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Our M&M BROWNIES are thick, fudgy, and absolutely loaded with M&M candies! The kids love these colorful treats and they are so much better than brownies from a box!
I needed a bit of color in my life yesterday. Things were boring and I wanted to spice them up.
I did what any sane person would do and dumped a large bag of peanut butter m&ms in my brownies. It was kind of a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself.
And I didn’t just grab a box of brownie mix – oh no. I went the full nine yards and made my Homemade Brownies. I don’t want to brag, but these turn out absolutely perfect every time. So thick and rich and fudgy, they’re insanely good!
Ingredient Notes:
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Cocoa Powder – This recipe uses Dutch processed cocoa powder. Using natural cocoa powder will work, but may result in a denser brownie with a bit of an acidic flavor.
My Favorite Cocoa Powder!
This cocoa powder is Dutch-processed, giving it a rich, deep flavor and color. Hershey’s brand is inexpensive and easy to find. It may be cheaper in your local store.
Espresso Powder – Optional but highly recommended! It really adds a lot of depth to the chocolate flavor. This will NOT make your brownies taste like coffee.
M&Ms – The star of the show! Use whatever variety you like – we did a mix of peanut butter and plain this time around.
Vanilla Extract – Essential in any baking recipe.
What Readers are Saying!
“These were absolutely delicious. My son requested PB M&M Brownies for his birthday. I wasn’t really digging the recipe on the bag, so I went searching and the recipe this page looked great. SO good. Parents and kids all loved them. I want to try the recipe again without the candy, I think this will be my go to from now on. Thanks!” –Lia
How To Make Brownies From Scratch:
Heat: To get started you’re going to want to melt the butter completely in a small sauce pan. Once it has melted you can start stirring in the sugar. You don’t want it to boil so keep stirring it constantly for a few minutes on low heat to get things all combined together.
Mix: Pour the butter/sugar mix into a mixing bowl and get ready to add the good stuff!
Beat in the cocoa and espresso powders, eggs, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Next you can stir in the flour and the peanut butter M&Ms. Combine everything until you’ve got a nice thick chocolatey brownie batter!
Helpful Tip!
You can add espresso powder to just about any brownie recipe, including a box mix, and it will really help enhance the chocolate flavor. It will NOT make our brownies taste like coffee! You won’t even realize it’s there.
Bake: All that’s left to do now is spread that rich brownie batter into your prepared baking dish and let it bake for about thirty minutes. The best tasting brownies have nice crisp edges and a soft, gooey center, so don’t overbake!
Let them cool for a few minutes and finally you can enjoy these rich peanut butter m&m brownies!
FAQs:
Absolutely! Store them in an airtight container at room temperature and they’ll last for 3-5 days.
Espresso powder! It really helps make these brownies rich and flavorful.
This brownie recipe calls for Dutch process cocoa. If you use natural cocoa powder, your brownies might be a bit denser.
We like to test brownies about 1-2 inches from the edge of the pan and pull them when the tester comes out clean. If you test them directly in the center of the pan, the edges will be overdone by the time the tester comes out clean. Testing near the edges ensures you end up with nice edge pieces and fudgy centers.
MORE BROWNIE RECIPES!
Brownies are probably our favorite type of dessert, and we’ve got a lot of good brownie recipes to share with you. Check some of these out!
- Nutella Brownies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Brownies
- Loaded Reese’s Brownies
- Mississippi Mud Brownies
And many more! You can find all of our brownie recipes.
M&M Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups M&M candies any variety
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9×13 baking dish.
- In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.
- Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Stir in the flour and M&Ms until well combined. Batter will be thick.
- Spread into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean about 1-2 inches from the edge of the pan. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked. Cool on a wire rack.
Sharon Cole says
I,ll make it next month of October
Jo-Jo says
Oh my goodness!
I made these last night and took them into the school where I work today…to say they went down a storm would be an understatement!!!! One of my colleagues (who is an exceptional baker) said these were off the scale of fabulousness!!!
Lia says
These were absolutely delicious. My son requested PB M&M Brownies for his birthday. I wasn’t really digging the recipe on the bag, so I went searching and the recipe this page looked great. SO good. Parents and kids all loved them. I want to try the recipe again without the candy, I think this will be my go to from now on. Thanks!
Karly says
It’s our go to brownie recipe too! Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Anne says
I am just dropping by to say I have made these four times and they are officially my go to brownie recipe! I’m actually making these tonight without the m&ms and instead topping them with a delicious german chocolate cake frosting (coconut, pecan ect) it’s my friends favorite and it’s her birthday. (Personally I’d prefer the peanut butter m&ms) awesome recipe!!
Karly says
So glad to hear that, Anne! I’m sure your topping will be amazing! 🙂
Leigh says
Hi there! Totally looking forward to making these! Assuming in the instructions mean to reference peanut butter M&Ms instead of chocolate chips, right? Or maybe there’s an option for both…
Karly says
Whoops! Yes, I meant m&m’s, but chocolate chips are good too!
Leigh says
Okay, made ’em last night. Used Dutch process cocoa. OUTSTANDING!!! Thank you very much, I’ve had rotten luck with brownies from scratch, but these were seriously awesome!!
Hard candies says
Good post. I’m facing many of these issues
as well..
Da'dra says
It was too salty and bitter for our taste, but my kids were happy I made some. And, in the ingredient list it doesn’t mention chocolate chips, but in the directions it says to add them. That was confusing. But, it was very close to what I was looking for.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Da’dra.
Irishbaker says
These look unbelievably rich,such a dark colour!
Beth Michelle says
Too delicious. The brownies and that precious baby 🙂
Libby says
Just made these brownies with my cousin. We are so excited to try them. Thanks for posting this recipe. 🙂