there are two things that i particularly enjoy about this chocolate cookie recipe:
- it’s easy
- it’s very adaptable – i don’t think i’ve ever made the same variation twice
regarding the first point above, they just need basic ingredients, nothing particularly fancy (unless you want to go crazy with your mix-ins). they’re just a standard cream the butter and sugar, mix in the eggs, add the dry ingredients, then the mix-ins, and now you’re ready to go cookie recipe. no chilling the dough, no rolling and endless cookie cutters.
don’t get me wrong, i am more than happy to eat all of the precious hand stamped, precision decorated cookies that we are inundated with this time of year (provided they taste as good as they look). but make them? forget it! i know some people find the repetition cathartic or really enjoy getting creative with decorating. and while i so appreciate seeing/eating their crafts, i will have none of it for myself. none. of. it. that’s why i’m grateful that this chocolate cookie recipe lets me get away with looking festive without having to go near a cookie cutter.
which brings me to my next point… these cookies taste great with almost anything you can think to put in them. here, i’ve chosen red and green m&ms (see above “lazy yet festive”). i will say, i tend to get the best results in terms of taste when i put (at least) 5 oz. of chocolate chips to boost the chocolate flavor even more and then (at most) 5 oz. of whatever other flavor i am incorporating. if you scrutinize the pictures, you will see that in this version, i used all m&ms and in retrospect, i wish i had stuck to my usual formula. my husband liked them as is but i don’t think the m&m chocolate melts as smoothly as chocolate chips so i would have preferred to have more smooth chocolate, with some m&ms for pops of color. <– chocolate snob, even with cookies prized for their simplicity.
if you’re making these chocolate cookies and it’s not christmas time, then regular color m&ms are an obvious substitution. beyond that though, your favorite chocolate + _________ combination will be delicious here. peanut butter chips or reese’s pieces, mint chips with ¼ – ½ teaspoon mint extract, chopped andes mints, cranberries, chopped pecans or hazelnuts… have fun with it! i tend to vary the ratios of chocolate chips to other mix-in depending on how strong of a flavor the other mix-in is (or, let’s be honest, how much is left in each bag when the urge to make chocolate cookies strikes…).
so, go forth, knowing that you too can make festive holiday cookies that taste delicious but do not consume an entire day and require coating every surface in your kitchen with powdered sugar. (but of course, if any of you are into that sort of thing, i would never say no to a (last minute) cookie swap…)
chocolate cookies with m&ms
Save to BigOven Ingredients
- 4 ¼ oz. (120 g. / 1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ oz. (42.5 g. ½ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder (i use hershey’s natural/non-dutch processed)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 oz. (113 g. / 1 stick / ½ cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 ¼ oz. (148.5 g. / ¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 5 oz. (142 g. / ¾ cups) chocolate chips
- 5 oz. (142 g. / ¾ cups) m&ms, red and green only, if you want festive christmas cookies
Instructions
- preheat the oven to 350° F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (i'd avoid silicone mats here, as they cause the cookies to spread a lot).
- combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and stir until everything is evenly distributed.
- use an electric mixer on medium speed to cream the butter and sugar together until it is fluffy like buttercream frosting. this task is possible/much easier if your butter is at room temperature, especially if you are using a hand mixer.
- add the egg and beat to combine.
- if you’re using a stand mixer, reduce the speed to low, grab your splash guard or drape a dish towel over the top of the mixer, and add the flour mixture. if you’re using a hand mixer, it will likely be easier to turn it off, set it aside, and stir the flour mixture in with a wooden spoon.
- no matter what mixer you were using, trade it in for a wooden spoon to mix in the chocolate chips and m&ms.
- set rounded tablespoon-size cookie dough lumps about 2” apart on the parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. i am always nervous about uneven results with more than 1 cookie sheet in the oven so i bake them one at a time but if you’ve got that down, have at it.
- either way, bake the cookies for 9 – 10 minutes. we’re shooting for just-firm edges and ever-so-slightly underbaked centers. the chocolate cookies will firm up a bit as they cool.
- let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to your mouth/cooling racks to finish cooling. store in an airtight container.
Notes
if you’re doubling the recipe, add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined after each one.
adapted from a march 2011 women's day recipe for peanut butter chip chocolate cookies.
