Friday, July 4, 2008

Patriotic M and M Cookies

Scroll down for a complete Fourth of July Menu with recipes and a shopping list.... Whiz! Bang! Boom! and Happy Fourth Of July. I wish my older sister/writer Leslie was here with me. She's the best companion for a neighborhood fireworks show because she renames every pyrotechnic after it begins to explode. Red Devil should hire her since she really does a much better job than they do. "Peach Cobbler Crisp and Crackle" and "Fizzy Grape Soda Explosion" are really so much more descriptive than "Mini Fountain" or "Butterflies and Flowers." Or maybe I just like her names because they all have to do with food. Food..my favorite. Enjoy your food, along with freedoms, friends, family, and firecrackers tonight.Here's a fun and super delicious cookie recipe that's just perfect for any holiday. (Vary the M and M colors to adapt.) Have a safe and happy holiday- and give the fireworks rename a go! M and M cookies
Estimated Cost:$4.50 for four dozen

Notes: The secret to pretty M and M cookies is to press in extra M and Ms AFTER the cookies have baked. The colors will stay true and vibrant.
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar (I prefer dark, but light works well also.)
1 scant cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon each salt, baking powder, and baking soda
3 cups flour (I used all whole wheat)
1 (11 ounce) bag M and Ms, divided
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars. When creamy, add in eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle salt, powder, and soda over the top. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing until well blended. Stir in HALF of the M and Ms. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until puffed and just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove from oven. IMMEDIATELY press a few M and Ms into each cookie, tucking them into the dough a bit so that they will stick.
I never found Patriotic M and Ms this year. It seems that Indiana Jones M and Ms wedged them out. I had to pick and sort, so now I've got a baggie full of orange, yellow, green and brown.
Coming This Weekend:
Extreme Leftover Bonus: Peach and Barbecue Chicken Cobb Salad

19 comments:

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Happy fourth! You are one dedicated blogger! Cookies look great.

Leslie said...

Happy 4th of July. I wish I was there with you naming all the beautiful fireworks, too. Don't forget about Citrus Sparkle, Confetti Crackle, Razzle-Dazzle Pop, Emerald City Glow, and Sunshine Showers.
It's turned out to be the best game. We love to see who will have the most clever and ridiculous name.
Today we are all going to Candice's for her big block party. Roy is going, too. I have a feeling we'll be doing everything with Laurie's group this year. It's time for a change of venue. I love that line. It's all yours and part of your New Year's Eve routine.
Well, your cookies look delicious. All of your dinners and sidedishes do, too, but all my heart and taste are for the cookies and dessert. I still love to think of your swirling chocolate brownie picture.
Have a Super Happy Delicious Day today, and don't forget to play The Fireworks Game. We'll compare names tomorrow.

Nickki said...

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July. Your cookies look wonderful, I do love m&m cookies! :)

MK and Co. said...

Dear Prudy,
Your cookies look delicious.
Dear Leslie,
Your fireworks sound delicious.
Thanks for the great recipes! I hope everyone has a grand and glorious Fourth!

Anonymous said...

Happy 4th Prudy! I wish we were there with your family! And in the pool! The cookies looks delicious!

Chef Jeena said...

Hope you had a great time. I love your cookies and I adore M n M's so I bet they taste fabulous. The colour really does stay bright too you are right. The salad looks great I can't wait to see. :-)

Thank you for the link Prudy I am so honoured that you like my blog. :-)

david mcmahon said...

Great cookies, great idea.

And before I come round (all the way from Australia) do you have any left?

Pamela said...

The cookies look great and what a great tip about the putting more M & M's on after their out of the oven. We are going to have to give that one a try. If you don't eat all the left over M's, you might be able to save them for fall of Halloween. Hope your 4th was fab.

Steph said...

I love how you pushed some m & m's into the cookie. I love the thickness of them, thin, but not overly so. Since you used whole wheat flour, I guess that a couple extra may be ok!

Sophie said...

Chocolate chip cookies are such an American tradition - good idea to feature these on the 4th. The M&Ms are so cute too.

My mouth is watering just looking at that salad! YUM!

Lore said...

Happy 4th Prudy! Love these m&m cookies, so cheery :)

Babs Renouf said...

This was our dinner for the fourth of july, dad and I split a hot dog at the Custard store,we ate at the highschool cafeteria for lunch and came home and ate a weary bag of popcorn and with a deep sigh called it a night. Where were all the kids, where was the corn on the cob, where was the candy and the kids singing and who was telling the children to be careful and stay back from the fireworks? Perhaps I only dreamed it, but it did seem so real once. Love, Dad and Mom

Honeyed Hashette said...

Cute cookies and yum salad!
Happy Belated 4th!

Lori said...

Cute cookies. I love how you price out your food. It makes you unique in the blogging world.

RecipeGirl said...

Soooooooo cute! Thanks for the tip about putting the M&M's on after baking. I don't know why I've never thought to do that myself! Hope you had a happy 4th weekend :)

Emily said...

Hope you had a good 4th! The cookies look amazing.

Marie Rayner said...

In a couple of months Prudy you'll be able to use those other M&M's for an autumnal treat I am sure. Those cookies look so fabulous! I am not even sure we can get M&M's over here, at least not in those colours at any rate, but I'm going to go looking soon! I cooked a 4th dinner for my boss and family and friends up at the big house on Friday night so didn't get to do much celebrating myself, but happily they really enjoyed my efforts!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I tagged you!

JJ said...

Seriously, these have become the crowd fav cookie! If you keep wondering who is checking this post weekly, well its just little old me!