Chewy Easter M&M Cookies

Chewy Easter M&M Cookies

Chewy Easter M&M Cookies

Spring colored candies make these ooey-gooey chewy cookies the perfect edition to your Easter table…or any table! Change out the colors to match the season!

Makes

24 cookies

Prep time:

15 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Good For:

Dessert

Inroduction

About this Recipe

I am a cookie lover…and also a cookie SNOB. I admit it. By my definition, cookies had better be soft and chewy, and while chocolate isn’t a must, it’s definitely worthy of some bonus points.

I’ve spent much of my adult life in pursuit of the PERFECT chocolate chip cookie, and I’ve tried some very time-intensive recipes that claim they’ve found it.

Nope.

THIS is it. Oh sure, it claims it’s an M&M cookie…and it can be…but you can absolutely sub out the M&Ms for more chocolate chips. At Christmas I made this recipe with a mixture of milk and semi-sweet chips and chunks…then with white and milk chocolate chips…and at Easter, I used the M&Ms that were pretty pastels. You can absolutely use Christmas M&Ms for these in December, or any other color for any other season. Whatever your choice, these cookies are AWESOME.

Why? Because they’re melt-in-your-mouth soft and have a fantastic chewiness. This recipe calls for big, generous scoops of dough that make a big, satisfying cookie.

Looking to go sugar-free? I’ve made these with sugar-free chips from ChocZero and subbed the sugars in the recipe for Swerve Bown and All Purpose in the Raw, and they turned out great! The texture was slightly different, but if you weren’t doing a side-by-side comparison, you’d never know.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar or Swerve Brown
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar or All Purpose in the Raw
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup M&Ms in your choice of color, or milk-chocolate chips
    1. Preheat your oven to 375°. Line two baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
      .
    2. Cream together the softened butter and the sugars or sugar alternatives with an electric mixer until they’re fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until they’re just combines.
      .
    3. In a separate bowl or 4-cup measuring cup, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix into the butter mixture.
      .
    4. Fold in the candy and chocolate chips.
      .
    5. Using a medium cookie scoop (2-3 tablespoons), drop the dough onto your prepared baking sheets. Don’t crowd them! These are big cookies, so depending on the size of your sheets, you may have to do them in two rounds.
      .
    6. To get that perfect presentation, press a few extra M&Ms or chocolate chips into the top of the cookies.
      .
    7. Bake for 7-10 minutes, rotating the pans (switching racks and front to back) halfway through to ensure even baking. When the edges are just beginning to brown, the cookies are ready to come out of the oven. The middles will still be soft.
      .
    8. Allow the cookies to cool for 3 minutes on their pans (this will help set those middles) and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

    From the Books

    Okay, okay…so I know chocolate chip cookies, and definitely M&M cookies, were not a thing in Biblical days. BUT…these two books both center around Easter. So why not include a modern Easter recipe in this collection, right? 😉 If Abigail and Magdalene were around today, they would absolutely be celebrating our Savior’s resurrection with celebratory foods. So curl up with one of these novels…and have a cookie or two too!

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    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Apple Clay (Charoset)

    Part of the traditional Passover seder, this sweet apple “clay” represents the brick and mortar the Israelites used in their captivity.

    Makes

    1 cup

    Prep time:

    2 minutes

    Total Time:

    5 minutes

    Good For:

    Side

    Inroduction

    About this Recipe

    My favorite part of the Passover Seder meal has to be this: apple clay, or charoset in Hebrew.

    What, you ask, is apple clay? In the context of the seder, it’s a sweet mixture slightly red in color that represents the brick and mortar the Israelites were forced to make while in captivity in Egypt. It’s made of simple ingredients, all chopped up and blended together into a smoothie-like consistency: apples (I like honeycrisp or gala for this), almonds, honey, cinnamon, and grape juice.

    Then comes the next question…how do you eat it? In the seder meal, it’s usually eaten with matzah or unleavened bread, along with a bit of horseradish, which are the bitter herbs that call to mind the bitterness and tears of that captivity. We’ve found that this apple clay pairs perfectly with my unleavened bread with honey and enjoy it as a special treat together!

