Recipe: M&M Cookies

So, my boyfriend, John, just started his first week of year two of law school and I wanted to send him some cookies to say "congrats" and help him get through the next week or two. He's a big fan of M&Ms (he keeps a bag stashed in a drawer by his desk expressly for snacking), so I figured M&M cookies would be a hit. The recipe is essentially your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, with M&Ms in place of chocolate chips, so it's a no-brainer. From what I gathered online, this is the "original" recipe that appeared on old bags of M&M's, so it was created with them in mind.

Yields: About 3-5 dozen (depending on how big you make the cookies)
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Baking time: 9-12 minutes per batch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 12-16 oz. (1&1/2 to 2 cups) M&Ms

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375*F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, or, if you don't have parchment paper, simply set aside, ungreased. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda, then set aside. In the mixing bowl of your electric mixer, add the butter, shortening, brown sugar, and sugar, and beat on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment until well-blended, fluffy, and creamy. Add in the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed until well-blended. Stir in the M&Ms (I recommend stirring by hand so that the M&Ms don't get broken apart by the mixer's paddle). Drop by rounded teaspoons (I usually just form small ball-like blobs by hand) onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake each batch for 9-12 minutes, until very slightly golden brown around the edges and slightly soft in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool, then place on wire racks to cool completely before storing them (or eating a bunch!). Helpful hint: Keep a slice of bread in the pot of cookies to keep them from getting too crispy. 

These cookies are simple and classic. You can pick and choose M&M colors so that the cookies correspond to holidays (i.e. red and green for Christmas, pink and red for Valentine's Day, etc.) and they're perfect for an afternoon snack, bake sale, or family picnic.

Recipe: Fluffy, Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

A little while ago, I made these delicious peach cupcakes and used buttermilk as part of the cake recipe. That carton of buttermilk has been hanging out in the fridge since then, just begging me to figure out what else I can use it in. Well, I don't know about you, but when I hear "buttermilk" I immediately think about buttermilk pancakes and buttermilk biscuits. I've got a pancake recipe that I love, but I've yet to try biscuits, so that's what I made this afternoon, working off of Alton Brown's recipe.

Yields: 12 (one dozen)
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 15-20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tbsp. shortening (I used Crisco), chilled and cut into a few chunks
• 2 tbsp. butter (unsalted or salted), chilled and cut into a few chunks
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450*F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the chunks of butter and shortening. Using either your hands or a dough/pastry blender (I recommend using the latter because it offers more consistency and you'll create less heat than if using your hands), rub/cut the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks crumb-like and the pieces of butter and shortening are pea-sized or smaller (do this quickly, as you do not want to let the butter and shortening melt at all). Make a well in the middle of the mixture, pour in the buttermilk, and stir until the mixture is just combined. Place the dough on a floured surface, put a little flour on the dough and on your hands, and gently knead the dough/fold it over on itself 5-7 times (don't work it too much because it will make the dough tough). Press the dough ball into a 1-inch thick round and use a 2-inch biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits, being sure to press straight down into the dough as you cut. Take the scraps and form them into another 1-inch thick round and cut out remaining biscuits (work these pieces as little as possible, because, as I said, the more you mess with them, the tougher the finished biscuits will be). Place the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet and bake until they are tall and lightly golden-brown on top (about 15 minutes). 

Whether you spread jam on them, drizzle them with honey, or smother them with sausage gravy, these biscuits are sure to please. Buttery, fluffy, and flaky, they're perfect for breakfast or a light snack (especially when they're hot out of the oven).

Recipe: Homemade Pancakes

To start this very warm Memorial Day off right, my parents and I decided to cook up pancakes and bacon for breakfast, and add a side of mixed berries to help make us forget about all of the carbs and bacon fat we'd be consuming. While you could be lazy and make pancakes from a boxed mix, it's so easy to make up homemade batter and you probably already have all of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry. These pancakes are fluffy and flavorful, and as my dad commented, they have better body and texture than the boxed stuff. Try them out, and pair them with your favorite breakfast foods, like eggs, sausage, or fresh fruit. Add nuts, berries, or chocolate chips to the batter to create fun, flavored pancakes.

Yields: Approx. 15 pancakes (depends on what size you make them)
Prep. time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 2-4 minutes per batch
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• Butter, just enough to use for cooking the pancakes
• Maple syrup, butter, fruit, and other toppings, as desired

Directions
In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, then add in all of the wet ingredients. Mix/stir until smooth. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat or heat a (pancake) griddle to approx. 375*F (we use a griddle because it fits more pancakes). Add a little butter to the pan/griddle, then spoon out the pancake mixture and pour into even sized circles (we do about 4 inch wide pancakes) and cook for about a minute. Flip the pancakes over when the edges start to look a little dry and the middle of the pancake starts to bubble. Cook for another minute. The pancakes will be cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with butter, syrup, or other toppings of your choice. Perfect paired with breakfast meats, hash browns, and/or fruit.

