One of my many sweet Pregnancy Cravings are chocolate chip cookies, the chewy kind. One of these nights, I was really, really craving them but with quarantine and all, a “quick” grocery run was not going to happen…
I had been craving chocolate chips cookies for days but that’s never part of our grocery list to avoid eating so many sweets I crave.
However, one evening Stacy requested we bake cookies and although I’ve never made a batch of cookies from scratch, we gave it a go. We didn’t have chocolate chips at hand but I had a stash of M&Ms I had been secretly eating one a day like a vitamin 🤣. It soon turned into family baking night! 🍪
Stacy had fun baking cookies with Mami and Daddy and so did we! 🍪
I was pleasantly surprised that they came out soo delicious! I had only baked frozen cookies before and usually over-baked them 🤣.

🍪 Half a cookie was all I needed and it kept Stacy entertained and busy for a few hours (all of us). 🍪
Do you bake?
How can these be made healthier without compromising flavor? So that I can eat more than just half a cookie?

Comment below if you have the answer!

The following is the final recipe I came up with based out of about 3 recipes on the web, I took what I liked from each and this is what we came up with, they are chewy and delicious M&M cookies from scratch!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour see note
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened but still cool
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed make sure it’s fresh and soft
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups M&M’s or a mixture of M&M’s and chocolate chips divided

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.
• In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, beat butter and both sugars for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. On low speed, add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Gently stir in M&M’s/chocolate chips  – I usually add about 3/4 cup into the batter, the rest get pressed on top of the cookies before baking.
• Scoop balls of dough, between 1.5 and 2.5 tablespoon portions (a little smaller or a little larger than a golf ball). Drop dough onto prepared baking sheets leaving an inch or two for spreading. Using the remaining M&M’s, press several (5 or so) onto the top of each mound of dough. Keep in mind that the cookies will spread out while baking, so be generous with the M&M’s. 
• Bake for 8-11 minutes (see note), until the edges of the cookies are set but the center is still slightly underdone , this will create a soft cookie. For a crispier cookie, continue baking for another minute two. 
• Place the baking sheets on wire racks and allow the cookies to cool completely. They will firm up as they cool. Optional: for a slightly thicker cookie, you can gently press the edges of each cookie inward (just a bit!) while they are still warm. 

Galletas de M&M

Uno de mis antojos de embarazo dulce, se han cumplido. ¡Y todo lo que tomó fue la mitad de una galleta M&M recién hecha con un vaso de leche! 🍪
Había estado ansiando galletas con chispas de chocolate durante días, pero eso nunca es parte de nuestra lista de compras para evitar comer tantos dulces que se me antojan.
Sin embargo, una noche Stacy solicitó que horneáramos galletas y aunque nunca he hecho galletas desde cero, lo intentamos. No teníamos chips de chocolate a mano, pero tenía un montón de M&M que había estado comiendo en secreto una por día como una vitamina 🤣. ¡Fue una noche familiar para hornear! 🍪
Stacy se divirtió horneando galletas con Mami y papá, ¡y nosotros también! 🍪 ¡Me sorprendió gratamente que salieran tan deliciosas! Solo había horneado galletas congeladas antes y generalmente las horneé en exceso 🤣. 🍪 La mitad de una galleta era todo lo que necesitaba para mi antojo y mantuve a Stacy entretenida y ocupada durante unas horas (a todos). 🍪

¿Horneas? ¿Cómo pueden hacerse más saludables sin comprometer el sabor? ¿Para poder comer más que la mitad de una galleta! Comenta si sabes!

xoxo,

LA Mami,

Julie Lopez