Shopping Mall M&M Sugar Cookies.  You all know exactly what I’m talking about.  Whether your mall had a Mrs. Fields or an Original Cookie Company, or The Great American Cookie Company, they all had the same thing.

And the cookie I always wanted when I was a kid was the sugar cookie with M&M’s stuck all over it.

It’s funny, the things you love as a kid, but then don’t really order when you are an adult.  Do we grow out of them? No, because whenever I take my kids to Mrs. Fields, and they, inevitably, pick out an M&M sugar cookie, and I order something more “grown up” like a plain old chocolate chip cookie (or, worse, sip my latte and stare wistfully at them while they eat their cookies, with no cookie of my own,) I always end up stealing bites of theirs while they slap at my hands and protest.  Because they’re still good.  Really good.

Certain things, I think you really grow out of.  Like bubblegum ice-cream.  It was my go-to choice my whole childhood, but I tasted some recently, and it was not good.  But these soft, sugary, butter cookies freckled with M&M’s, well, these are ageless.

If you’re a baker, you have everything you need in your pantry, save the M&M’s.    This is a super simple, easy to do recipe.  Make sure you slightly underbake them- that is the key to cookies that stay soft for days.  Mine were absolutely perfect after 9 minutes in the oven.  You don’t want them to have much color at all.  They will continue to bake and set after you remove them from the oven.

My kids were so excited when I gave them these cookies, and they gobbled them up immediately.  They will store for a few days in an airtight container. (If they last that long.)  I even had a cookie- They are about 100 calories a piece, and this recipe will make 36 nice sized cookies.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Mindybakes

Ingredients:
1 cup of room temperature butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar for rolling
1 large bag of M&M’s. (You will need at least 180 M&M’s – 5 per cookie)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl or electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and add to the butter mixture, mixing until combined.

Scoop out into walnut-sized balls and flatten ever so slightly.  Roll each one around in granulated sugar.  Place on cookie sheet, an inch and a half a part (these cookies spread)

Press 6 M&Ms into the each cookie. I like to do one of each color.  It’s so pretty. I was ticked off because I had WAY more orange and brown M&Ms than anything else, so a lot of my cookies didn’t have all the different colors, and I am very anal about these kinds of things.  First world problems. 😉

Bake for 8-11 minutes (mine were absolutely perfect after 9 minutes, but everybody’s oven is different) They should not have much color at all.  Remove them from the oven and they will continue to bake and set.

Enjoy!