These soft, chewy M&M Blonde Brownies are a fun snack any time of day. Try packing them into your kid's lunch boxes or snacking on them after school with a glass of milk.
Today I am slightly dragging a little. I have discovered that boys are much louder than girls. And by boys, I really mean grown men.
Last night my hubby had game night at our house. Seriously I think 5 grown men huddled around a board game are much louder than any group of women for sure. Loud voices and laughing do not make going to sleep very easy.
Usually they set up the game in the basement, but last night it was upstairs in the dining room. Of course, it was the room without carpet, so it just echoed through out the entire house. I did stay up for a bit doing some computer work in the office.
All I heard was laughing and talking about which army was going to destroy the rest. I finally waved the white flag and went to bed even though they were still going strong on their game at midnight. Thank goodness the closed door blocked some of the sound.
Next time I am baking more pans of M&M's Brownies and Peanut Butter Cup Cookies for them.
My thinking is that if they are busy shoving food in their mouth, they can't laugh and shout at the game plays.
Baking Blonde Brownies
These M&M's cookie bars are one of my family's favorite treats. I almost always under bake ours slightly because we like the soft, chewy, and sometimes gooey texture. 22 minutes is just the way we like them.
Feel free bake your bars a few minutes longer than that if you like blonde brownies that are a little more done. Just be careful and watch them closely as they bake. It is easy to over bake these bars.
These chewy blonde brownies WILL look undone when you pull them out of the oven, but they will set up as they cool. Just trust me on this! If you bake them too much, they will be hard when you cut into them later.
If you are making these cookie bars for a bake sale, I do recommend baking them the full 25 minutes. Gooey under baked treats are only good if you are eating them at home.
How to make M&M Blonde Brownies:
Make sure you set out your butter ahead of time. Soft room temperature butter is much easier to beat into the sugar.
Add the salt, vanilla, and eggs and beat the mixture again. Be careful not to over mix the batter at any point because that can make the top crunchy and crackly. Which is not really a bad thing, but it does change the texture slightly. I prefer the tops of my blonde brownies soft and chewy.
Stir in the baking powder and flour until you get a thick cookie dough.
Now comes for the fun part. It's time for adding your mix-ins. Obviously, this batch got loads of M&M candies. Feel free to use miniatures or regular M&M's. You could also do cookies, nuts, or sprinkles. Or a mixture of all the above.
Make sure you store the blondies in a sealed container. They will stay softer longer if you keep them from getting dried out. Of course, if your family is anything like mine, you will not have very many M&M Blonde Brownies to deal with.
Holiday Blonde Brownies
I love changing up the colors of the candies for different holidays. The rainbow of colors from the candies is so pretty when you cut into the M&M bars.
- Pink and red M&M's would make these so pretty for for Valentine's Day.
- Use mint M&M's for St. Patrick's Day.
- A bag of pastel M&M's would be perfect for Easter.
- Red, white, and blue M&M's would turn these into the best patriotic dessert.
- Use orange, brown, and white M&M's for a Halloween cookie bar.
- And of course, red, white, and green M&M's work great in these Christmas blondies!
See how easy it is to transform this easy recipe into a fun holiday dessert? You can also use any other candy in place of these M&M's. Reese's pieces are super yummy too!
More easy cookie bars that you may enjoy:
Gooey marshmallow and Reese's Pieces candies add a sweet goodness to these Marshmallow Reese's Blonde Brownies.
Lots of candy and pretzels makes a pan of these Caramel Pretzel Peanut Butter M&M Bars disappear in a hurry.
These Nutella M&M Bars are easy cookie bars that are made in one pan.
These soft and chewy chocolate filled Congo Bars are a great recipe to make the next time you have company over.
A pan of these S'mores Sugar Cookie Bars would never last long around me. I love a good chocolate, marshmallow, and graham treat!
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Recipe
M&M Blonde Brownies
These easy M&M Blonde Brownies are loaded with candy goodness. A batch of these cookie bars never last very long in our house.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups M&M candies, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Beat the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again.
- Sift together the salt, baking powder, and flour. Slowly beat into the butter mixture. Stir in 1 cup of the M&M candies by hand.
- Spread the batter in the prepared dish. Sprinkle the top with the extra ½ cup candies.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let the cookie bars cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in a sealed container.
Notes
*They will seem under done and under baked when you pull them out. Let them sit on the counter for at least 2-3 hours before cutting into them
**If you are making them for a bake sale, bake them 25 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 202Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 148mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
*This post for M&M Blonde Brownies was first published on March 11, 2014. It has been updated and republished on February 15, 2019.
amanda fey
Can dark brown sugar be used instead of light brown?
Jocelyn
I haven't actually tried this recipe with dark brown sugar, so I'm not sure how it would turn out. I do know that dark brown sugar has twice the amount of molasses, so it will definitely change the taste. It also might change the texture as it bakes. If it was a smaller amount, I would say go for it. BUT this recipe calls for 2 cups, so I think it would be best to do the light brown sugar.
