-free, Miyoko’s Creamery vegan butter has the ability to brown just like regular butter and works like a charm.
  • Granulated sugar & dark brown sugar: a combination of both gives us cookies with crispy edges and soft and chewy centers. You can use light brown sugar in place of the dark brown sugar in a pinch.
  • Egg: for binding and for moisture.
  • Vanilla: for flavor.
  • Chocolate: put your favorite chocolate here. I used Valrhona baking discs (these ones here) and can’t recommend them enough. (Although they are definitely pricey so I do not use them all the time!) If not using the discs, I recommend using a chocolate baking bar. You can also of course use chocolate chips here, just note that the cookies will most likely end up a little thicker. In terms of using milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate, use your favorite!
  • M&M’s: I used the holiday blend of m&m’s in these.
  • Ghirardelli snowmen: I used their assorted snowmen bag but you can use any holiday-related chocolate here if you’d like!

how to make christmas chocolate chip cookies:

Here are the basic steps to follow to make these cookies. You can find the complete recipe at the end of this blog post.

The wet ingredients for the cookie dough whisked together.
The finished cookie dough in the mixing bowl.
  • Mix together the brown butter and both sugars, then whisk in the egg and vanilla.
  • Fold in the dry ingredients, chocolate, and m&m’s, then chill the dough.
Dollops of marshmallow fluff on top of the cookie dough.
The cookies portioned out on a baking sheet.
  • Dollop the dough with marshmallow fluff.
  • Scoop out the dough, bake, and enjoy!

christmas chocolate chip cookies recipe q&a

What is brown butter?

Brown butter is super simple to make so don’t worry! It’s just regular butter that is cooked on the stove until some of the moisture evaporates, allowing the milk solids in the butter to be toasted. The result is this butter with an amber hue and little speckles that has a toasted and slightly nutty aroma.

can I double this recipe?

Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.

can I make these cookies ahead of time?

Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again.

How to store Christmas chocolate chip cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to 5 days, but will taste the best 1-3 days after baking.

Close up of a christmas chocolate chip cookie that has been broken in half.

christmas chocolate chip cookies troubleshooting

Measuring error: Typically, the #1 culprit for this is always not measuring the flour properly. If you use cup measurements, you run the risk of adding too much flour to the dough which can make it super dry. If you’re using cup measurements, make sure that you fluff up your flour and then spoon it into your measuring cup, rather than scooping up the flour with the measuring cup. Measuring will also be sure that you end up with the right amount of brown butter and that you cooked it for the proper amount of time.

Overmixing: if you over-mix the dough, you will introduce more gluten into the cookies which will lead to tougher, thicker cookies. Make sure to only fold in the flour just until that last streak of flour disappears into the dough.

Oven temperature: Like I said before, it’s possible that your oven isn’t at the temperature that it claims to be at – which is, unfortunately, more common than it should be. If your oven is hotter than 350F without your knowledge, you’ll end up with thicker, more dry cookies.

Chilling the dough: The #1 reason for this would be that you didn’t chill the cookie dough. Although it can be frustrating to wait, the cookie dough does need to chill to give time for the butter to firm up and the ingredients to meld together so that they don’t completely spread out in the oven.

Browning the butter: Another reason I recommend measuring your ingredients. When you brown the butter, moisture cooks off of it. So, if it wasn’t cooked for long enough then there would be extra moisture in the dough, which would make the cookies spread out more.

Oven temperature: It could also be that your oven temperature is running lower than it claims to be. For that reason, I recommend always using an oven thermometer. The one I use was ~$6 and is linked under “baking tools” in my amazon storefront below!

tools and ingredients:

You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!

other recipes you might enjoy:

Close up of the christmas chocolate chip cookies.

did you make this recipe?

I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery

Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies

No ratings yet
Christmas chocolate chip cookies made with m&m's, toasty brown butter, swirls of marshmallow, and topped with a little chocolate snowman.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling Time 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Servings8 cookies
Calories416 kcal

Ingredients 

  • 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.)
  • 100 g dark brown sugar (½ c.)
  • 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
  • 1 egg room temperature
  • ½ tsp. vanilla
  • 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 70 g semi-sweet chocolate (⅓ c. +.1 tbsp.)
  • 60 g holiday blend m&m's (¼ c.)
  • 60 g marshmallow fluff (½ c.)
  • 8 ghirardelli snowmen

Instructions 

  • In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks.
  • Transfer the brown butter to a medium sized mixing bowl and set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. You should be left with at least 90g of brown butter, if you have a little less (2-3g), just add in some water until you reach 90g. If you have way less than 90g, you cooked the butter for too long and will need to start again.
  • Once the butter has cooled down a bit, whisk in both sugars.
  • Whisk in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
  • Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mixture together just until a few flour streaks remain.
  • Add in the chocolate and m&m's and fold just until no flour streaks remain.
  • Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.*
  • Once you're ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Marble dollops of marshmallow fluff on top of the cookie dough. Scoop out heaping 3 tbsp. scoops of dough. (If you chilled the dough for longer, you may need to wait 10-20 minutes for it to become soft enough to scoop.) Once you have used all of the marshmallow fluff on top, add on some more. Place the cookies spread apart to allow room for spreading.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown.
  • Once the cookies come out of the oven, I recommend "scooting" them. This just means take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is slightly larger than the cookie, place it on top of the cookie, and swirl the bowl around to make the cookie a little more round.
  • Press one holiday snowman chocolate into each cookie while they are still warm, about 5 minutes after taking them out of the oven. Then, immediately place them in the fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes to prevent the snowmen from melting. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Affiliate links: Kitchen Scale (my favorite) | Kitchen scale (great starter option) | | Oven Thermometer | Cookie Scoops | Cookie Sheet Pan | Milk Pan
*At this point you could transfer the dough to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. If you’d like longer term storage, scoop the dough out right after putting it together, and freeze the dough spaced apart on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Once the dough balls are frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 1 month before baking. Before baking, I’d recommend letting them come to room temperature for 20 minutes or letting them defrost in the fridge overnight.
**This recipe makes 8 decently big cookies. If you’d like to make 10 smaller cookies, only scoop out 3 tbsp. scoops (not heaping)

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 416kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 4gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 256mgPotassium: 99mgFiber: 1gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 404IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 2mg

Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating