Happy almost Valentine’s Day! In an effort to be festive, I decided to do a themed post before the holiday this week in case you’re not ridiculously busy in the next two days. I realized that I have a bad habit of posting my holiday recipes after the point when they’re useful, so this year I’m pledging to be more proactive.

Also, my plans for actual Valentine’s Day involve heading to a brew pub, so a nice homemade chocolate molten lava cake will probably be out of the question anyways.

Now, this recipe may seem to be a bit of a cop out, since all I did was use red and pink M&Ms instead of regular M&Ms, but I like to think that just makes it versatile. No one ever doesn’t want a big soft bakery M&M cookie – this fills that role while also checking off the seasonal box. Plus, M&Ms releases themed colors for literally every holiday – this could be a monthly thing. And if you’re really feeling ambitious, you can buy your choice of 25 different colors of M&Ms and be truly happy with your cookie color scheme.

So to make the cookies, start by whisking together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Set aside.In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about three minutes, until light and smooth. With the mixer running, add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, to incorporate. Add the vanilla extract and beat for another minute. With the mixer still running, add half of the flour mixture, then add the milk, then add the remaining flour mixture. Beat until just comes together. Scrape dough out of bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Knead to finish combining ingredients, and then return dough to bowl.Using a wooden spoon, stir in the M&Ms to incorporate. Scoop the dough by the rounded tablespoon and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk, and roll to coat in sugar on a flat plate. Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until just turning golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Don’t those look good? And just Valentine’s Day enough? I took a gratuitous amount of pictures of these. Mostly to delay doing anything truly productive with my time.Anyways, store them in an airtight container, or on a plate covered in plastic wrap.

Enjoy!

M&M Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 cups (12 ounces) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups (8.75 ounces) sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups (1 pound) M&M’s
• 1/2 cup sugar, for coating

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and smooth.
3. With mixer running, add sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, scraping after each addition.
5. Beat in vanilla extract for one minute.
6. With mixer running, add half of the flour mixture, then add the milk, then add remaining flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated.
7. Remove dough from bowl and onto floured surface. Knead to finish combining ingredients. Return dough to bowl.
8. Stir in M&Ms with wooden spoon to incorporate.
9. Roll rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and then flatten into pucks. Roll in sugar poured onto flat plate to coat. Place on greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
10. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes or until just golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.