Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and I’m preparing a care package for my goddaughter Maureen and her family. This year, Mo is getting some peanut butter M&M cookies, and there will be a few other things for her and her baby sister Margo as well.

Full disclosure: I don’t really like plain M&Ms. I love the peanut kind, and the peanut butter kind, but plain M&Ms have always seemed too…well, plain…for my taste. They’re perfect in these cookies, though, adding a nice pop of chocolate and some crunch.

If you’re planning to bake and ship these, make sure you package them well with several layers of waxed paper in the container. I’m pretty sure they’ll ship well, but it’s always best to be on the safe side with your packaging.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup M&Ms candies (I used the Valentine’s Day mix)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute. Add sugars and beat until fluffy, then add peanut butter and beat until very well-combined.

Add egg, vanilla, and milk, beating on low speed until combined.

Add flour mixture in two batches, beating well after each addition.

Stir in M&Ms.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are just golden. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.