SMiLes by Meg

Candy Cookies

I’m calling these Candy Cookies because I’ve made M&M cookies before, and these are different enough that they needed their own post. Plus, you could put any kind of candy into these and get a good result – the original recipe from Weeknight Baking actually included sno-caps, too, but sno-caps were inexplicably sold out out every store I checked. They must be good quarantine snacks or something.

Regardless, I decided to just double the amount of M&Ms to make up for it, and no one ever complains about double the M&Ms.

Start by melting the butter. Just chop it up and put it in a small saucepan over low heat, swirling occasionally, while you prep the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix together the broken up chocolate and M&Ms. Break the chocolate as much as you can by hand then maybe give it one more chop for good measure – you want the pieces big, but not huge.

I don’t think I’ll ever use chocolate chips again after this recipe – biting into a big block of chocolate in a cookie is really the best kind of cookie experience.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar.

Pour the melted butter over the top. Beat on low speed of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until just combined.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as necessary.

With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients a little at a time, continuing to beat until just coming together.

Add the mix-ins all at once, and beat until evenly distributed.

Use a two-tablespoon scoop to scoop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or Silpat). Press a couple more M&Ms into the top of each ball for good measure.

Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, until the edges are set but the middles are still puffy. Remove from oven and allow to cool 20 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack = this gives them time to settle down and firm up a bit.

Store in an airtight container. Super easy, super fast, super good – the best kind of “the world is ending and I need to bake to stay sane” cookie.

Enjoy!

Candy Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 4 ounces M&Ms
  • 1 2/3 cups (7.5 ounces) flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup (5.65 ounces) dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together chopped chocolate and M&Ms. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together brown sugar and granulated sugar. Pour in the melted butter and beat with the paddle attachment on low speed until mixed in.
  5. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.
  6. With the mixer running, slowly add the dry ingredients, and beat until dough just comes together.
  7. Add the mix-ins all at once and beat until evenly distributed.
  8. Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon-balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, until edge are set and middles are still puffy.
  9. Allow to cool 20 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.