Soft, Mini M&M Cookies

Love the hard shell on this chocolate candy and want to add to everything? This beginner friendly M&M cookie that will surely satisfy all the cravings!

This cookie is very straight forward like the other beginner recipes! The additives can be changed around with whatever you would like to add like oreos, cereals, etc. The M&M can be large or small ones, seasonally changed to the holiday or event to add a pop of color to any dessert table.

Recipe

Time: 1 hour Yield: about 40 cookies

Ingredients:

1 C. Butter, softened

¾ C. Granulated Sugar

1 C. Brown Sugar (light or dark, preferably light)

1 tsp. Baking Soda

¼ tsp. Salt

1 egg

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2 C. mini M&M

2 ¼ C. All-purpose Flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375℉. 

2. In a stand mixer (or bowl), add butter and beat butter for 2 minutes.  Then add granulated sugar and brown sugar.  Beat the sugars and butter mixture till creamed together, around 2 minutes.  (Not too long, just enough to break the sugar down.)

3. Throw in the baking soda and salt next to ensure a well incorporated mixture.

4. Add the egg and vanilla. Stop after somewhat incorporated in the mixture, scrape down with a spatula.

5. Next, add the M&M.

6. Lastly, add the flour in.  The mixture will be sticky but that is the perfect consistency.

7. Scoop onto baking sheets.  I use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to ensure even and easy dough balls. (see notes about size) Place the dough about 2 inches apart from each other so cookies do not spread into each other.

8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until light brown.  Let cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

   
   

Beating the Butter: Use softened butter, if unable to sit of counter for a couple of hours, place sticks in microwave for 5 second intervals to avoid melting.

Creaming the Sugar: Next, add the sugars, cream for several minutes to break down the sugar granules. Depending on the season, the sugar and creaming will act a little different. Colder season, even being inside, the creaming might become stiffer than normal. Hotter seasons, the granules might clump together in the bags.

Adding the salt and soda: These too are really important to flavor and cookie chemistry. Making sure it is evenly distributed in the cookie is important so do it when it will be more incorporated.

Eggs and extract: Don't overmix this, it will help bind the flour better to the mixture if it has something to hold onto.

Checking the dough: I've placed two examples: 1) shows not enough flour, it is more grainy. The seconded shows a more together dough, more playdough like. Yet it will feel sticky still, that is okay.

Notes:

1. I always use salted butter, I don’t find a difference in either.  If you think the cookies are too salty, I’d cut back on the salt or cut out the salted butter.  All based on personal preference.

2. Adding the baking soda and salt earlier into the mixture when it is creamier helps to ensure a nice mix.  This also cuts out the prepping the flour in a bowl with the soda and salt because I never prep like that.

3. I always encourage measuring the ingredients exactly, scooping the mixture into the cups and leveling them off ensures consistency.

4. To have the picturesque look to your cookies, add some pieces to the top of the dough, or even roll in some sugar.

5. I normally use a tablespoon sized scoop but for a bigger cookie, use an ice cream scoop size. I assume it's around 2 tablespoon sized?