Chloe
If I half the recipe, what size pan and bake temp/time would you recommend?
Jocelyn
I haven't tried using half of this recipe in a pan. But I think an 8x8 pan would work great for a half batch and my guess is around 20-22 minutes for baking. They do always look gooey and under baked when you take them out, so I would be careful not to over bake them.
BB
These were the best blondie brownies that I've ever made. Thank you!
Nadine
Amazing. For anyone who said it was still raw, you’re probably not using the right size pan. Please check your measurements. These were fab!! Because I only had salted butter, I only used 1/2 tsp of salt instead. Turned out sooooo good at exactly 22 minutes! Don’t forget to let cool 2 hours 🙂
Kristy
Forget my question about brown sugar....lol. I reread the recipe
Kristy
For the 2 cups of brown sugar. Is packed or not?
Jocelyn
Yes, it is packed. I'll make a note of that in the recipe. I hope you enjoy the bars.
Kristy
Thank you. I'm making this recipe now. I just know it's going to be wonderful.
Gina DeMarco
I just took these out of the oven now. The only thing different that I did, was use an 8x8" square pan, for 25 minutes, because the 13x9" looked a little too big for the amount of batter. I went to Walmart and bought the red, white and pink M&MS for valentine's day.
I can't wait to taste it!! (I have to wait the 4 hour's. I hope I can last!!
Jocelyn
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. The only thing I'm nervous about is that if you used a smaller pan, it probably will be raw in the center even after cooling a few hours. The 25 minute bake time is for the 9x13 pan. Keep me posted on how they are!
Deanna
Not happy with this recipe. You should note that they have to sit 2 to 3 hours as part of the recipe...not as an afterthought.
Jocelyn
I'm sorry you weren't happy with it. It all depends on how you like your blonde brownies. Our boys love (and prefer) digging in to the hot, gooey brownies minutes after they come out of the oven. The note is just to let anyone making them that they are not under done.
Keira Meadowcroft
Saw this and thought they looked really nice and so I decided to give it a go. Followed the recipe and put the m&m blondes into the oven for the correct time and temperature. When I took them out of the oven they weren’t cooked on the inside, I put them on for another 10 minutes and when I cut it in half it was all mixture. I couldn’t put it in for any longer because the outside was starting to burn.
Jocelyn
Oh, no! Are you sure you used the right amount of butter? I've accidentally done that before and they don't bake right. The blonde brownies will look undone when you first take them out of the oven, but after they cool a few hours they set up fine. I don't recommend baking them any longer than 28 minutes because the sides get too crispy.
Jackie Jacoby
This recipe does not work. There is way too much brown sugar. I never should have followed through with it when I re-read the ingredients. Look at other blondie recipes- this is off.
Jocelyn
I'm sorry to disagree with you on this, but this recipe does work. I make it all the time for my family and bake sales and it always gets rave reviews!
Jessica
These were amazing! Thank you so much!
Rachael Yerkes
These are so fun! Love them!
Becky Hardin
These totally would not last 5 minutes in my house! A big favorite here!!! Yum!
Amy
I made these as the recipe states. I thought these were too sweet. Won't be making again.
Jocelyn
I'm so sorry you feel that way about these brownies. They are made with butter, sugar, and candy, so it's going to be sweet.
Lindsay
I’m super disappointed. I was baking these for a fundraiser for a little boy with cancer, and I don’t think I can sell these ????. I’m afraid people will think they are too under cooked.
Jocelyn
Oh, no I'm so sorry to hear that! Have they cooled completely? They do set up after cooling. We do tend to like ours slightly under baked because they are absolutely amazing that way. How long did you bake them for?
Kellie
Do I need to use real butter?
Jocelyn
I always use real butter. Margarine is made with water so it affects how things are baked. Plus, butter just makes everything taste better!
C Turner
I can’t seem to get these to work 🙁 they always end up rock solid on top and uncooked on the bottom. Any idea where I am going wrong? If I cook for less time the mixture is literally uncooked and runny underneath! FYI, they still rate yummy!
Jocelyn
Are you sure you are only using the right amount of butter? I only ask this because once I accidentally doubled the butter and ended up with the runniest center ever. My boys still thought it was amazing. LOL! Also how long do you beat the butter and sugar mixture before adding in the rest of the ingredients? I have found that beating that too long results in a crunchier top.
alexis
can you use baking soda in place of powder?
Jocelyn
Baking powder and baking soda are two different leavening ingredients. If you need to use baking soda, only use 2/3 of a teaspoon plus 3/4 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice to activate it in the dough.
Sam
Are the measurements metric cups or us cups .
Jocelyn
All the recipes on our site are in US standard measures.
Bev Bird
Hi what flour do you use plain or self raising ?
Thankyou
Jocelyn
I use all purpose flour in all my recipes, unless it specifically says something else. I hope you enjoy the blondies!
Michelle
Plain! I used SR - epic fail ????