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M&M Cookies

Published on by Elizabeth 76 Comments
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M&M Cookies - a delightful treat for the kids!

My house looks like a Mountain Warehouse has exploded inside of it.

It’s an organized chaos, I swear. There is camping and cycling gear on nearly every surface as I try and figure out what to pack for my epic cycling trip next week. As I am pottering about the house I’ll glance upon a specific item and remember I’ll need something else to go with it and I’ll add it to the pile.

I picked up miniatures of things in town the other day – a tiny travel toothpaste, a lightweight travel towel (seriously – it weighs 70 grams!), Smidge spray for those pesky Scottish midges, stuff like that. When you’re carrying everything you need for two weeks camping in panniers on your bike every gram is sacred.

I stood there in the supermarket staring at those fantastic little porridge pots in the cereal aisle. You know those ‘just add water,  stir, pop the lid on and in five minutes you’ve got piping hot porridge’ pots. They’re great for camping, but for bike packing with limited space there’s all that empty air in the top – I didn’t want to waste the space.

I had an idea. I could make my own! My experiment was wholly successful and yesterday I spent some time preparing several vaccum sealed sachets of porridge for my travels. A recipe post will follow upon my return – I need to road test it first!

M&M Cookies - a delightful treat for the kids!

As I lay drifting off to sleep the night before I was struck with the realisation that departure time south is imminent. We’re leaving on a weekday which means that my children will be in school when I set off from Britain’s most northerly RNLI lifeboat station on my epic 300+ mountain bike cycle through Orkney and the highlands of Scotland, finishing in Fort William where I’ll be climbing Ben Nevis via the north face and the carn mor dearg arete.

I had that pang when I realised I was going to be away from my children for an extended period. I’ve never been away from them for so long before. It’s only a fortnight, but still. I had that pang of missing them (they were peacefully sleeping in their beds) and then the Mum-guilt for leaving them and going off on my mid-life crisis adventuring.

So the following day I made them some cookies as an after school treat. My way of making it up to them, somehow.

M&M Cookies - a delightful treat for the kids!

In all honesty they’ll be fine. I’ll be phoning home regularly, and I’ve got grand hopes that the entire of the Scottish mainland has 3G and I’ll be able to message frequently. But still, Mum-guilt, eh?

I adapted this recipe from a Smarties recipe I found in a little Canadian recipe booklet my grandmother sent me for my birthday last year. To be honest all I’ve done is change the Smarties to M&Ms (because they were less expensive!) and UK-ify the ingredients list. I don’t use American cups any more. Grams all the way for me!

The kids loved them, and I felt slightly less guilty about leaving. I think I’ll put up a map of Scotland on the fridge so the kids can cross off the places I’ve gone through so they know where I am in the world on my trip.

You too can follow me on my adventures on Instagram. I’m raising money for the RNLI with this cycling and climbing challenge – so far I’ve raised £515, which I’m really, really pleased about. You can sponsor me over on my Virgin Money Giving Page, if you fancy. For any locals, there’s a paper sponsor form in my village shop. It tends to get lost underneath the Shetland Times newspaper pile, but it’s there.

In the meantime, here’s some cookies. 🙂

M&M Cookies - a delightful treat for the kids!

M&M Cookies

A colourful treat for the kids - quick and easy to make too!
0 from 0 votes
Print Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 3 dozen
Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F/180C/170C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper or a silicone mat.
  • Cream together the shortening and sugars until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
  • Sift in the flour, baking soda and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.
  • Fold in the M&Ms.
  • Using your hands pinch off bits of dough about the size of a walnut. Roll into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet, flattening slightly.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes, until light golden. Leave to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Store in an airtight container.
Tried this recipe?Mention @TangoRaindrop or tag #elizabethskitchendiary!

Click here to view the nutritional information for this recipe.

OTHER COOKIE RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Soft Monster Cookies from Little Sunny Kitchen
Oreo Button Cookies from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Camp Aitebreagh Chocolate Chip Cookies from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Bear Paws (Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies) from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary

LINKING UP WITH A FEW BLOGGING CHALLENGES
Treat Petite ‘Fit for a Queen’ by Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer
Recipe of the Week by A Mummy Too
No Waste Food Challenge guest hosted by Utterly Scrummy for June and July (the shortening I used was out of date the following day and the eggs were already past their best before).

