Preheat your oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Use a large mixing bowl and hand mixer to cream together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. You want this to become a smooth and creamy consistency!

Mix in the flour, salt, and baking soda into the wet ingredients until well incorporated.

Carefully fold your M&M candies into the dough. You want them to be well distributed throughout the cookie dough, but you don't want to chip off the colorful coating either

Scoop cookie dough into balls using a large cookie scoop and space them evenly on your lined baking sheet.

For extra festive cookies, make sure that you press a few extra M&M candies on the tops of the cookies! Then, not only do you have M&Ms running throughout, but they're also showcased front and center.

Slide your cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the centers have just set and the very edges of the cookies are golden brown.

Leave the baked cookies to set on the hot baking sheet for another 1 to 2 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Let the cookies cool down for a few minutes (if you are patient enough!) and enjoy your festive treat!