Easy Easter M&M Bars – Soft and Chewy Cookie Bar Recipe

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Easter M&M Bars are the perfect decadent dessert to bring to your Easter celebration. Stuffed with festive and colorful Easter M&M’s and adorable sprinkles, these chewy M&M cookie bars will bring a smile to everyone’s face and excitement to their belly.

You can’t go wrong making these family favorite dessert bars. They’re perfect for feeding a crowd of both kids and adults alike. This M&M cookie bar recipe is loaded with delicious Easter goodies and can quickly become addictive!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe…

• Engaging Kids in Baking Fun: M&M bars are a fantastic way to get kids involved in the kitchen, making delicious cookie bars a family affair.
• Repurposing Easter Candy: Got leftover Easter candy? No worries! You can infuse them into your M&M bars for a fun and tasty twist.
• Adding Color to the Dessert Table: The vibrant, festive colors of the M&M bars are sure to brighten up your dessert table, making it even more enticing.
• Easy Make-Ahead Dessert: With these easy M&M cookie bars, you’ll find an easy, make-ahead dessert solution that is perfect delicious treat for bake sales, the holiday season, and game day.
• No Hassles with Dough: Forget about the rolling pin or cookie scooper needed for other from-scratch cookies, with M&M bars, it’s as easy as spreading the cookie dough in a pan.

If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy this Brookie Cookie Recipe.

What Are Cookie Bars?

Cookie bars can also be called magic bars or bar cookies. They’re usually made from stiff dough that’s pressed into a baking dish, then baked and cooled before being cut into shapes like squares, rectangles, or diamonds. They can be of various sizes, have multiple or one layer, and have various textures, like chewy, cake, or crunchy.

Ingredients For M&M Bars

• Butter- Unsalted sweet cream butter is recommended for this recipe. Ensure it’s softened before use to smoothly blend into your mixture.
• Brown Sugar- Packed light brown sugar provides a rich, molasses flavor, contributing to the depth of taste in the M&M bars.
• Sugar- Regular white granulated sugar is used to balance the sweetness and complement the brown sugar.
• Eggs- Two large eggs will serve as the binding agent for your bars, giving them structure and stability.
• Vanilla extract- Pure vanilla extract is preferred for a high-quality, authentic flavor.
• Baking soda- Remember to use fresh baking soda as it’s essential for the leavening process, allowing your bars to rise and achieve that perfect texture.
• Baking powder- Similarly, always use fresh baking powder to ensure your M&M bars are light and fluffy.
• Kosher salt- A pinch of kosher salt will balance out the sweetness and bring out the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Flour- All-purpose flour is used in this recipe, providing the structure for your M&M bars.
• Easter M&M’s- Feel free to mix and match peanut M&M’s with traditional ones for an extra crunch and a variety of flavors.
• Easter Sprinkles- These add a playful, festive touch to your M&M bars, making them even more appealing to the eye.

Substitutions and Variations

1. Gluten-Free Alternative: If you or any of your guests follow a gluten-free diet, you can substitute the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free baking mix. Be sure to check for a blend that already includes xanthan gum, which will give your bars the right texture.
2. Vegan Option: For vegan guests, replace the eggs with flax eggs (a mixture of ground flaxseeds and water) or a commercial egg substitute. Use vegan butter in place of regular butter, and ensure the sugar you use is vegan-friendly, as some brands use animal bone char in their refining process.
3. Healthy Substitution: Swap granulated and brown sugar for coconut sugar or a sugar substitute like Stevia. You could also replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat or oat flour for added fiber.
4. Different Flavors: Feel free to experiment with other candies or chocolate chips like dark, milk, or white chocolate chips, or use peanut butter M&M’s. You could even add nuts for a bit of crunch, or dried fruits for a different kind of sweet.
5. Seasonal Variations: Switch up the M&M colors and sprinkles to suit different holidays – red and green for M&M Christmas cookie bars, orange and black for Halloween, red, white, and blue for the 4th of July, and so on.

The complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.

How To Make M&M Bars

1. Heat your oven to 350℉. Get your baking dish ready with a spray of cooking spray.
2. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla using your hand mixer.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour mixture: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly combine these dry ingredients with your dough mix until it’s all well incorporated.
5. Add 1 cup of M&M’s and sprinkles to the dough and fold them in. (Photo 1).

1. Push the dough into your greased baking dish in an even layer. Scatter the remaining M&M’s over the top. (Photos 2 & 3).
2. Bake the mixture for 20-25 minutes or until it achieves a golden brown color.
3. Take the baked bars out of the oven. Let them cool completely, then cut into individual cookies. (Photo 4).

Expert Tips 

• Don’t go too heavy on the chocolate, sprinkles, and other add-ins, as this can cause the middle of the M&M bars to not bake evenly.
• If you’re thawing frozen treats, don’t microwave them- this would cause chocolates to melt and give you a weird texture.
• You can also choose to line your baking pan with foil to help remove the bars easier when you want to cut and serve them. You’ll still want to use nonstick baking spray, though.
• If choosing to line the pan, line the pan with foil instead of parchment paper because the dough doesn’t want to stick to the paper as well and may leave holes or uneven spots in the cookie bars.
• Choose a metal baking pan for these Easter M&M’s Cookies as they bake more evenly with this great recipe than glass baking pans do.

Storing Tips 

Once you’ve made your Easter M&M Magic Cookie Bars, let them cool. Then you can store them in an airtight container and leave them on the counter. They should stay fresh for 4-5 days- that is, if they last that long.

Normally when I make these magic Easter M and M Bars, they don’t last longer than the day I make them.

If you make an extra batch and want to freeze them for later, just let them cool, then toss them in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze. If using a container, place parchment paper in between the layers so they don’t all freeze together in one big clump.

When you want to eat them again, remove them from the freezer, set the bag or container on the counter, and let them thaw and come to room temperature. Once they’ve come up to temperature, snack away!

What To Serve With M&M Bars

These easy M&M cookie bars, with their delightful blend of sweetness and crunch, can be paired with a variety of beverages and desserts. A glass of cold milk or a hot cup of coffee makes for a classic combination, heightening the flavors of the bars. 

They also pair wonderfully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an indulgent easy dessert. Alternatively, you can serve them alongside fresh fruits like strawberries or raspberries to cut through the sweetness and add a refreshing contrast.

Recipe FAQs

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