M&M Cookies - Rainbow Colors and Shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day!

Mmm, the texture of these cookies is so good! I made M&M Cookies on Sunday while my parents and Greg slaved away on the house. I added in some mini chocolate chips too to make them extra chocolatey. They were quite the hit, and Greg didn't even complain that they were too sweet, like he did with the salted caramel brownies. Last night we had a couple friends for dinner. I made easy chicken risotto with caramelized onions, parmesan bread, and served these cookies for dessert. Needless to say,  once there were 30 cookies, and now there are none. It was my first time making M&M cookies and it definitely won't be the last.

I think these M&M cookies are a great idea for St. Patrick's Day. The M&Ms make a fun rainbow color and you can sprinkle on some green sprinkles or shamrock sprinkles on top if you are feeling extra festive. Enjoy!

Recipe for M&M Cookies (Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies) 

INGREDIENTS:
2 sticks (8 Tbsp.) of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup of light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract

M&M Cookies with Festive Shamrocks - a fun treat for St. Patrick's Day

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
2 tsp. of cornstarch
3/4 cup of M&M's (for the batter)
1/2 cup of mini semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. of heavy cream
Festive sprinkles (optional)
1/4 cup of M&M's (for topping when cookies are hot)

DIRECTIONS: 
Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric hand mixer until smooth, about 30 seconds. Then add in the light brown sugar and mix on medium high speed until the sugar is well incorporated. Pour in the granulated sugar and mix on medium high speed for 1 - 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in the egg and pure vanilla extract and mix well.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch. Then pour the flour mixture into the butter mixture and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Fold in the M&M's and chocolate chips.  Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 1 hour. Take out of fridge and stir in the heavy cream which will help the dough to gather up better - use even more than the 2 Tbsp. if needed (you can also use milk).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough up with a 1 1/2 Tbsp. cookie dough scoop and place on the baking sheet, leaving about an inch between each scoop. If using the sprinkles, sprinkle them on or gently press down some sprinkles onto the balls of dough. Put baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and gently press down a few more M&M's onto each cookie while they are still hot. Allow to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for about one week (but they probably won't last that long).

Recipe Adapted from: Crunchy Creamy Sweet