M&M brown sugar cookies

Is there anything prettier than a rainbow colored cookie? I was on a mission to bake an M&M cookie that looked just as good as it tastes, and the goal was definitely accomplished here. These cookies are packed with a deep brown sugar taste and have an incredible crunch and chocolate flavor from the M&Ms that creates the perfect pair.

I was so excited to make these as a special birthday treat for my longest friend. She loves a good cookie and also appreciates the beauty of baked goods. A baked good doesn't have to look good to taste good of course, but it's always a bonus when a baked good has both!

These cookies come together in about an hour, with no fancy equipment needed and a short chill time in the fridge. It makes these cookies the perfect choice when you want to impress a loved one, or a crowd, and are in a time crunch. Though they do come together quite quickly, there is no sacrifice in flavor or texture. I wanted to take this a step beyond your classic M&M cookie, and I had an idea to combine mini M&Ms with the full size ones, and the end result was exactly the texture I was hoping for. I partially crushed the full size candies and left the mini ones whole, which not only added to the look and texture but also helped to provide some delicious, melty chocolate moments.

This is one of the few cookie recipes where because of the chewy texture of the cookie itself, I do think the fully baked cookies will freeze quite well.That said, I did provide guidance on how to freeze the dough and bake from frozen because that's always my favorite way to store cookies for later!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons) at room temperature 113g

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar 144g

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 135g

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/3 cup full size M&Ms 70g

• 1/3 cup mini M&Ms 67g

• 1/3 cup (2oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Total time: About an hour

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Chill time: 30 minutes

Bake time from the fridge: 8-10 minutes

Bake time from the freezer: 11-13 minutes

Cooking instructions:

If you haven't already, remove your butter from the fridge. Measure out your full size M&Ms, mini M&Ms, and semisweet chocolate chips. Set aside your minis and chocolate chips, and put your full size candies into a plastic bag. Use any flat tool (the backside of a pan, a meat tenderizer, or even a hammer) to partially crush your full size M&Ms. This doesn't have to be perfect, but the goal is for most or all to be crushed into halves or thirds. Set your crushed M&Ms aside with your minis and chips for later.

In a large bowl, use a spatula or large spoon to mix together your room temperature butter and brown sugar. If your butter isn't at room temperature (it should be very soft to the touch), you can place it into the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Use your spatula or large spoon to thoroughly combine your butter and sugar until you no longer see any streaks of butter. Next, add in your egg and vanilla extract. Use the same utensil to fully incorporate everything together, mixing for about 1-2 minutes until your mixture is fully combined.

To your mixture, add all of your dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, and salt. Move slowly and carefully combine your dry ingredients into your wet being sure not to over mix. Reserving some of your mini and crushed full size M&Ms, add the rest and your semisweet chips into your cookie dough and mix to disperse throughout your dough.

Place your cookie dough into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes (up to an hour). If it's going to be in the fridge for any longer, be sure to cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. It can stay in the fridge for up to 24 hours if you want to make the dough ahead, as long as it's unscooped and covered!

After at least 30 minutes, remove your dough from the fridge. Onto two large parchment lined cookie sheets, use a large cookie scoop (or large spoon) to portion out your dough. This should make 10 cookies, each about 3 tablespoons big. If you reserved some mini and crushed full size M&Ms, mix them together and pour them onto a plate or flat surface. Pick up each cookie dough ball, and press the top into the M&M mixture. Once the dough balls are back on the cookie sheets, use the palm of your hand to gently press down.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and while your oven is preheating place your cookie sheets back in the fridge. Bake your cookies for 10-12 minutes. You can do this all at the same time or one tray at a time. If you do multiple trays, be sure to rotate them halfway through.

Allow your cookies to cool and enjoy! They will stay fresh in an airtight container, once cooled, for a few days. To refresh your cookies, you can place the cookie in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. You can also freeze the unbaked scoops of dough and bake at 325 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or freeze the fully baked cookies and defrost in the fridge! If you do freeze the fully baked cookies, I suggest putting them into the freezer immediately once cool to ensure they maintain their freshness. My personal preference is to freeze the unbaked dough!

Note: You can also make these cookies in a smaller size. If you do, you can keep the temperature the same, but keep an eye on the cookies after about 5 minutes to test for the best time. I would definitely recommend baking a couple of tester cookies if you go this route!

If you want your cookies to be a bit crisper on the outside but still thick and soft in the center, use just an egg yolk instead of the full egg and bake your cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

Carb and serving info:

Carbs for full recipe: 391

Servings: 10 cookies

Carbs per serving (1 of 10): 39

Carbs from M&Ms in full recipe: 100

Carbs from chocolate chips in full recipe: 36

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.