These pancakes have just a touch of sweet and salty, with that perfect fluffy-as-a-cloud texture and softness that soaks up creamy butter and sticky-sweet syrup. Perfect for breakfast on the weekends!

Recipe: White Chocolate Chip and Orange Zest Cookies

Looking to make something light and sweet for Easter (and having failed at making candied ginger for use in orange ginger cookies that I mentioned in a Facebook post a little while ago, but still having a craving for orange), I decided to try out these "Orange Creamsicle cookies" from Living Tastefully. I didn't have enough white chocolate chips for a full batch of cookies, so I halved the recipe, but I'll share the full batch recipe here since the taste is the same (delicious!).
These cookies combine the sweet, vanilla-like taste of white chocolate with the brightness of tangy-sweet orange zest to create the perfect flavor combination in a twist on the original chocolate chip cookie. Try dark chocolate chips for a richer flavor or try lime or lemon zest instead of orange for a subtle change in flavor.

Yields: About 3-4 dozen (I got 20 out of a half batch)
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients 

• 2 & 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (pack the sugar into the cup rather than loosely fill)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp. orange zest (grated orange peel)
• Approx. 12 oz. white chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. In a mixer, blend/cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on low to medium speed. Add in the egg and orange zest and beat on low to medium speed. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until the mixture is well-blended and uniform in color. Add in white chocolate chips and beat gently or stir to mix them in. Roll out 1 & 1/2 - 2 inch balls of cookie dough and place them a few inched apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes, then move the cookies to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. If cookies start to get hard, add a slice of bread to the container to help soften them.

These cookies are light, sweet, and citrus-y—perfect for the spring (and Easter day)! Enjoy with a cup of tea, a glass of milk, or alongside all of your Easter candy.

Recipe: Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I first saw Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies while perusing pins on Pinterest and I quickly pinned it to my own "Recipes to Try" board. I pulled that recipe out on Friday, having decided to make these crazy, monstrous cookies for my boyfriend as part of an Easter candy care package I had planned to send him. I didn't have enough flour to make a full batch, but the twelve cookies I got out of a half batch were more than enough to feed the two of us—these cookies are so big! As far as I can tell, you can use any chocolate chip cookie recipe (I usually use the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe), but I stuck close to the recipe I found on Sprinkle Charms, the site I pinned the recipe from, and they were absolutely delicious.

Yields: Approx. 24 cookies
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Mixer

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (used salted, unsalted, or one of each)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Approx. 1&1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips —they're rich and delicious)
• 1 package Oreos (you'll only need about 24)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar to the mixer's bowl and cream together. Once mixed, add the eggs and vanilla and mix until well-blended. Gradually add in the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until well-blended. Add chocolate chips and mix on low or stir to incorporate them into the batter.
To wrap the Oreos in cookie dough, get a small scoop of cookie dough and form it evenly around an Oreo, being sure to make sure the Oreo is completely encased in dough. The finished product will look larger than a regular chocolate chip cookie, and that's okay. Repeat until all of the dough is gone. Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, a few inches apart (I baked about 6-8 per sheet), and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven, let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then move the cookies to cool racks to finish cooling.

Yum!

The heat from baking softens the Oreos just slightly, so you get these great slightly crunchy, slightly soft Oreos in the middle of the cookies and the flavors of each cookie blend perfectly. These cookies are quite big, so one will likely fill you up, and they're absolutely perfect with a tall glass of cold milk.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Blossoms

At noon today, it was snowing out, but I was packed up and ready to go spend the weekend with my cousin and her fiancé  in Maryland. I crept down the driveway in my car, inched down the slush-and-snow covered hill leading out of my neighborhood, pulled out onto the main road...and then promptly decided that taking a four hour trip in "winter weather advisory" conditions was probably not the best idea. I have high hopes that the roads and weather will be better by tomorrow so I can still go on my trip, but for today, I'm stuck home with the cats (the oldest are napping, while the two little ones are suffering from a particularly bad case of cabin fever), hanging out in my PJs and wondering if there will be any good movies on TV tonight. Frustrated and looking to keep myself busy on such a cold, dreary day, I decided to bake, and for no particular reason, I decided to make peanut butter blossoms. I've never made them before, but they are a classic cookie with a classic flavor combination—peanut butter and chocolate—that I've always enjoyed. My mom absolutely loves these cookies—any time one of her friends has them at a party or she takes home a handful from a luncheon, they're "hers" and I get maybe one for myself, so I'm excited to have a whole batch for the both of us.

