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M&Ms, white chocolate, pretzels and potato chips share a buttery cookie dough with two egg yolks. Fold the salty mix-ins gently so some texture remains. Divide into twenty similar portions and use the first tray to check spreading.
No; it uses two yolks. Adding the whites would change the moisture and structure. Separate carefully and store spare whites safely for another use.
Ingredient amounts and preparation
- Set out: 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
- Set out: 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- Set out: 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Set out: 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- Set out: 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- Set out: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- Set out: 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Set out: 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Set out: 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Set out: 1/2 cup red and green M&M's
- Set out: 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
- Set out: 1/3 cup pretzel pieces
- Set out: 1/3 cup crushed potato chips; 2 tablespoons red and green jimmies
Cooking sequence and doneness
- Stage 1
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets.
- Stage 2
- Beat softened butter with both sugars until evenly creamy and lighter.
- Stage 3
- Scrape the bowl.
- Stage 4
- Beat in two egg yolks and vanilla.
- Stage 5
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt separately.
- Stage 6
- Mix dry ingredients into the butter mixture just until no dry streaks remain.
- Stage 7
- Fold in M&Ms, white chocolate, pretzel pieces, potato chips and jimmies gently.
- Stage 8
- Divide into twenty even portions, chilling briefly if too soft to hold shape.
- Stage 9
- Arrange with about two inches between portions.
- Stage 10
- Bake about ten to twelve minutes, continuing until edges are set and centers are baked.
- Stage 11
- Let rest on trays five minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool fully before covering.
Spoon flour into the cup and level it rather than packing it down. The one-and-one-half-cup amount is relatively small compared with the mix-ins, so a heavy flour scoop can materially change the dough.
How large should pretzel pieces be?
Break them small enough to distribute without sharp ends protruding far from the dough. Keep potato chips in small pieces rather than reducing everything to dust. Fold gently after the dough is mixed.
Are extra decorations necessary?
The listed mix-ins are sufficient for the dough. Any pieces pressed on top are optional extras, not taken from an unspecified second batch. Avoid piling decorations so heavily that the portions spread unevenly.
How are baked centers judged?
Look for set edges and a center that no longer appears raw, starting around ten minutes. Chilling very soft dough can help control spread. Let cookies firm on the tray before lifting.
Storage and serving later
Let the baked pieces cool completely before closing a storage container, so trapped steam does not wet the surface. Keep any perishable filling or accompaniment under its own refrigerated-storage instructions.
Related recipe choices
For another complete recipe, see Holiday Chocolate Chip and M&M Cookies or White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies. Each has its own ingredient quantities and cooking sequence; keep those measurements separate when choosing a meal.
King Arthur’s creaming guide explains how butter condition affects mixing. That guide concerns recipes using softened butter; where this recipe calls for melted butter, follow its separate mixing sequence. The guide does not establish testing of this formula.
Common Questions About This Recipe
- Does this dough use whole eggs?
No; it uses two yolks. Adding the whites would change the moisture and structure.
- How should flour be measured?
Spoon flour into the cup and level it rather than packing it down. The one-and-one-half-cup amount is relatively small compared with the mix-ins, so a heavy flour scoop can materially change the dough.
- How large should pretzel pieces be?
Break them small enough to distribute without sharp ends protruding far from the dough. Keep potato chips in small pieces rather than reducing everything to dust.
- Are extra decorations necessary?
The listed mix-ins are sufficient for the dough. Any pieces pressed on top are optional extras, not taken from an unspecified second batch.
- How are baked centers judged?
Look for set edges and a center that no longer appears raw, starting around ten minutes. Chilling very soft dough can help control spread.
- Has this recipe been kitchen-tested?
No. This is a research-based editorial revision.