Easter M&Ms

This year, for the first time, there was no Easter candy in the house. This situation presented a challenge in itself if I wanted to create an entry for the March Master Baker, hosted by Nikki of Crazy Delicious. So, of course, that meant actually going out and buying Easter candy, a dangerous proposition since I would most likely eat it all. By myself. :( Well, if that was the deal, then I might as well buy something I like. Right? I knew what I would make, which made it easy to decide – M&M cookies, of course, using pastel Easter M&Ms in the dark chocolate variety. In theory I could freeze the extras and then munch on them whenever I get cookie cravings.

So, here you are. Easter M&M cookies, using my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe from Shirley Corriher’s Cookwise. I’m not a huge fan of the flat, crisp chocolate chip cookie, so the formula in this book let’s you decide among 3 varieties: thin, puffy, and in-between. Normally, I bake the in-betweens.

M&M cookies

(adapted from Cookwise by Shirley Corriher)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cups cake flour

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

5 tablespoons butter and 5 tablespoons shortening

¾ cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup M&Ms

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). On a large baking sheet, toast the pecans for 10 to 12 minutes. While the nuts are still hot, stir in the 2 tablespoons butter.

Turn the oven up to 375 degrees (F).

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

Cream butter/shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the corn syrup. Add the egg and beat thoroughly. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Then add the pecans and M&Ms, mixing them in well.

Lightly grease cookie sheets or use parchment. Either using a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop (1 ½ inches in diameter), drop slightly heaped scoops of batter about 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheet on a cooling rack for 3 minutes, then remove the cookies from the sheet to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 ½ dozen.

(You can play with nut and chip combinations.)

Check out the Master Baker site for other yummy Easter creations.