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    • 1 medium apple
    • ¼ cup almonds
    • ½ cup grape juice
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    1. Chop the apple into small pieces—no need to peel it first!
      .
    2. Combine chopped apple and all other ingredients in a blender or food processor.
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    3. Pulse until a coarse clay is formed; it should be thicker than a smoothie but close.
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    4. Serve with matzah, unleavened bread, crackers, or with other fruit slices.

      From the Books

      Charoset would have been served with every Passover in my Biblical stories and is particularly mentioned in At His Feet…Mary sends Magdalene to Jesus with his favorite apple clay for what turns out to be the Last Supper. This is definitely the version I had in mind!

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      Tabbouleh

      Tabbouleh

      Tabbouleh

      This Mediterranean staple features fresh greens like parsley, mint, and onions, with bulgur wheat and tomatoes in a tangy dressing.

      Servings

      6

      Prep time:

      15 minutes

      Total Time:

      2 hours

      Good For:

      Side

      Inroduction

      About this Recipe

      I asked my ladies of the Patrons & Peers group to share any recipes that would tie in well with my books, and this is one such recipe! Special thanks to Bonnie Fakhri for sharing one of her favorite Mediterranean sides. The note below is from her too.

      I love Mediterranean food and this is one of the staples found throughout the region.  It is best described as a parsley salad and I find it adds a bright, fresh taste to any meal.  The key is not to cook the bulgur wheat but rather to marinate it in the dressing so that every bite you take is full of flavor.

      Ingredients

      Instructions

      • ½ cup fresh lemon juice (~2 large lemons)
      • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
      • 1 ½ tsp salt
      • ½ tsp pepper
      • ½ cup uncooked bulgur wheat
      • 1 ½ -2 cups finely chopped parsley (one-two bunches)
      • ½ cup finely chopped mint
      • 4 firm roma tomatoes (seeded)
      • ½ English cucumber
        1. Combine first 4 ingredients to make the dressing.
          .
        2. Soak the bulgur wheat in the dressing for at least 2 hours (the longer the better, it needs to be soft, I often let it marinate for 6-8 hours of even overnight). The bulgur should absorb most of the dressing.
          .
        3. Finely chop the herbs and vegetables.
          .
        4. Add the herbs and veggies with the soaked wheat and dressing mixture.
          .
        5. Stir to fully combine.
          .
        6. Serve as a salad or with pita chips or bread.

        From the Books

        As a staple in the Mediterranean, tabbouleh would have been enjoyed by all the characters in my Biblical fiction worlds.

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        Unleavened Bread with Honey

        Unleavened Bread with Honey

        Unleavened Bread with Honey

        This slightly sweet unleavened bread is a quick and simple recipe…and a crowd-pleaser! Perfect for a Passover meal or communion.

        Servings

        16

        Prep time:

        15 minutes

        Total Time:

        30-45 minutes

        Good For:

        Side, Bread

        Inroduction

        About this Recipe

        When I was a kid, the church I attended frequently had a meal together on Holy Thursday, and unleavened bread was served…but not just any unleavened bread. It was sweet. It was delicious. It was a recipe I had to recreate for myself when I was an adult!

        The nature of unleavened bread demands that it be quick, and this recipe is no exception. It’s a simple matter of warming and mixing the ingredients, rolling it out, cutting it, and baking…but oh, the results! A slightly sweet bread, dense and chewy, perfect for pairing with a Passover charoset (apply clay), cheese, honey, butter, or even peanut butter, this one will soon be a favorite of everyone in the family!

        Ingredients

        • ¾ cup scalded milk
        • 1 egg
        • ¼ cup honey
        • ¼ cup (half stick) butter, melted
        • 1 teaspoon salt
        • 4 cups all-purpose flour
        1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
          .
        2. Heat the milk until it’s warm but not boiling, about 1 minute in the microwave.
          .
        3. Whisk the egg and honey and salt into the warmed milk.
          .
        4. Melt the butter and then add to the milk mixture.
          .
        5. Slowly add the flour, stirring to incorporate, until it forms a dough that isn’t too sticky to roll out.
          .
        6. Roll to ¼” thickness on a floured surface. Cut into whatever size and shape you prefer. Prick with the tines of a fork.
          .
        7. Move bread to prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until it’s golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool.

        From the Books

        Unleavened bread would have been served with every Passover in my Biblical stories and is particularly mentioned in A Stray Drop of Blood and At His Feet.

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