M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

I guess you could say I've been a little obsessed with baking cookies lately. But how could you blame me? After I finally mastered the perfect chocolate chip cookie, it's been my goal to put my cookie skills to the test on any and all cookies. Like these oatmeal raisin ones I made a couple weeks ago now. 

For this recipe I knew an M&M cookie wouldn't be too different from a chocolate chip, so I started off with the base of my chocolate chip cookie recipe and then built off of it from there. The only changes I made were replacing 1 cup of chocolate chips for a 1/2 cup, and then putting 1/2 cup of M&Ms into the batter along with it. I then used 1/2 cup of M&M's to press into the tops of the dough balls before going into the oven to give them a better aesthetic appearance. And because no one hates having more chocolate in their cookies. 

Luckily I've finally gotten myself back into the habit of exercising a couple times a week to balance out all the sweets I've been eating. I've been basically just doing the treadmill for one hour a couple times a week and it's made such a big difference in my energy level through the day. I only do between 3-5 miles in that one hour, but I'm at risk for blood clots and get bad vein pain in my legs so frequently that getting active is not only necessary, but has really helped to reduce the pain and swelling in my legs a lot! 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp hot water

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup M&Ms, divided

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, cream together your butter and sugars. Mix in the 1 egg, followed by the vanilla. Next, mix together the water and the baking soda, and then add and mix into the batter. Then add in the flour and mix until just incorporated. Add in the M&Ms and chocolate chips and mix long enough to become just incorporated. 

Scoop batter using a tablespoon as a scoop. Get a rounded table spoon of dough and then roll into a ball between your hands like a meatball. Place on an u greased cookie sheet, and then place a few M&Ms gently into the dough. Repeat this for the rest of the dough. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.