My Go-To Cookie

While I'm writing this, I'm sitting on my couch watching Beauty and the Beast while it's literally 5 degrees outside. I love the week between Christmas and New Year's! You can do whatever you want, even if it's staying inside all day.

Anyway, we went to Caleb's family's for Christmas this year, and I had a conundrum: we were leaving for his family's house on Friday, but Christmas wasn't until Monday. So what could I bring to the Christmas potluck that would last the whole weekend without going bad? Cookies! What great timing this blog was.

Now, I tried a new cookie recipe, some soft gingerbread cookie. But they weren't that great - soft, but wayyy too soft. So while I intended to use that cookie for this blog, instead, I'm going to post my go-to cookie recipe: monster cookies. These cookies are always a hit, no matter the occasion: Christmas, work potlucks, or just for Caleb.

I made both cookies, and thankfully, took pictures of both. And I made the monster cookies more Christmas-y by using red and green M&Ms! So here it is, my favorite, go-to cookie recipe:

Monster M&M Cookies*

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs

• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

• 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), softened

• 4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

• 1 cup M&Ms

• 1 cup milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or lightly grease with cooking spray.

2. In large mixing bowl, mix eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.

3. Add the salt, baking soda, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix until creamy, 1-2 minutes.

4. Stir in the oatmeal, M&Ms, and chocolate chips. The dough will be sticky!

5. Scoop the dough into a heaping tablespoon (I use my cookie scooper because it's so sticky!). Flatten the cookies slightly with the palm of your hand

6. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be lightly golden around the edges. Let the cookies sit for 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack.

*Recipe courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/monster-cookies-gluten-free/