Perfect M&M Cookies

I found this amazing pin which led to this amazing blog post by Tessa over at Handle the Heat. It’s the first I’ve ever seen her blog, but after poking around a little I will definitely have to spend more time there!

Basically Tessa took the most basic chocolate chip cookie out there (the Nestle Tollhouse Recipe on the package) and made 9 batches of cookies. Each time she changed just 1 different element in the recipe to see what effect it had on the cookies. Very interesting!

After reading through all her notes I decided to create my own modification from the Tollhouse basic recipe with a couple of her variations. I have to say – the result is pretty perfect!!

Perfect M&M Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 cup flour

2 cups plain M&M’s (or 1 1/2 cups M&M minis)

Directions:

1. Put sugars into large bowl and top with cut up butter. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

2. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Scrape bowl and beater, then turn mixer back on low.

3. Add salt, then baking soda and powder. Slowly add flour until all incorporated.

4. Mix in M&M’s by hand.

5. Refrigerate for at least a couple hours, but better if overnight. This part is torture, but trust me – the flavors meld together and become much richer when it’s given time to rest.

6. Scoop balls about 1 1/2 tbsp , then flatten with palms. Bake at 350* spaced well apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet for 9-10 minutes.

**The first batch I only baked 2, and checked on them after 8 minutes, then 9 minutes, and again at 10 minutes. I really really didn’t want to over bake them. At 10 minutes they edges were brown, and the center was big and puffy.**

7. Once done baking, let the cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet. The puffy tops will flatten out and since the centers are slightly under baked, this helps them set up. Once they’re cool, they can be moved.

These cookies are slightly crispy on the edges and soft ad perfect in the middle. And how much more fun are M&M’s than boring chocolate chips!? Since I’m not a huge chocolate fan, the ooey-gooey chocolate chips are always so rich I can only handle like one cookie. But since the candy coating surrounds the chocolate, they are just perfect! I wanted to eat the whole pan!