M&M Cookies and CDs

I’m about to share something I’ve only shared with 5 people.

Once upon a time, a middle-schooler named Keryn made a CD about cookies with her friend Shannon.

I wish I were joking.

We made it for a friend’s birthday, and the only mistake we made was not releasing this CD to the public. On this CD were maybe about 15 songs (maybe more or less) dedicated to cookies. We were feeling really creative and I think it took us five hours to make. To this day, I wish I had it on my iPod.

Anyways, the moral of this blurb is that I have a deeply rooted obsession with cookies. You probably picked up on that in my skillet post. I just really love cookies. I love the shape, the texture, the crunch, the look, everything! Besides my constant baking of chocolate chip cookies, I also like to dabble with other flavors.

This recipe placed a twist on the M&M cookie.

On any given day, there’s a 95% chance I have some dark chocolate on me. It is my 2pm pick-me-up and I’m convinced I’ll forever because of how much I consume of it. Naturally when deciding to make these cookies, I wanted to use dark chocolate M&Ms because I think they taste better. They’re not too bitter, perfect taste.

One thing that makes M&M cookies different is they typically use shortening to make a fluffy taste. As my girl Minnie from The Help mentioned Crisco is the best. Now living in this health-conscious world we live in, I understand some people may not be so keen on using Crisco. I would say then use butter, but it is not going to provide the soft texture, along with the minor dome in the center. I played around with this recipe using butter and the cookies were flat. Still good, but flat. I would tell you to maybe find a recipe that utilizes butter.

I found my recipe at a "Pinch of Yum", which in my opinion is one of the best food blogs out there. Not directly covering just baking recipes, it has any sort of cooking, photography tips, and resources available. It’s a great source to have on hand.

These cookies are big and soft and are perfect for a snack. In this recipe, it calls for brown sugar…I used dark brown sugar, which really has more molasses than light brown. There was no significant taste or look difference.

You begin by mixing the sugars with the shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Since shortening is always soft, the mixture will combine very easily. I expected it to take a while due to my usage with butter, but it was mixed after 1 minute.

Add the dry ingredients on a low speed and mix until just combined. You’ll notice your mixer slowing down once the dough forms. Take a rubber spatula and add 3/4^th of the M&Ms until combined. Roll into big balls and top with more M&Ms. I usually press it into the dough.

Bake these cookies for about 9 minutes until lightly browned on the edges. I let mine cool on the pan for another 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

When I took a bite into these cookies, I remembered my CD about cookies and I imagine myself singing the songs to it. Sadly, Shannon has moved on from her old Dell laptop and our musical inclination is just a memory.

Check these cookies out and bake some! You won’t regret it.

Big, Soft M&M Cookies
Author: Pinch of Yum, recipe from Lori and All Recipes
Serves: 18-24 cookies, depending on size

Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2½ cups flour (+ 2-3 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups M&M's

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar, white sugar, shortening, eggs, and vanilla with electric mixers on low speed until well mixed.
2. Add the 2½ cups flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined; I found it easiest to finish this by hand. Add the extra tablespoons of flour until the dough feels thick and almost dry to the touch. Stir the M&M's into the dough.
3. Roll into large balls (unless you want small cookies, and who are you anyways?) and press extra M&M's into the tops. Flatten slightly with your palm or the back of a wooden spoon. Bake for 8-10 minutes (they will be slightly underbaked). Remove from cookie sheet right away and place on cooling rack. Let stand for 5-10 minutes to help the cookies hold their shape.