We've started getting into the Valentine spirit already - if you've been clipping coupons from the Sunday paper you've seen a lot of M&M coupons. We love M&Ms, and they were just begging to be eaten.
I used my favorite basic cookie recipe and just added M&Ms.... I love this recipe because it uses Crisco shortening instead of butter. The cookies are just more crispy - and we prefer them that way!
We made the basic dough (full recipe below) and used our cookie scoop to put the cookies on our baking sheets. It was a great day to bake, because my youngest is being introduced to units of measurement in his math book.
My daughter put extra candy pieces on top of the cookies (and I think she ate a few in the process!)
In the end we wound up with 2 pans of a dozen cookies each, and another pan of 9 cookies... a grand total of 33 cookies.
Our guests loved them, and the looked so festive on our dining room table. I love Valentine's Day!
Here's the recipe - it's a keeper in our house - great with chocolate chips, too.
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies.
- Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies. Make sure to eat some candies while you're at it.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 to 11 minutes, to your liking.
*If you'd like more Valentine ideas, head over to Mom's Mustard Seeds today - she has a Valentine linky for everyone to share their ideas. Thank you, Rebecca!
