Description
These festive sandwich cookies are loaded with holiday M&M’s, mini chocolate chips, and sprinkles, baked to golden perfection and filled with a colorful, fluffy buttercream frosting in red, green, and white. Perfect for holiday celebrations, this fun and delicious treat combines classic chewy cookies with a creamy, festive filling.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups Holiday M&M’s
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
- ½ cup Holiday sprinkles
Filling (Buttercream Frosting)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- Green gel food coloring
- Red gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Line sheet trays with parchment paper and set them aside for baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and fine sea salt. Stir well and set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened unsalted butter with granulated and brown sugars on medium speed for 3 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing slowly until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
- Add Mix-Ins: Fold in the Holiday M&M’s and mini chocolate chips, then gently stir in the holiday sprinkles to evenly distribute throughout the dough.
- Shape Cookies: Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into slightly taller than wide spherical balls to reduce spreading during baking. Place dough balls evenly spaced on the prepared sheet trays.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown and the tops appear dry. Be careful not to overbake.
- Decorate and Cool: Immediately after removing from the oven, press additional M&M’s, chocolate chips, and sprinkles on top for a festive look. Let the cookies cool on the sheet tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Frosting: While the cookies bake, prepare the filling by creaming the softened butter in a stand mixer until smooth.
- Add Powdered Sugar and Flavorings: Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Add a pinch of salt, vanilla extract, and whole milk. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until fluffy.
- Color the Frosting: Divide the frosting evenly into three bowls. Stir red gel food coloring into one, green gel food coloring into the second, and leave the third plain white. Mix until desired color intensity is reached.
- Assemble Sandwich Cookies: Fill three piping bags with each color of frosting and pipe a dollop of each color onto the bottom half of the cooled cookies. Top with another cookie and gently press to form a sandwich.
- Serve and Enjoy: Serve the decorated sandwich cookies immediately or store them in an airtight container to enjoy later.
Notes
- For best results, use softened butter at room temperature for both the dough and frosting.
- To prevent spreading, shape the dough into taller balls rather than flat disks.
- You can substitute whole milk with any milk of your choice for the frosting.
- The frosting colors can be adjusted to your preferred shade by adding more or less gel food coloring.
- Store sandwich cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Adding extra candies on top after baking enhances visual appeal and flavor.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
