Easter Cookies

A tray of chocolate cookies topped with colorful candy-coated chocolates and chocolate chips, arranged neatly on parchment paper.

These fudgy chocolate Easter cookies are like brownies in cookie form — rich, chocolaty, with crispy edges and soft, gooey centers. I loaded them up with dark chocolate chips and pastel M&M’s, making them perfect for Easter.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Easter cookies

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 30

Servings cookies

Calories 171kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks, softened
1 ¼ cups brown sugar packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup pastel M&M’s
½ cup dark chocolate chips

For topping:

½ cup pastel M&M’s

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to the wet ingredients. Gently mix using a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in M&M’s and chocolate chips. Don’t overmix.
Chill the dough for at least 1 hour (or overnight).
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Scoop out the chilled dough and roll into balls. Place them on prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the edges set.
Remove from the oven and press extra M&M’s on top while cookies are warm. Then, let them cool on a baking sheet for 5-10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Notes

Sift cocoa powder to remove lumps and ensure it blends smoothly with the other dry ingredients for an even-textured dough.
Do not overmix the cookie dough. Mix just until combined and no big lumps of flour remain.
Don’t overbake the cookies - the edges should be firm, but the center should stay soft and fudgy.
Don't skip chilling the dough! Chilling helps control overspreading and gives the cookies a thick, chewy texture.
Measure ingredients correctly, especially the flour. Too much flour can make the cookies dry and crumbly, while too little can cause them to spread too much and turn out flat.
Start checking the cookies after baking them for 8 minutes to avoid overbaking as every oven works a little differently.
If you don’t have two large baking sheets, bake the cookies in batches. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge while the first batch bakes. Once the first batch is done, let the baking sheet cool. Then, scoop the dough into balls and bake the next batch.

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