Valentine’s Day M&M Cookie Bars
These tasty Valentine’s Day M&M Cookie Bars are soft, chewy, and filled with pretty red, pink, and white M&Ms! They are a delicious Valentine’s Day treat. This quick and easy treat takes just 15 minutes to mix up and 30 minutes to bake!
Looking for easy Valentine’s Day recipes? You should also try my Dipped Valentine’s Heart Cookies!
Whenever I see the holiday-themed bags of M&Ms, they are so hard to resist! I think the marketing team has realized this, as it seems that every year there are even MORE options to choose from!
These simple bars are an easy way to use a bag of holiday M&Ms–in this case I used the adorable Valentine’s Day mix. It’s a mix of red, dark pink, light pink, and white M&Ms. They are so cute and they work perfectly as mix-ins for sugar cookie bars.
These bars are quick to make and they come out soft and chewy. You can press in additional M&Ms before baking to make them extra-festive. The cookie dough is mixed up in one bowl and doesn’t even require an electric mixer. It’s truly super easy!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Quick: These bars come together in about 15 minutes, with 30 minutes of bake time.
- Festive: The colorful Valentine’s M&Ms make these bars so cute for February 14th!
- Soft and Chewy: Avoid dry bars by measuring your flour carefully and you will love the soft and chewy texture of these.
- Great for Gifting: Wrap them up in cute packaging (such as treat bags or boxes) for a thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift.
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Recipes by a Real Person in a Real Kitchen
In the age of AI-generated content, I like to share how I’ve created and tested my recipes. My recipes have been hypothesized, baked, taste-tested, and refined by a real human (me!). I only publish recipes I think are awesome.
This recipe is a spin-off of my sugar cookie base recipe and features pretty Valentine’s Day M&Ms. My family enjoyed eating these bars!
Ingredients in Valentine’s M&M Bars
A few notes on some of the ingredients used in the cookies:
- Unsalted Butter -I always use unsalted American butter in my recipes. I shop at Costco the most frequently so I often go with their store-brand of butter for baking.
- Neutral Oil – Use canola or vegetable oil. OR sub in 2 more tablespoons of melted butter.
- Granulated Sugar – for sweetness of course!
- Egg – one large egg.
- Vanilla and Almond extract – I use both, but if you don’t like almond you can just use all vanilla. If you happen to have it, Cake Batter extract is another delish option to use for these bars.
- All-Purpose Flour – I use all-purpose flour in my baking. It’s very very important to measure your flour correctly. Never pack flour into a measuring cup. Use a food scale for best results.
- Baking Powder – This recipe uses baking powder for rise.
- Salt – regular table salt.
- Valentine’s M&Ms – chocolate-covered candies in Valentine’s colors! You can exchange these for any standard M&M in any holiday color as desired!
Tips for Preventing Dry Cookie Bars
No one likes dry cookies or bars. To avoid that, follow the recipe closely and take note of my following tips:
- Don’t Overbake: Keep an eye on your bars and don’t allow them to dry out. I test mine with a toothpick in the center (it should come out clean) when the edges are just lightly golden.
- Measure Flour Correctly: I prefer to weigh my flour, but if using measuring cups then be sure you are not packing it into the measuring cup!
How to Line a Pan with Parchment Paper
Whenever I bake bars I line the pan with parchment. Lining your baking pan with parchment paper makes it easy to remove the bars and ensures they don’t stick. Here’s how:
Cut a piece of parchment to fit to the sides of your pan. Leave a few inches at both the top and bottom for “handles” to lift your bars out of the pan. Press/crease the parchment into the pan so it stays put.
- You can also grease the pan before placing the parchment and it won’t slide around.
- For very sticky bars I like to put a second piece of parchment the opposite way so there’s no where the bars can stick. This recipe does just fine with one piece though!
How to Make Valentine’s Day Cookie Bars
Here’s a summary of how this recipe is made.
Find the complete ingredients list and full instructions within the printable recipe card below!
Add oil and sugar to melted and cooled butter and whisk to combine. Add in egg and extracts and whisk until combined and smooth.
Add the dry ingredients and fold to combine (use a spatula).
Fold in M&Ms. Dough will be soft and a bit sticky.
Spread cookie dough into a 8”x8” lined pan. Press in more M&Ms if desired.
Bake at 325°F for 25-30 minutes until center is set and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once cool, carefully remove bars from pan using the parchment sling to lift them out. Trim the edges off and cut the bars into 16 squares.
How to Store
Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Or, freeze in freezer safe packaging for 1-2 months.
How to Adapt The Recipe for Other Holidays
You can easily swap out the M&Ms to represent holidays or celebrations all year around! Here’s a few ideas:
- Easter: Use pastel M&Ms or the chocolate egg kind.
- Fourth of July: Try a bag of the red, white, and blue M&Ms.
- Christmas: Classic red and green candies are perfect for a festive touch. I like to add Christmas sprinkles too! You can mix some into the dough right at the end so they don’t bleed and then add extra on top. Super cute!
Tips for Cute Packaging for Gifting These Bars
These cookie bars make adorable gifts. Here are a few fun packaging ideas:
- Cellophane Bags: Stack a few bars in a clear bag, tie with red and pink ribbon, and add a festive gift tag.
- Treat Boxes: Use small bakery boxes and seal with a sticker or washi tape.
- Wax Paper Wraps: Wrap individual bars in wax paper, twist the ends like candy wrappers, and add a heart sticker.
More Valentine’s Day Recipes
If you are looking for other sweet recipes to try for Valentine’s Day, consider these: Strawberry Cookies with Strawberry Buttercream, Peanut Butter Chocolate Heart Cookies, and Crumbl Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
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Valentine’s Day M&M Bars
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (like vegetable or canola)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 5.25 ounces
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract (replace with vanilla if preferred)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 7.5 ounces
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup Valentine’s M&Ms about 5.5 ounces
- extra M&Ms to press into the top optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8”x8” pan with a parchment paper "sling". To do this: cut parchment to fit the sides of the pan and leave a few inches of excess on the top and bottom so the bars can be lifted out once cool.
- Add oil and sugar to melted and cooled butter and whisk until the mixture is totally combined. It should be thick and shiny. Whisk in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined and smooth, about 60 seconds.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl with the other ingredients and use a spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in ¾ cup of M&Ms. Dough will be soft and a bit sticky.
- Spread cookie dough into the 8”x8” lined pan. Press in more M&Ms if desired.
- Bake at 325°F for 25-30 minutes until center is set and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Edges will be lightly golden brown. Bars may dry out if overbaked. Cool completely.
- Once cool, carefully remove bars from pan using the parchment sling to lift them out. Trim the edges off and cut the bars into 16 squares.