Yields: Approx. 48 cookies
Prep. time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Electric mixer with paddle attachment

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling on the cookies
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened (I used salted butter, because it's what we had, but unsalted should work too)
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jif brand)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1&3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 48 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375*F. In a bowl, combine the 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, and butter and beat at medium speed in an electric mixer (or by hand, if need be) until well-blended and fluffy. Add the egg, salt, and vanilla and continue to beat at medium speed until well-mixed. Add the baking soda and flour and continue to beat until well-blended. The dough will be smooth, soft, and peanut butter-colored. Roll pieces of the cookie dough (approx. 48 total) around in the palms of your hand to form one inch round balls. Roll the balls in the 1/4 cup sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the dough has start to expand, crack a little bit, and turn ever-so-slightly golden-brown (if you let them cook too much, you will end up flattening out the cookies when you press the Hershey Kisses in them later). Remove from the oven and immediately press one Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely on wire racks (the chocolate will get melty all the way through, so be sure you let them cool completely so you don't smear or smush the chocolate when you put the cookies away). Store the cookies in an airtight container.

These cookies are so easy to make and you probably have all of the ingredients at home already. They've got that great classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate, and the texture—chewy-crunchy cookies with crispy sugar granules and smooth chocolate—is delicious. These are perfect with a glass of cold milk or a mug of hot chocolate. 

Recipe: Chocolate-and-Butterscotch-Chip Cookies

I went out for groceries earlier this week, and while roaming up and down the baking aisle, looking for Halloween sprinkles and soft caramels (for caramel apples I'm making this weekend), I came across bags of flavored "chips," like mint and peanut butter. Among the assorted bags of "chips" were bags of butterscotch chips, something I rarely eat but really enjoy. I love the taste of rich chocolate and salty-sweet butterscotch blended together, so I thought making chocolate-and-butterscotch-chip cookies was the best way to get that flavor I was craving. Despite spending my morning in the hot training kitchen for class, slaving away (okay, not really slaving, but seriously, you really have to hustle when there's a lot of food to make) at three (yes, three) different soups, I was really eager to bake as soon as I got home, and I was especially excited about the prospect of the traditional cookies-and-milk for an afternoon snack. I followed the classic Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe (minus the nuts) that my family has used for years, substituting Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips (richer and better-tasting than Nestle chocolate chips, in my opinion) instead of Nestle chocolate chips and adding half a bag of butterscotch chips. The result: perfectly crispy-yet-soft cookies, oozing with warm chocolate and butterscotch chips. Best right of the oven, and great anytime with a glass of milk or just on their own.

Yields: About 4 dozen
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: about 9-13 minutes per batch
Difficulty: Easy
Equipment needed: Baking sheets, mixer (use the paddle attachment, not a whisk or other attachment)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white/granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2&1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups (12 oz. bag) chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips—they are so much better than cheap chocolate chips)
• 1 cup (half of a 12 oz. bag, a.k.a. 6 oz.) butterscotch chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375*F. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. Combine the butter, brown sugar, white/granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in the mixer's mixing bowl and beat on low on medium speed until creamy. Add one egg at a time, and thoroughly beat each into the cookie dough on medium speed. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating on low or medium low speed until it's fully incorporated. Slowly add in the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, beating on low speed to help blend them into the dough. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets, being sure to leave room in between each ball of dough to allow the cookie to spread as it cooks (I just use my hands and scoop out tablespoon-sized blobs of dough). Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took about 13 minutes to bake perfectly). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove cookies from sheets and place on wire racks to cool completely. Store in an air-tight (tupperware) container. (Helpful tip: To keep cookies soft, place a slice of bread in the container they're stored in. The cookies draw out the moisture in the bread and that helps keep them soft. Be sure to replace the bread slice once it's dried out).

 These are your quintessential chocolate chip cookies, just dressed up a bit with the addition of butterscotch chips. They're soft on the inside, but lightly crispy around the edges and the "chips" have that magic way of staying melty, even after the cookies have cooled all the way. Delicious!

