M&M Christmas Cookies!

This is beginning to make me rethink my character...my third cookie recipe? Seriously? I still do not enjoy baking, but it is very helpful in giving me a mindless task to do! And, I am sure for some of us, we need that around the holidays!

So, this recipe was decided upon because of the mass amount of leftover Halloween candy. Now, I am sure some of you think that is rather ridiculous that we still have it, but we are not huge candy consumers. Therefore, I had to do something with it. What I was suprised about was the lack of the color red used in the 33 packs of plain M&Ms I opened.

Kind of ridiculous if you ask me...

 

Anyway, I separated the M&Ms and thankfully, I had more than enough...again, what is with the lack of the color red? This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but green was definitely the more popular color...
 

 

So, to go along with the lack of the color red, I also realized I didn't have cornstarch (which the recipe I was using called for and it was merely 1 tsp.), so I had to Google a replacement....it's cold and rainy outside...I wasn't about to run to the store for 1 teaspoon! Also, the recipe called for light SALTED butter..my husband picked up light SWEETENED butter....go figure.

 

Well, in the end, the cookies turned out to taste really good. Sweet, but delicious. And, very easy to make.

 

 

M&M Christmas Cookies

 

 

Ingredients



 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (and an additional tablespoon of flour to take the place of cornstarch)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (and an extra pinch if using sweetened butter)

1 cup light salted butter, chilled and sliced

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of red and green M&Ms

 

Step by Step Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. (If you haven't sliced the butter, do so now!)

 

3. In a bowl, mix butter and sugar. (best if you use a standing mixer, but I used a hand mixer and all was well!) Whip until creamy...it does become creamy, it takes while!

 

4. Once creamy, mix in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla.

5. Slowly add dry ingredients. Once everything has been combined, stir in the M&Ms (a great arm workout!)

 

6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

(Recipe based off of Cooking Classy recipe)

Ryan's Favorite Xmas Cookie MUST HAVE!

As you know, I am not a baker. My mom is the baker. But, now that we have our own house, I thought it was about time I begin to try and bake some of our own favorite Christmas cookies! This is by no means a recipe I made up on my own...it is the recipe my mom has used for years...it is probably very similar to others you have read!

Without further ado, here is Ryan's favorite Christmas cookie recipe...

PB Hershey Kiss Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup light butter (2 sticks)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 T. milk
2 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour (yes, I used white flour)
2 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
approximately 2 packages of Hershey Kisses (I used traditional and dark chocolate)

Step by Step Directions

**Unwrap the Hershey Kisses before you begin!**

1. Cream butter and peanut butter. Gradually add both sugars and cream well.
2. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla.
3. Blend in dry ingredients.
4. Shape into small 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.

5. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for approximately 6 minutes.

6. Take out of the oven and press a Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie.
7. Put back into the oven and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes. Cool on baking racks.

Soft and Chewy Chocolately Delights

Back into the kitchen I go to do some more baking...this time, I came across this recipe in my book of recipes I have collected over the years. It was originally from Kraft Kitchens recipe collection. In fact, it is from so long ago, you cannot find the original recipe on their website! (I checked)

These cookies are similar to a brownie, but in cookie form. You can put your own spin on these cookies by what you top your cookies with. These cookies are relatively easy to make, but can be somewhat of a pain to get onto the cookie sheet because it becomes hard to handle. But, then again, I am impatient when it comes to baking....so that may just be my own personal opinion.

So, here is my own take on these soft and chewy chocolately delights...

Soft and Chewy Chocolately Delights

Ingredients
*4 squares Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
*3/4 cup light butter
*2 cups sugar (I only used 1 1/2 c. and I could tell they needed to be a bit more sugary)
*3 eggs
*1 t. vanilla
*2 c. flour

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Microwave chocolate and butter in a microwable bowl. Cook on HIGH for 2 minutes.

3. Stir until the chocolate melts completely.

4. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs, vanilla. Add flour. Mix.
5. REFRIGERATE for at least 15 minutes until dough is easy to handle.

6. Drop dough onto GREASED baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

7. Bake for 8 minutes. Then, top with your favorite toppings.

*If you need to wait on cookie sheets that are baking in the oven, put the dough back into the refrigerator, so the dough doesn't get warm.

*Toppings I used...mint chips, almond slices, caramel Hershey Kisses, sprinkles (decorate with sprinkles BEFORE you bake), chocolate covered peanuts, dark chocolate Hershey Kisses...all completely up to you!