These 4th of July Cookies are made with brownie mix and topped with red, white, and blue M&Ms. They’re easy to make, and perfect for snacking while watching a fireworks show.
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Why this 4th of July Cookie Recipe is a Keeper
These festive 4th of July M&M cookies are so fun to make and eat! The cookies look perfect for the holiday with red, white, and blue M&M candies on top, and brownie mix gives the cookies a soft and chewy texture. Here are some reasons why you’ll love this 4th of July recipe:
- 30 Minute Dessert: Have these red, white and blue cookies ready in about 30 minutes.
- Easy Ingredients: All of the simple ingredients for these patriotic cookies can be found in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Family Friendly: These cookies are my favorite. Perfect cookies for a 4th of July celebration with your family. You can also make them for Memorial Day. It’s a fun and easy recipe to make with your kids, who will love these cookies.
If you love this recipe and are looking for more patriotic desserts, try these: Patriotic Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Patriotic Layered Jello, and Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares with Chocolate.
Can I Use Different Cake Mix to Make these Cookies?
Yes; you can use any cake or cookie mix you want. While this recipe uses brownie mix, you can make this recipe with vanilla cake mix or even strawberry. It’s also possible to make sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies, and add the M&Ms on top.
Ingredient Notes for these Red White and Blue Dessert
These are easy and delicious cookies to serve at your next holiday gathering, as they make the perfect 4th of July dessert. Here are some things you’ll want to have on hand in order to make these easy 4th of July cookies:
- Brownie Mix: These cookies are easy to make, as it doesn’t take any time to gather the dry ingredients. Everything you need to make the base of these buttery cookies can be found in a box of brownie mix, which will make the cookies soft and pillowy.
- Candies: Use red, white, and blue coated candies to top the cookies. You can use M&M candies, or Skittles in these colors if you can find them.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for Festive 4th of July Cookies
- Flavors: Feel free to make these cookies using different flavors of brownie mix.
- Sprinkles: Instead of M&Ms, you can also top these cookies with sprinkles or icing.
Easy to Make Pro Tip to Make 4th of July Cookies
For quick and ease of portability, make in a cake pan and cut into bars.
How to Make the Best 4th of July Cookies From Brownie Mix
4th of July cookies are perfect to make if you’re short on time. This popular cookie recipe uses brownie mix, so they don’t take long to make. To learn how to make this chocolate chip cookie recipe, follow the steps below.
These are the basic steps for making brownie mix cookies. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Mix Cookies
Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the brownie mix just until combined with the flour. Then add in eggs, water, and melted butter. Once combined with a stand mixer, fold in chocolate chips and the M&M’s; make sure to scoop off any dough from the side of the bowl. Feel free to add extra chocolate chips to this cookie recipe if you’d like.
2. Bake the Cookies
Scoop cookie dough into tablespoon sized scoops onto a lined baking sheet; you can use a tablespoon or a cookie scoop. Place onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Let the cookies bake for about 10-13 minutes until the top appears to dry and crack.
3. Top Cookies with Candy
Once you remove the cookies from the oven, immediately press in M&M’s onto top of the cookies, allow baked cookies to stay on pan for 3 more minutes. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. After you allow your soft and chewy cookies to cool, serve and enjoy!
Chewy Cake Mix Cookie Dough Recipe FAQs
Store the cookies in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
You can make ahead up to 5 days in advance. However, these fun cookies will be best fresh from the oven.
Yes, you can use chocolate chips instead of M&Ms, or use a different candy.
Yes; just use different colored candies to match different holiday celebrations to make the best cookies for get-togethers.
Recipe Tips for Fourth of July Cookies
- Storing Cookies: To keep these brownie cookies from mix fresh for days to come, just simply add a slice of bread to the airtight container or bag that you store them in. Adding a slice of bread will help prevent the cookies from getting stale as it will help to maintain the moisture.
- Switch the M&M Colors: Decorate the cookies with festive toppings for any holiday by switching up the color of the M&M’s. For Halloween, use purple and orange, or for Christmas, use red, white, and green colored M&Ms.
- 4th of July Sugar Cookies: You can make this into a sugar cookie recipe by making our sugar cookies and adding the candies on top. Additionally, you can make shortbread cookies or peanut butter cookies as well.
- Double: If you need to make a lot of cookies, just double the recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: For more flavor variations, you could make 4th of July cookies with white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.
- Sprinkles: Make the cookies with sprinkles on top for even more fun.
More July 4th Recipes
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4th of July Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Scoop (optional)
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Ingredients
- 1 18.9 ounce box Brownie Mix
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Butter, melted
- ¼ cup Flour
- 1 cup M&M’s
- ½ cup Chocolate Chips
- 1 tablespoon Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine brownie mix and flour.
- Add in eggs, water and melted butter; mix until well blended. The dough will be thick.
- Fold in chocolate chips and ¾ cup of the M&M’s until well mixed.
- Scoop out dough 1 tablespoon at a time. Then, roll into a ball and place on prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 10-13 minutes or until the top is cracked and appears dry.
- Remove from the oven and immediately press the extra M&M’s into the tops of the cookies.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Christina’s Notes
- Storing Cookies: To keep these brownie cookies from mix fresh for days to come, just simply add a slice of bread to the airtight container or bag that you store them in. Adding a slice of bread will help prevent the cookies from getting stale as it will help to maintain the moisture.
- Switch the M&M Colors: Decorate the cookies with festive toppings for any holiday by switching up the color of the M&M’s. For Halloween, use purple and orange, or for Christmas, use red, white, and green colored M&Ms.
- 4th of July Sugar Cookies: You can make this into a sugar cookie recipe by making our sugar cookies and adding the candies on top. Additionally, you can make shortbread cookies or peanut butter cookies as well.
- Double: If you need to make a lot of cookies, just double the recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: For more flavor variations, you could make 4th of July cookies with white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.
- Sprinkles: Make the cookies with sprinkles on top for even more fun.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.