[recipe] carrot cake m&m cookies

Two recipe posts in one week?! I must be going batty. Or there’s some kind of holiday on the horizon. Hmm.

Honestly though, I can’t believe I haven’t made Easter treats before this instead of buying all of the candy from the store. In addition to Zombie Bunnies, Jake’s kids will also be getting cookies. Specifically, cookies made with these little gems:

Lucky for me, I already know the kids love these since we took a bag with us to see The Crood’s last weekend. That bag was completely gone well before the movie ended. Vicious munching occurred!

I saw these on Facebook somewhere and I immediately thought, “What are those?! I must have them!” Jake and I went to Target and I looked for them, but I only found the new white chocolate M&M’s which had a little banner above it saying “Target Exclusive”. A quick search on my iPhone told me that it was the same deal with crazy new Carrot Cake M&M’s – you could only get them at Wal-Mart. Also: only at certain Wal-Marts. What the hell?

I made Jake go up to the one Wal-Mart in town that has these little suckers (the one off Clairemont Mesa Blvd. across from Kaiser). Jake didn’t think he’d like the Carrot Cake M&M’s and I just wasn’t sure – but luckily, we both ended up liking them. They have white chocolate on the inside with the spices and flavors of carrot cake. It kind of tastes like a piece of carrot cake with the frosting all in one bite. They’re quite rich and I can’t eat more than 3 or 4 at a time but I really like them all the same.

Naturally, I felt the need to make cookies with these new M&M’s!

So the kids are getting not one, but two different homemade treats for their baskets this year. It feels better than buying all of that store bought stuff. It’s a little more work, but also more rewarding in the end.

Plus, I totally get to munch on the extra cookies! Score all around if you ask me.

These cookies are a bit soft, with a very very slight crisp on the edges. If you want puffier, not spread out cookies, then refrigerate the cookie dough for 1-2 hours before baking. I didn’t have the time or patience for that, so my cookies spread and I’m perfectly okay with that.

Carrot Cake M&M Cookies

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 bag Carrot Cake M&M’s (about 2 cups)

Yield: About 42 cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, add together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine and set aside.

Using a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars together and blend on medium high heat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat again for about 1-2 more minutes.

All the dry mixture to the stand mixer and starting out on low, blend until the cookie dough fully comes together.

Take the mixing bowl off of the stand and pour in the M&M’s. Fold in the M&M’s by hand.

Use a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat. Using a medium cookie dough scoop (or just regular old spoons), scoop and line your cookies so they are a few inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. If you put more than one sheet into the oven, rotate the trays halfway through baking. Leave the cookies on the trays for a few minutes after they come out of the oven to set up. If you want a softer cookie, bake for about 8 minutes instead and leave on the tray to firm up.

For prettier cookies, press the M&M’s into the dough before baking instead of folding them into the batter. I noticed the M&M’s kind of got lost and obscured in the dough (the ones in my photos have the M&M’s pressed in for maximum presentation).