Soft Oatmeal M&M Cookies

These soft baked Oatmeal M&M Cookies are buttery, filled with mini m&m's, and have pudding mix in them to make them chewy and soft!

This easy oatmeal cookie recipe is one of my favorites, right behind my Classic Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies. Had them every Sunday growing up, and still obsessed with them!

This is the BEST oatmeal cookie recipe. It has the perfect combination of flour and regular old-fashioned oats and my favorite addition, PUDDING MIX. This is the magic ingredient that makes these cookies so amazing!

Ingredients You'll Need

Here's a simple list of ingredients you need to make these soft oatmeal cookies.

• Butter - salted
• Brown Sugar - light
• White Granulated Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt
• Baking Soda
• Vanilla Pudding Mix -instant, 3.4 oz box.
• Flour - all purpose
• Old Fashioned Regular Oats
• Mini M&M's

Instructions

PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

CREAM SUGARS In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment combine the butter, white sugar and brown sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until fluffy.

ADD DRY INGREDIENTS Add in baking soda and pudding mix and mix slowly until just combined. Then add oats and flour, mixing well on low speed. Add in mini M&M's last.

SCOOP raw cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets. I do rows of 3 and 2 so I can bake 13 at a time instead of 12.

BAKE for 10 to 11 minutes, do not over bake. The bottoms/edges of the cookies should be barely golden brown and tops juuuust beginning to crack. Time may depend on number of pans in oven and racks being used.

COOL 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. The bottoms of the cookies should be golden brown and tops will be barely golden brown. Enjoy!

Tips and Variations

• Different M&M's! The options are endless. Caramel, peanut butter, and mint (around the holidays), are some of the basics. I've heard tell of pretzel or brownie-filled ones as well.
• Chocolate! You can use any type of chocolate chips you want for these. Mini, dark chocolate, butterscotch, white chocolate, or peanut butter would be amazing!
• Don't overbake! And also NO IT IS NOT TOO MUCH SALT. It is what makes these cookies amazing, along with the pudding mix.
• Pudding mix! You could use vanilla, french vanilla, white chocolate, cheesecake, or even butterscotch flavored. I've tried them all and love each of them.

How To Store

Oatmeal M&M Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days before they start to dry out.

TO FREEZE: Make the dough as directed, then scoop it into balls. Freeze on a flat surface separately until hard, then transfer the raw cookie dough balls into an airtight container. Freezing them separately first will prevent the cookie dough balls from sticking together.

TO BAKE: Preheat the oven to 350 F, then place frozen cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheets. Place directly into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes. They may turn a little darker golden brown but should still be nice and chewy on the inside!