Of all the cookies out there, I have to believe that an M&M Cookie is the one cookie that most everyone can agree is delicious. It appeals to everyone- young and old. They also happen to be incredibly easy to make! M&M Cookies have become my cookie of choice when it comes to giving cookies away or baking for a bake sale. I’ve spent a bit of time perfecting my recipe just so. It gives you a bit of chew, a bit of crisp around the edges, and loads of delicious M&M candies.
My favorite thing about this recipe though has to be that you can adjust the size effortlessly. Making cookies for a crowd? Use a tablespoon cookie scoop and bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. Making cookies for the bake sale? Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop the dough and bake for closer to 15 minutes. You’ll get cookies the size of your head, and perfect in every way. They are the first to disappear off the bake sale table every time.
Do use both the butter and the shortening. I’ve played with this quite a bit. Use all butter and your cookies will spread too much, and will also have a greasy texture. Use all shortening and the cookies don’t spread enough- they also taste bland from the lack of buttery flavor. I have not tried butter flavored shortening, but I just recommend using a combination of the two for the best of both worlds.
I haven’t tried using Dark M&M’s either yet, as Zander is not a fan of dark chocolate. But I bet those would make even better cookies.
Perfect M&M Cookies
1 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup white sugar 1 stick butter, softened 1/2 cup of solid shortening 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 2-3 cups plain chocolate M&M candiesDirections:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugars with the butter and shortening. Beat with a mixer on low speed until well combined and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder and mix into the butter mixture with a wooden spoon. Fold in 2 cups of the M&Ms.
Portion your dough onto baking sheets as desired. For normal sized cookies, measure out generous tablespoon sized balls of dough. For very large cookies, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the dough. (Six of the large dough balls will fit on a half-sheet pan perfectly.) Pat the dough into rough balls and then flatten slightly with your fingers. For both sizes of cookie, press a few M&M’s directly into the top of the dough.
Bake the smaller cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the just begin to brown around the edges. For the larger cookies, they can take as long as 16 minutes to reach the perfect stage of doneness.
Remove to cooling racks to cool completely.
Makes between 12-36 cookies, depending on the size made.