Baking Bites’ M&M Cookies

M&M lovers probably know that you can order M&Ms in custom colors with your own personalized message printed on them. They’re popular for weddings and birthdays, but they’re really a fun gift for any occasion. What you may not know is that, in addition to custom text, you can get custom images printed on your M&Ms, as well. That means you can get clip art, the face of your pet dog or even your own face printed on your candies. I had no idea that this level of customization was an option… until I got a gift bag stuffed full of M&Ms that read “Baking Bites” and had my picture printed on them as a gift.

The problem with custom M&Ms like this is that you’re going to want to share them. Trust me when I say that it’s much more fun to eat these with friends than to eat M&Ms with your face on them by yourself in your office. I wanted to make some of them into something even more special, so I baked them into a batch of my signature M&M cookies. Unfortunately, the detail of the custom printing was lost during baking, but the colors came through beautifully and the cookies were still perfectly delicious. I served extra M&Ms on the side to ensure that everyone got to appreciate the design that inspired these in the first place.

These cookies are lighter in color than your average chocolate chip cookies because, like sugar cookies, they use only white sugar. A lighter colored cookie really lets the colors of the M&Ms pop and makes for a much more colorful cookie than you would get otherwise. They’re crisp on the edges and slightly chewy in the center. You only want the cookies to turn a very light golden color at the edges before taking them out of the oven, otherwise you’ll end up with cookies that are crispy (but still tasty) rather than chewy. They have a nice buttery vanilla flavor and lots of chocolate, both from chocolate chips and M&Ms.

Baking Bites’ M&M Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups M&Ms
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract. With a mixer on low speed, gradually blend in the flour mixture, stirring only until just combined. Stir in the M&Ms and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Dough will be quite stiff.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between the cookies to allow for spread.
Bake for 10-13 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned. Cool for 3-4 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen.