These are milestone cookies. Why? Because I made these cookies from scratch. No recipe, no adaptations, nothing other than attempting to let my imagination make these cookies as good as can be. And guess what guys, they actually taste pretty damn delicious!
I knew if I was going to make anything from scratch, it would have to be cookies. While I love to bake, I've never wandered outside of the written recipe world and tried something completely on my own. But here I am with a baking blog, and what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn't have my own original recipes? Determined to change this, I headed towards the grocery with no real plan in mind.
As a small aside, can I just say right now how terrible I am at planning to go grocery shopping? Why is it so difficult to buy food? Last week I went to the store with a list of butter, candy, and.... toothpaste. But nothing else, of course. And then there are the days where you end up buying oatmeal squares and pickles but forget to buy everything you needed for next week's lunches. I can see you guys nodding your heads now. I'm glad you can relate.
On that day where I bought butter, candy, and toothpaste, I also bought these dark chocolate M&Ms. I spotted them as I was picking out chocolate for another event, and I couldn't resist. I walked out of Marsh with my inspiration, and from there the wheels started churning.
I knew that I was going to be making cookies. I immediately thought of the candy cookies from Panera Bread, studded with pretty rainbow M&Ms with a delicious chocolate chip cookie base. At first, I figured I would try out a version similar to that. But then I thought about the incredible double chocolate chunk cookies from my days at the IU Wells Library and Wright food court. If you have had these before, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I couldn't help thinking that a dark chocolate cookie base would also be incredible with M&Ms. It was turning into a battle of the chocolate-chocolate and chocolate-chip doughs.
So of course I went for the compromise. And just like that, the half&half m&m cookie was born!
These cookies are large, in charge, and look pretty darn cute with their chocolate-chocolate and chocolate chip cookie halves. I made two separate doughs for this cookie, a chocolate chip cookie dough with brown sugar and a extra flour to add a slight cake-iness, and a chocolate-chocolate cookie dough with Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder and a little more white than brown sugar. After making the doughs separately, I took a little bit from each bowl and smooshed them together for each cookie.
I'll warn you, these cookies are chubby. But chubby in the best sense. They're a little cakey due to the extra flour, so that they are soft throughout the cookie even after baking, almost like a brownie and not a chewy, chewy cookie. They are delicious, indulgent, and the M&Ms become the real star in both bases. Definitely a dessert food, and definitely ones to share with your friends and family. And they would make great conversation starters! It's a cookie that would give you the guts to go up to that person you think is real cute at the party and be like, which half of the cookie do you think is better? And bam! Magic. Okay, maybe exaggerating there a little bit, but you get my drift.
I can't decide which half is better!
Half & half M&M cookies
Makes 18-22 cookies
Ingredients for the chocolate chip cookie dough:
- 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1/8 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate M&Ms
Ingredients for the chocolate chocolate cookie dough:
- 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate M&Ms
Chocolate chip cookie dough:
- Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Fold M&Ms into the batter. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Chocolate chocolate cookie dough:
- Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.
- Fold M&Ms into the batter. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
- After both doughs have properly chilled in the fridge, take both out. Take a golf-ball size scoop of each dough and smoosh the two together and form into a flattened circle (about 1/2 inch thick). Place on the parchment paper.
- Bake for 12 minutes. Place cookies on a cooling rack. Once cool, dig in!