Comments

  3. Alex Shebar says

    I love m&m cookies, it brings me right back to being a kid again. And these look truly fantastic. Going to have to give them a go!

    Reply

  5. Marcel says

    Oh, they look lovely!!

    My kids made home-made cookies last Wednesday and sold them around the neighbourhood.

    They priced everything, worked out how much to sell them for and made a £15 profit (which they still haven’t spend!!).

    Reply

  6. Rezmin says

    OMG!!!
    These look so good! will definitely make an attempt to bake something this weekend!
    Children’s will really love this.

    Reply

  8. Christina says

    Oh my gosh, these look totally amazing!!! I cannot wait to make these at home with the kids. My cooking skills usually leave a lot to be desired, so I am hoping that I can manage this recipe without it turing into a total disaster !!!

    Reply

  9. Alice Mills says

    Yummy recipe! Must give it a try! Best of luck on your adventure! Will be interested to know how your homemade instant porridge turned out!! x

    Reply

  19. Tanya Brannan says

    These look so yummy and very moreish. I love cookies, and once I have one…. I need more!! Will be trying this recipe out x

    Reply

  26. Denisa says

    was just searching for some fun cookies recipe that I can bake with my nieces ! your looks so good and pretty easy to make. Yum , cant wait to bake (and taste )them

    Reply

  28. Jess says

    These look amazing! I’d definitely accept them as a guilt offering if I was your kids 😉
    Seriously, though, you’ve no need to feel guilty – you’re teaching your children to follow their dreams, and raising money for an amazing cause, all in one go! Well done you <3

    Reply

  31. Sarah says

    Oh my gosh I need these in my life!!
    It’s making my mouth water.
    I need to bake them, and have them with a glass of milk!

    Reply

  35. Kelly says

    These look yummy! What a beautiful site you have…and you’re another Canadian blogger too! I’m torn between wanting to be the mom who only makes healthy treats…and the mom who bakes the best cookies. I don’t have to deal with that yet as my daughter is only 16 months old, so its only healthy stuff so far…but I guess when she gets older I’ll just apply the 80/20 rule and 20% of the time I’ll relax and just let her enjoy a few treats. I’ll try these but will swap the Crisco for butter for taste & health reasons.

    Reply

  39. Corina says

    Lovely cookies! My kids love m&Ms and would love these too! It sounds like you’re off on a fantastic adventure so hope you have an amazing time.

    Reply

  43. Yvonne says

    These look delicious, I think my kiddies would love to help me make these – and eat them! Will save this recipe for a rainy day xx

    Reply

  44. Janet @ Lady Janet Kitchen says

    Should i say you posted this remarkable recipe because of me??? It came at the right time, for i have been thinking hard on better stuff to prepare for my kids on our next picnic these days. Thanks for sharing, kudos!!!

    Reply

  45. solange says

    if it’s Grand’ma’s (though may be not stickly speaking) it might be one for the #inheritancerecipes. Have a great time on your road trip,

    Reply

  46. Anca says

    I can’t wait to see your porridge recipe, I would like to make some too for camping trips. The cookies look delicious, I should bake a batch these days.

    Reply

  47. Sarah - Craft Invaders says

    The cookies look fab – my kids would definitely love them, and I’m pinning to try with them at some point. You must be so excited now about your trip, I cant wait to read all about it when you return and I hope you have the most amazing time – wishing you all the best x

    Reply

  54. Lucy Parissi says

    My house is similar to yours except there’s laundry absolutely everywhere and no excuse other than have no time to put it away! I love the look of these cookies – the kids would go bananas over them!

    Reply

  56. Zoë IKIWN says

    Ooh good luck on your adventures, I’m sure the cookies made up a little bit for your being away 🙂 such a lovely sounding recipe and they turned out great! x

    Reply

  60. Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

    “My house looks like a Mountain Warehouse has exploded inside of it.” <– haha! This really made me laugh. You're going to be so well prepared for your trip 😀 These cookies look brilliant, why don't I bake more often?!

    Reply

  61. Diana says

    Well done on raising the money for a good cause! I love M&Ms cookies, looking at the pictures is making me want to go to the kitchen and bake my own! Thanks for linking to my soft monster cookies 🙂

    Reply

  65. Camilla says

    Love the bright M&Ms peeping out of these cookies, bet they taste amazing! Good luck with your adventure and well done on the money you have raised so far:0(

    Reply

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