Christmas M&M Cookies (small batch)

 

I have been baking Christmas Cookies for the holidays since I had my children. I used to do a huge production of cookie baking for the holidays, often starting back in September and then freezing everything ahead of time ready to crack open for the holidays.

My house is pretty much empty of children now, and I am watching my sugar, so not as much holiday baking goes on these days. When I do have kids about, it is usually the grandchildren and it is only for a few days, so not a lot of baking is require.

I do like to try something new every Christmas however and this recipe I am sharing with you today was adapted from one I found on A Bountiful Kitchen.  They looked so pretty and festive.  Like the perfect cookie to leave out on Christmas Eve for Santa Claus!

Chocolate chip cookies are a real favorite with most people and adding green and red colored Christmas M&M candies into the mix really makes for a very Christmassy cookie!  I did cut the recipe in half.  The original recipe made 18 cookies.  This small batch recipe makes only 9 cookies.

I also used a hand mixer for these. It didn't seem worth the hassle of dragging out the stand mixer.  A hand mixer worked perfectly well.

They are big BIG cookies, just so you know. But in order to hug both the chocolate chips and regular sized M&M's they kind of need to be, and nobody is complaining about the size of these.  They have been gobbled up.

If you are looking for something to leave out for Santa, or something nice and colorful for your Christmas Cookie trays, you cannot really go wrong with these Christmas M&M Cookies!  I promise!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CHRISTMAS M & M COOKIES (SMALL BATCH)

These use a few simple ingredients. The only think you may need to pop to the shops for are the M&M's, but everything else is probably already in your larder! This recipe makes 9 (approximately) large cookies.

• 1/2 cup (115g) butter at room temperature
• 6 1/2 TBS (75g) granulated sugar
• 6 1/2 TBS (75g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 large free range egg
• scant 1 1/2 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 ounces (142g) Christmas M&M candies (red and green) (Reserve a few for poking in top of the hot cookies when they come out of the oven.)

 

I just used regular salted butter. I only keep salted butter in the house and use that unless a recipe specifically designates unsalted butter, and I know it will make an appreciable difference. It is just as easy to cut back on any salt used in the recipe to make up for it.

You don't need to use free-range eggs. That is just a personal choice on my part.  The only difference between the use of regular eggs and free-range is conscience. You have to pick your battles and that is one of mine. No judgement here.

You can use any kind of chocolate chip you want. I like the semi-sweet ones and would use even darker ones if I could get them.  I felt using white or milk would add too much sweetness to an already pretty sweet cookie.

Sy recommends using only M&M brand candies for these cookies. Do try to get the Christmas ones if you can for the holidays (red and green), but if you are making these at another time of year you can use the multi-colored ones by all means.

 

HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS M&M COOKIES (SMALL BATCH)

These are not hard to make if you are a seasoned baker.  They go together like most cookies do. Just follow the instructions and you cannot go wrong.

Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside.

Cream the butter and both sugars together thoroughly until light and fluffy. There should be no visible chunks of butter.

Beat in the egg and vanilla until well amalgamated.

Sift the flour and soda together and then stir into the creamed mixture, until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and most of the candies, reserving a few for the end.

 

Mix together well. If you think your dough is too sticky, you can add an additional TBS of flour.

Divide the dough into 9 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Place onto the baking sheet, well-spaced apart. Flatten slightly with your fingertips.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes at which time they should be nicely puffed and golden brown around the edges and on the bottoms

Push a few candies into the top of each warm cookie and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR THE BEST COOKIES 

• Use a 2 1/4 inch cookie scoop for perfectly round cookies. You can also juju them with a round pastry cutter when you first take them out of the oven to give them a perfectly round shape. I find that rolling them into balls before baking makes for a very uniform shaped cookie.
• I do not recommend freezing these cookies prior to baking. The M&M's will bleed and they won't be as brightly colored.
• Do save a few M&M's out to push into the finished cookies while they are still warm. This adds to their prettiness. The ones baked in the cookies tend to crack.
• Use only M&M candies.  Other candies will not work as well. You can use any kind of chocolate chip as you wish, but I do recommend the dark ones as they will keep these cookies from being too sweet.

 

These cookies are huge, but also really delicious.  I loved the combination of both chocolate chips and M&M's in them.  Do use a darker chocolate chip which will help cut down on the sweetness!

These would be the perfect cookie to leave out for Santa Claus on the night and would be stellar on a neighbor-gift cookie tray!

 

North Americans are well known for their Christmas cookies. I have always loved baking sweet cookies to enjoy over the holidays. Here are a few other favorite Christmas cookies that we enjoy baking and eating in my kitchen!

ITALIAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES- These are not Biscotti in the sense of the crunchy dunking Italian Biscotti, but rather they are soft buttery vanilla pillows of scrumptiousness.  Similar to a sugar cookie, they are twisted before baking, then glazed and sprinkled with non-pareil sprinkles when done.

DUTCH ALMOND COOKIES - These delicious cookies won a Christmas Cookie contest at Canadian Living Magazine. I clipped the recipe from the magazine years ago and have been making them every year since. Crisp, buttery, almondy with a sweet almond filling. These are fabulous. They are truly an old family favorite.

Yield: makes 9 large cookies

Author: Marie Rayner

Christmas M & M Cookies (small batch)

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 22 Min

These are beautiful, soft and delicious cookies, loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and Christmas M & M's. Perfect for cookie trays or for leaving out on Christmas Eve for Santa! Betcha can't eat just one!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (115g) butter at room temperature
• 6 1/2 TBS (75g) granulated sugar
• 6 1/2 TBS (75g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 large free range egg
• scant 1 1/2 cups (175g) plain all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
• 3/4 cup (135g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 ounces (142g) Christmas M&M candies (red and green) (Reserve a few for poking in top of the hot cookies when they come out of the oven.)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and both sugars together thoroughly until light and fluffy. There should be no visible chunks of butter.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well amalgamated.
4. Sift the flour and soda together and then stir into the creamed mixture, until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and most of the candies, reserving a few for the end.
5. Mix together well. If you think your dough is too sticky, you can add an additional TBS of flour.
6. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Place onto the baking sheet, well-spaced apart. Flatten slightly with your fingertips.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes at which time they should be nicely puffed and golden brown around the edges and on the bottoms
8. Push a few candies into the top of each warm cookie and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

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