Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Put the â…“ cup of sugar (for rolling) in a pie plate or similar dish; set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine 1½ cups of sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl. Pour the warm butter over the cream cheese mixture and beat to combine. Beat in the oil then the egg, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to start folding the dry ingredients into the wet. When the dry ingredients are partially incorporated, add ¾ cup of the M&M's to the dough. Continue mixing until a soft dough comes together.

Use a cookie scoop to portion out about 2 tablespoons of dough, roll quickly into a ball, and roll through the sugar you set aside earlier. Place 12 cookies on each baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the dough balls into discs that are about 2 inches in diameter. Press 2 or 3 more M&M's into the top of each cookie.

Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. The cookies should not brown but the tops will be puffy and slightly cracked. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer them to the rack to cool completely.