Soft and Chewy Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft and chewy rainbow cookies, crispy on the edges, filled with chocolate and M&Ms – A Cookie Lovers DREAM!

I don’t know if it’s just me but, does anyone else love the cookies from Subway?! Like, there is no other chocolate chip cookie out there that satisfies those cravings the way that one does? They always have that soft and chewy texture but a beautiful crispy crunch around the edges? This Soft and Chewy Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookie is THAT COOKIE! This cookie recipe incorporates everything I love about a good cookie – the best of all worlds: a chewy centre, crispy edges and bursts of chocolate throughout. I have two major challenges when baking these cookies:

1. Not eating all the cookie dough.
2. Not eating all the freshly baked cookies while they’re warm right out of the oven.

This recipe is SO simple and comes together in a matter of minutes!

Baking These Cookies to Perfection

The recipe begins by creaming together the butter and sugars for about 1-2 minutes until they form a creamy texture. As with most cookie recipes – this recipe calls for a combination of brown and white sugar. White sugar browns the cookies through caramelisation, makes them more crispy, it also encourages the cookies to spread as the sugar melts. Brown sugar makes cookies more moist and chewy because of its molasses content.

Once the sugar and butter have reached a creamy consistency, the egg and vanilla are beaten until combined. The flour, baking soda and salt then are mixed in using a spatula. This ensures that the batter isn’t over mixed. The last step is to fold in in a cup of M&Ms and dark chocolate chips (you can use milk chocolate or white if you prefer).

The cookie batter is then scooped onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. I use approximately 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough per scoop. I always ensure that my cookies are at least 2 inches apart on the tray to allow enough room for spreading.

Bake the cookies for 7-10 minutes, until you see them starting to develop a golden brown colour. At the 3 minute and 5 minute mark I like to remove the tray from the oven, bang the pan gently against the counter 3-5 times and return it to bake till done. The reason for this is to deflate the cookies a bit, giving them that crinkled and more evenly spread surface. Totally optional step but I LOVE the appearance and feel of chewing on a cookie with more texture.

I strongly recommend a reading the tips below to ensure successful soft and chewy rainbow cookies:

1. Measure your flour correctly – using too much or too little flour could completely ruin or change the texture of your cookie. I am a pedantic baker and prefer using exact measurements hence use a weighing scale for my flour. If you don’t have a weighing scale, ensure that you aren’t packing in too much flour by spooning the flour into your measuring cup and then levelling it off with a butter knife.
2. Room temperature butter – as with any recipe that calls for creaming together butter and sugar – room temperature butter is K E Y. Butter that is too cold won’t hold the air required to ensure the cookies have a puffy texture. Butter that is too warm or melted will result in the air bubbles collapsing.
3. Salted butter v Unsalted butter – I personally LOVE the combination of a subtle salty taste to these cookies with the sweetness of the batter and the chocolate chips and M&Ms. For this reason I use salted butter and still don’t skip the pinch of salt in the batter. This one’s a personal preference – but I’d say go for salted butter!
4. Extra additions – you can replace chocolate chips with macadamia nuts or 1/2 cup of macadamia + 1/2 cup chocolate chips. If you prefer white or milk chocolate chips, I strongly recommend playing around with your preferences.
5. Make ahead – make the cookie dough ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days before baking.
6. Freezing baked cookies – freeze the cookies after baking. Simply store them in a ziplock bag once cooled and store in a freezer for 2-3 months.
7. Freezing cookie dough – if you prefer freezing the cookie dough. Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer the frozen dough balls into a ziplock bag and store for about 2-3 months. Remove the dough balls from the bags and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Allow them to thaw while the oven warms up. They may require a couple of extra minutes to bake.

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The Best Chewy Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 from 29 votes

Recipe by Shilpika Course: All Recipes, Cookies, Desserts

Servings

30

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

7

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

• 3/4 Cup White Sugar

• 1 Cup Butter (Salted/Unsalted)

• 2 Large Eggs

• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

• 1 Teaspoon Salt

• 1 Cup M&Ms

• 1 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 190C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars for about 1-2 minutes till fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until just combined.
• Using a spatula, fold in the flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms until combined. Mixture will be slightly sticky, this is normal.
• Using a cookie scoop or smaller scoop (~1.5tbsp), scoop individual balls of cookie dough onto the baking tray lined with baking paper leaving at least a 2 inch/5 cm gap between cookies to allow them to spread.
• Place in the oven and bake for 3 mins. At the three minute mark, using protective oven gloves remove the tray from the oven, bang the pan on the counter 3-5 times and return to bake for another 2 minutes. Remove again after 2 minutes and repeat. Allow the cookies to bake for further 2-5 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest/set on the tray for 2 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

Notes

• Recipe inspired by i Heart Naptime.
• Gluten Free: this recipe can be made gluten free by substituting equal amounts of gluten free flour for all purpose flour.