M&M cookie recipe returns to dining halls, much to students' relief

UNC students have been flocking to the cookie shelves at Lenoir Dining Hall since Carolina Dining Services brought back its original M&M cookie recipe.

The original recipe was replaced by a new recipe after winter break, but after more and more original recipe lovers made their voices heard on social media and CDS napkin reviews, the old cookies were brought back — their arrival celebrated with a geofilter around Lenoir Dining Hall.

First-year chemistry major Vince Friedman said he is glad the old recipe is back.

“I like having the chewier taste back,” Friedman said. “I would say I’ve started eating more of them now.”

Friedman said he could tell a difference between the two recipes.

“I prefer the old ones,” he said. “The new one is a little bit thicker, the other one was thinner and often more chewier.”

CDS Executive Chef Michael Gueiss said the recipe changed because the dining halls’ distributor stopped carrying the original dough.

“We buy, they’re frozen cookie dough, and we’ve been buying a 1.33 ounce cookie dough and it had the big chocolate chips in it. Over the break, we buy through a supplier, distributor ... that item was taken out of stock for whatever reason,” Gueiss said. “So we were replaced with the one ounce, same cookies, same ingredients, but it weighed one ounce and the chips were smaller.”

Gueiss said the new recipe included M&M style candies, not M&Ms.

“And they were broken up a lot smaller and the cookie had a different appearance,” Gueiss said. “So as soon as we knew that, I went to them and, was like, ‘I need my cookies back.’ It’s a lot. They had to get it back in stock. I had to order it, we had to get it in and it never happens as quick as I would like it to.”

Sophomore psychology major Belyin Gutierrez said she doesn’t have a preference of cookies.

“I can never tell a difference,” Gutierrez said. “The only difference I can tell is whether they have more M&Ms or not.”

She said the recipe change doesn’t bother her.

Gueiss said it is not typical for recipes to change like this.

“We do get subbed out other items that the customer would never know about, maybe vinegar or something like that ... ” he said. “But sometimes, you know, we buy so many products, things do get subbed out,” he said. “It’s just when it’s something that’s everybody’s favorite, people know.”

Gueiss said community input affected the recipe change.

“The managers get the napkin talk, they respond to the student. And especially when it’s food related, they let the chefs know and the chefs and I go over, you know, the suggestions.”

Now that the original M&M recipe is back, the Napkin Talk board is full of napkins expressing appreciation for the recent recipe change.

“I want everyone to be happy with the cookie they like,” Gueiss said. “I am not planning on changing it.”

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