A Sweet Solution for Leftover Candy

Homemade M&M cookies are easy to make. Ashley Moore

If your children hit the jackpot while trick-or-treating, you could be swimming in candy for weeks! Put the abundance of M&M’s to good use by making homemade cookies with the kids. You can also teach them about the candy while you bake.

Did you know? The M’s printed on M&M’s stand for the last names of their inventors: Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie. These two businessmen teamed up to make M&M’s in 1941 and started by selling their candy exclusively to the U.S. armed services (the candy-coated shells made M&M’s heat resistant and good for travel).

M&M Cookies

Makes 12 cookies

• 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup M&M’s

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk sugar and melted butter until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to stir until no dry flour is visible and a soft dough forms.

Roll the dough into 12 balls (about 1 heaping tablespoon each). Place the dough balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space between them.

Gently flatten each dough ball. Press candies into each cookie (about 5 candies per cookie).

Bake until the edges of the cookies are just set and the centers are still soft, 11 to 13 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet, about 30 minutes.