Recipe: Sugar Cookies with Hand-Colored Sugar Sprinkles

I made these cookies as a gift for my boyfriend, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday a little less than a week ago. I was really bummed out that I didn't get to celebrate his birthday with him in person, so I wanted to make sure he got a great birthday package, full of goodies, in the mail. Along with my little collection of fun, geeky gifts from ThinkGeek.com, I wanted to include something that was a little more personal. Being the chef-wannabe that I am, I thought I'd make him homemade cookies, with some sort of handmade decorations. I sent him a surprise care package earlier this summer with chocolate chip cookies, so I wanted to make something new. He'd mentioned once that his family makes sugar cookies around Christmas time, so I found a recipe in The Cook's Encyclopedia of Cookies that looked just right. The result of my baking efforts: lightly golden-brown cookies cut into star and heart shapes, generously sprinkled with rainbow-colored sugar. Girly and reminiscent of a bowl of Lucky Charms? Yes. Delicious? Indeed. Appreciated by my boyfriend? I sure hope so. ;D

Yields: Approx. 36 (depending on the size and type of cookie cutter you use, you'll have more or less)
Prep. time: 10-15 minute prep., 30 minutes to chill cookie dough
Baking time: 10-12 minutes per sheet
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Electric mixer

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• Various colors of sanding sugar or (if you want to dye your own, which is pretty fun—directions listed below) white/clear sanding sugar and food coloring (red, yellow, and blue)

Directions
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg into a small bowl, then set aside. With a mixer, blend together the butter/margarine, sugar (not the sanding sugar), and vanilla extract until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well into the mixture. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk (one and then the other, back and forth) to make a soft, semi-sticky dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350*F. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface (keep the flour around, because you'll likely need to add more to the surface to keep the dough from sticking to it). Roll it to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into rounds or other shapes using floured cookie cutters. Transfer cut cookies to ungreased baking sheets.

To make the colored sugar: Place a piece of wax paper on a flat surface a put a small pile of sanding sugar on the paper (not too much sugar...just a few tablespoons...you can always make more if you find that the cookies don't have enough sugar topping). Add one drop of food coloring to the sugar and smooth a rubber spatula over and through the sugar, blending the color into the sugar. The color should be light and even throughout the sugar—you want to avoid clumps of sugar that are dark and coated with too much food coloring. If you want a darker color, add more food coloring, but only one drop at a time, and only after blending that drop into the sugar. Repeat the process with fresh sanding sugar and the colors of your choice (for color mixtures, like red and yellow to make orange, add one drop of each color to the sugar and blend and repeat with one drop each if you want a deeper color). Once all of your sugar is dyed, spread it out on the wax paper and let it dry for a few minutes. Pour the dried sugar in a small bowl and stir with a spoon to mix.

Sprinkle the colored sugar onto the cookies on the cooking sheet, then bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hand-dyed sugar

These cookies are light, with that perfect soft-yet-crunchy texture. The nutmeg adds a hint of warmth and the cookies are perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea or coffee. The easy-to-make colored sugar is a great alternative to icing/frosting (which, in my case, could easily have smeared and smushed on the cookies on their trip through the mail). The cookies are delicious, pretty, and perfect for a birthday gift, Christmas cookie platter, or just to have around the house for a sweet snack.

Recipe: Banana Bread

We almost always have a bunch of bananas in the kitchen to grab as a light breakfast or a quick snack for work. It's a longstanding tradition in my house to make banana bread with the two or three bananas that inevitably get left behind to turn into mottled brown, mushy versions of their formerly selves. When I was in college, my mom passed the recipe on to me and, during my junior year, there was a new loaf of banana bread sitting out on our kitchen counter just about every other week. It's a great way to make use of yucky old bananas and a slice or two of this sweet bread makes for a great snack or breakfast, much like the bananas it's made with.

Beautiful golden brown loaf, cut while it was still warm. The slices are spread with a little butter, just the way I like it.

Serves: Many
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, mashed bananas (about 3 medium-sized bananas)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
In a small pot over medium heat, melt the stick of butter/margarine. Remove from heat and cool slightly. In the meantime, mash the bananas in a large bowl and mix in the sugar and eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and sift (I just run a fork through the mixture repeatedly a few times). Pour the sifted mixture into the large bowl with the banana mixture. Add the melted butter and stir together the ingredients until completely combined (mixture will be a little lumpy and it will be a pale creamy yellow color). Pour into an oven-safe, greased, 8"x5" loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes at 350*F or until tester (use a knife or fork) can be stuck in the bread and come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then remove and let cool on a plate or rack for 10-20 minutes. Wrap in waxed paper and foil to keep it fresh. Slices can be served plain or spread with a little butter.

I love getting a slice of banana bread spread with a little butter served with a glass of skim milk for breakfast, and it's great as a snack too. It keeps well and you can even freeze it and thaw it out for later (make sure it's wrapped up tightly though and placed in a freezer bag. It's easy to make, it makes great use of bananas that are too ripe to eat as is, and it's really delicious.