Here in Nevada, the kids have already finished their second week of the new school year. My granddaughter Ashley started kindergarten and has surprised us all by how much she loves it. She is such a mama's girl that we thought she would have a hard time adjusting to being gone all day but thank goodness she loves it!
So I thought I would bake her and her two brothers some cookies last week for a yummy afterschool snack. I love being the kind of grandmother who bakes treats, and hopefully they will remember this from their childhoods. I never had a grandmother, so I'm trying to give them what I wished I'd had. Maybe it's a stereotype, a sweet baking granny, but I don't care. It makes me happy, and it makes them happy too.
Since we love chocolate chip cookies, I thought I would take it up a notch and made them with added M&Ms. Yum, right??
I've made these before and discovered the trick to making them look so good is to press a few M&Ms into each cookie right as they come out of the oven. They stick to the cookies but don't melt.
This recipe comes from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, Sally's Baking Addiction. Oh how I love Sally, she is just such an amazing baker and blogger. The great thing about her recipes are that they are all fairly easy to make and taste delicious.
And I'm super excited to get her new book, Sally's Cookie Addiction, when it comes out next month. I love making cookies for friends and family during the holidays, so I can't wait for this book to arrive on my doorstep.
So let's get on to this recipe for these yummy cookies. Just remember that you do have to let the dough chill for at least 2 hours before you can bake the cookies. I simply made the dough in the morning and them pulled it out of the refrigerator in the afternoon, about an hour before the kids got home from school.
And yes, they were very happy to come home from school to warm cookies and a cold glass of milk. I made lots of good grandma points that day!
Recipe for Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup plain M&Ms (but I actually ended up using a little more than a cup)
Directions:
Whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk, followed by the vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips and M&Ms. Cover the dough and chill for at least 2 hours (or up to 3 days).
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to soften slightly at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Roll the dough into balls, about 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie. If the dough is crumbly, the warmth of your hands will help it come together in a ball. Roll the cookie dough balls to be taller rather than wide. Place 8 balls of dough 3 inches apart onto each cookie sheet.
Bake each batch for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under baked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.
Makes 16 large cookies.
