Absolute Poppycock: M&M Cookies

M&M Cookies

I’ve decided to post some of my favorite recipes on the blog…I have them saved all over my computer in files and favorites and can NEVER find them when I need them – yeah, I think you all know organization is not my strong suite…I figure if they’re all on the blog then I can find them quickly when I need them. I’ve been wanting to take more food pictures anyway, so this will be a good incentive to do it.

My dad loved to cook and he loved all things related to cooking. By the time I was 10, I could identify Julia Child and James Beard as easily as I could Shaun Cassidy or Parker Stevenson. I was as likely to read an article from Gourmet as I was from Tiger Beat. Daddy made his own pasta and strong it across the kitchen to dry. He grew mushrooms under the bed. He amassed a collection of cookbooks that would make any library envious. Cooking has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Here’s the thing though…my dad wasn’t much of a baker. My mom was definitely the baker in our family. Christmas cookies, birthday cakes – those were her dominion. So, while I get my love of making interesting salsas and side dishes, my love of all things cookie and cupcake – well, that comes straight from my mother. Baking with the girls is one of my favorite activities. Although, to be honest, it’s become a lot harder now that there are two if them in the kitchen with me . But, baking is still an easier thing to accomplish with them than any other type of cooking, simply because cookies & brownies & cakes rarely require sharp knives or hot stovetops and there usually aren’t a ton of steps that they have to follow.

These cookies always remind me of my sister- when we were growing up they were her cookie of choice and not that we’re grown up, she’s the master at making them. Here’s the recipe I use (it’s slightly different than the one we used growing up – it has more brown sugar and more vanilla, two things I believe you can’t have too much of in your life). My sister also includes a cup or so of semi-sweet chocolate chips when she makes them…they are delicious that way…the combo of the semi-sweet and milk chocolate is a match made in heaven. We didn’t have any chocolate chips in the pantry when me made these, so I didn’t use them this time.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter-flavored shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

12 oz. bag of M&Ms

Cream together the shortening and the sugars until creamy. Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, salt & baking soda in a large bowl. Add gradually to butter mixture, mixing well after each addition. Sit in the M&Ms

Drop by heaping tablespoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Press each cookie down to flatten it. Bake at 375 degrees for about 14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

I’ve seen several recipes that call for adding the after the cookies come out of the oven – where they’re pressed in for decoration rather than added to the dough. I’m sure they taste good that way, and they probably look prettier, but then you miss out on the phenomenon known as cracked M&Ms…..